Chapter 23
Twenty-Three
Tabitha
True to his word, Stephen takes only whole foods from the buffet table. Carrots, celery sticks, pineapple chunks, cherries, strawberries. A few beef skewers.
But I don’t hold back. The samosas look amazing, and even though they’re deep-fried, I grab several of them. Ditto for the deviled eggs with smoked trout.
“Are those fried in seed oils?” Stephen asks me, gesturing to my samosas.
“I have no idea. Angie’s mom would probably know. She’s a gourmet chef, and according to Angie, she does a lot of the cooking herself for these events.”
“Can we ask her?”
Seriously? I’m beginning to think inviting Stephen here was not a good idea.
I mean, I get that he’s all Zen and everything and wants to keep toxins out of his body, but bothering the hostess of a party with questions about her food?
A party that he wasn’t actually invited to but came to as my guest?
I’m thinking that wouldn’t look good.
“Why don’t you just eat what you want? If you’re worried about seed oils, just don’t take those.”
“Maybe they cook everything in beef tallow,” he says. “I mean, this is a beef ranch, right? I’m sure they have a ton of it.”
I shrug. “Maybe.”
As beautiful as Stephen is on the outside, he’s beginning to bore me.
“Let’s find a place to sit down so we can eat our appetizers,” I say.
“Sure. Lead the way.”
Several cocktail tables are set up. I steer clear of the big tables where we’ll sit for dinner.
I go to one of the cocktail tables where Maddie and a woman I don’t recognize are sitting.
“Hi, Maddie,” I say.
“Hi, Tabitha. And Stephen. It’s great to see you.” She holds out her hand. “I’m Maddie. We met today at the salon.”
Stephen smiles. “Right, you booked an appointment for next week.”
“You won’t be disappointed,” I say. “He really worked the kinks out of my back.”
“This woman was really tense,” Stephen offers.
I nod to the other woman at the table.
“I’m so sorry,” Maddie says. “This is my sister Rory. She’s part of the band. She’s married to Dave’s cousin Brock.”
Rory Steel is gorgeous. Maddie wasn’t lying when she said her oldest sister was considered the most beautiful woman in Snow Creek. As gorgeous as Angie and Sage are, Rory is actually more beautiful. And very pregnant.
“Rory, this is Tabitha Haynes. She’s Angie’s friend from medical school and another bridesmaid.”
“It’s great to meet you,” Rory says.
“You too. This is Stephen Webster.”
Stephen hasn’t taken his eyes off Rory.
Did he not hear Maddie say she was married? And it’s pretty clear from her belly that her husband has definitely staked his claim.
Then again, I’m having a hard time keeping my eyes off her myself.
She has silky dark hair, gorgeous brown eyes, full red lips, and a perfect oval face with high cheekbones.
“You’re just glowing,” I can’t help saying. “When are you due?”
She laughs. “You’re too kind, but I think it’s sweat from carrying this little bugger around. I’m due next month. August fifteenth.”
“Do you know the sex?” I ask.
She beams and pats her belly. “It’s a boy. Say hello to Little Joe. We’re naming him after Brock’s and my dads, Jonah Francis.” She smiles. “He’s got a foot jabbed into my ribs at the moment.”
I smile. Who can’t smile when you’re talking about babies? “So you’re part of the band?”
“Yeah, my brother, Jesse, and I share lead vocals.”
“Jesse’s married to Brianna,” Maddie says.
“Wow, it’s getting hard to keep everyone straight,” I say.
“All of us Pikes married members of the Steel family,” Maddie says.
“Yeah, our other sister Callie is married to Donny Steel. He belongs to Talon and Jade.”
“I’m going to need a diagram,” I say, laughing.
“You know,” Stephen says to Rory, “as a singer, it’s very important that you keep your muscles relaxed, especially in your condition. Prenatal massage is very important too. You should come see me at the salon.”
Rory flashes him an amazing smile. “I just might do that.”
A shadow falls over the table.
My heart lurches.
Both in a good way and a bad way.
Henry.
I don’t know how, but I feel it.
“Hi, Henry,” Maddie says, smiling.
“Hi, how are you all doing this evening?” He nudges his way between Stephen and me.
“Have you met Stephen?” Maddie asks.
Henry turns to Stephen. “I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure.” He holds out his hand. “I’m Henry Simpson, Angie’s brother.”
“Stephen Webster. Nice to meet you.”
“And what brings you here this evening?” Henry asks.
“Tabitha invited me.”
Henry turns to me, the slightest tension in his jaw. “Did you?”
“Yeah.” I clear my throat. “He gave me a massage this afternoon, and I mentioned where I was going this evening. Angie said I could bring a date if I wanted.”
He blinks a few times. “I see.”
“It’s been great meeting you, Stephen,” Rory says. “But I need to go help with the sound check. My brother is waving to me from the stage.”
He flashes her another smile. “I can’t wait to hear you perform. I’ve heard great things about the band.”
Henry looks at me. “May I talk to you for a moment?”
“Sure,” I say. “Go ahead.”
“In private. It’s about tomorrow.”
“Angie didn’t say anything about—”
“She asked me to talk to you.” He nods to Stephen. “I’ll have your date back quickly.”
“No worries,” Stephen says, flashing me another brilliant smile.
“Henry…”
“It’ll just be a minute.” Henry takes my arm, a little more harshly than he should, and leads me toward the deck.
A moment later, we’re inside the house, down the hallway, near my guest room.
“What’s this about?” I demand.
“Why exactly did you invite a date?”
I shrug demurely. “Because he’s a nice guy. I didn’t really want to be the only one without someone here.”
“Sage and Gina don’t have dates,” he says. “I don’t have a date.”
“So? I like him.”
“And you’ve known him for about what? Two minutes?”
“What does it matter? He’s a wedding date.”
“Did I say it mattered?”
“If it doesn’t matter to you, why are you interrogating me about it?”
His jaw tenses.
Is he going to say something about last night in the barn?
Is he waiting for me to say something?
Because I want to keep my mouth clamped shut on that.
“Does this have something to do with last night?”
Christ, Tabitha. So much for keeping your mouth clamped shut.
But the truth of the matter is that he does owe me some kind of explanation.
“What about last night?” Henry says.
“Uh…we fucked in your barn?”
He rolls his eyes. “I know. I was there.”
“Then you left me there. And you’ve been a dick since then. So yeah, I thought it might be nice to have a date. Someone to make me feel good about myself after I let my best friend’s brother use me.”
He doesn’t say anything for a minute.
His blue eyes look kind of…sad.
Does he feel bad about what happened? About the act itself? Or about how he treated me? All of the above?
“About that…” he begins.
But he says nothing more.
“You may want to finish that sentence,” I say.
“I…shouldn’t have done that to you.”
“You didn’t do anything to me. I could have stopped you.”
He looks down. “Maybe you should have.”
“Really? Would you have been able to stop?”
He was very determined last night. I didn’t get the feeling he was going to take no for an answer. But I didn’t give him no for an answer, so what happened between us was consensual.
I don’t regret the act itself.
What I regret is how he treated me afterward.
“I don’t know,” he finally replies.
“Tell me something, then. What exactly was that to you? Is it something you do regularly?”
“What? Fuck women in my barn? In front of my horses?” He shrugs it off. “I did a fair amount when I was younger, but no, it’s not something I do regularly these days.”
“Then why?” I ask. “Why now, and why me?”
He shakes his head, rakes his fingers through his gorgeous blond hair. “I…”
I huff, hands on my hips. “Are you going to finish a sentence this century?”
His eyes smolder then, and he narrows them. He steps toward me, grabs my face in his hands, and crushes his lips to mine.
I don’t think.
I don’t have to.
My lips were already parted, and I open wider, letting him shove his tongue into my mouth.
The kiss is a lot like it was last night. Raw and feral. There’s no delicacy with this kiss. No trace of emotion.
It’s all animal.
And I love it.
I return his kiss, letting my tongue slide into his mouth and tangle with his.
His groan vibrates into me, and I answer it with one of my own.
I reach upward, thread my fingers through his silky hair.
He pulls me closer, and I feel his hard cock against my belly.
But just as quickly as it started—
He breaks the kiss.
My hands go instantly to my mouth. My lips are stinging.
“Fuck,” he growls.
“If you want to,” I say.
He cocks his head. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You have a date outside. This is Angie’s rehearsal dinner.”
“Hey. You started it. You kissed me. You’re the one who fucked me last night. I may have been a willing participant, but I was definitely not the aggressor.”
“Damn you,” Henry growls. “Fucking damn you.”
Then he opens the door to my guest room and drags me inside.