Chapter 5
Wes
Candle Sticks and Jealousy
Presley, my brother Preston and sister-in-law Harmony’s almost three-year-old, was laughing as she ran from Flash, Finn and Rory’s dalmatian.
While I watched that scene play out, I held my five-month-old niece, Karleigh and played peek a boo just to hear her sweet little laugh.
Finn walked back into the room with a friend of his, Alex Montell. Apparently, his fiancée had broken up with him a few months back. According to Harmony, Finn was playing matchmaker and hoping to set Alex up with someone. The guy was good-looking enough. Maybe around five ten, brown hair, brown eyes. He had a decent build on him, but from what I could tell, his only downfall was he worked at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. At least that was what Harmony had said.
“Wes, you remember Alex, don’t you?” Finn asked as they both walked up to me. Finn took his daughter from my arms and started to kiss her, making her laugh. A strange tension in my chest built as I watched them.
“I don’t think we’ve ever met,” Alex said, drawing my attention away from my brother and his daughter.
I reached out my hand and shook his. “I don’t think so. How did they recruit you into helping make decorations?”
Alex smiled and pointed to multiple buckets full of flowers. “They needed me for the flowers.”
I smiled. “That’s right. You work at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Are you the gardener there?”
Laughing, Alex shook his head. “No. My father is the head gardener there; I am the head of financial operations.”
“A numbers guy,” I said with a smile.
“That’s right. Finn told me you used to be a broker on Wall Street. I bet that was exciting.”
I nodded. “It is. I still work part time for them since I also work with Finn at our company. I can buy and trade securities anywhere.”
We soon fell into an easy conversation about stock market regulations. The more I talked to Alex, the more I liked the guy. Probably because we both liked numbers.
The doorbell rang and my sister Angie walked in, followed by Autumn, Rory’s other best friend. I smiled knowing that Rory must have invited Autumn to set her up with Alex. She was feisty, with her fire engine red hair, and not at all the type I could see Alex with.
“We are here for baby duty!” Angie called out as Presley ran to her aunt. Dropping to her knees, Angie hugged Presley and stood.
“Karleigh is about to fall asleep,” Finn said as he handed the baby to Autumn. She should sleep most of the time.
Autumn took the baby as if she had handled babies her entire life. “Don’t worry about us, Daddy, we’re going to nap, and Aunty Autumn is going to study for her test.”
“Test?” I asked.
Looking over at me, Autumn frowned. She wasn’t just best friends with Rory, but with Clare as well. She knew how much Clare and I bickered, and judging by the way she was glaring at me, I had a feeling Clare had told her about Mandy. Winking at her, I gave her my best smile, causing her to roll her eyes and turn away from me.
I laughed and turned back to see Alex talking to Rory. Frowning, I glanced back at Autumn and Angie who were both heading upstairs with the girls. If Finn wasn’t fixing Alex up with Autumn, then who in the hell was he fixing him up with?
The door burst open, and Clare practically stumbled in with her hands full of bags that smelled delicious. “I’m here! Sorry I’m late, I couldn’t figure out how to open the gas tank on my boss’s car!”
Finn smiled and made his way over to Clare. “Clare, we were worried you weren’t going to make it.”
She flashed him that beautiful smile of hers. “Sorry, my phone died, and I didn’t have a charger to tell you guys I was running late. Plus, the Chinese restaurant messed up on our order.”
Alex was by her side, then taking all the bags out of her hands. “Let me help you with all that food.”
Clare turned and widened her eyes slightly, then smiled. “Thank you, whoever you are!”
Laughing, Alex said, “Alex Montell.”
“Wait, the Alex who works at Isabella Stewart?” Clare asked.
A sinking feeling hit my stomach, and I looked over at Finn and Rory who were both beaming with pride.
Holy shit. They’re setting Clare and Alex up?
“Yeah, have you been there?”
Clare and Alex carried the bags of food into the dining room while they continued to talk.
“Yes! I love the gardens there.”
“My father is the head gardener.”
Clare gasped. “Shut up! I love flowers. I go there all the time. As a matter of fact, I just went to see the holiday garden. It’s so beautiful.”
He smiled. “Yeah, my dad has a green thumb.”
The way she smiled up at him made my stomach roil. “He really does. Do you like to garden?”
“Jesus Christ,” I mumbled as I turned and headed to the kitchen to get a beer.
“What’s wrong with you?” Finn asked as he took the beer from my hand after walking into the kitchen, making me get another one.
Popping the top off the beer, I took a drink, then pointed the bottle in the direction of the dining room. “That. How could you set up Clare with that guy?”
Finn laughed. “What do you mean? They’re perfect for each other. It was Rory’s idea. She said Clare has been in a funk lately, and she thought it would be a great idea to introduce them.”
“He doesn’t seem like her type.”
“And what exactly is her type?” Finn asked with an amused smile.
I shrugged. “I don’t know, but he seems sorta…nerdy.”
“You were just deep in conversation with the nerdy guy talking numbers… so does that make you a nerd too?” Finn stared at me for a few moments, then raised his brows slightly. “Dude, are you interested in Clare?”
“What? Fuck no. Half the time I can’t stand to be around her.”
I felt a jab of pain in my chest at telling that little white lie.
Finn’s brows drew down. “You really don’t like Clare?”
Realizing my words had been too harsh, I softened them a bit. “I do like her, she just has a way of getting on my nerves, that’s all.”
Finn studied me for a bit before he asked, “You’re not still hung up on Mandy, are you? We haven’t talked about it.”
I shook my head. “Nah, I’m good.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “Really? Because if you’re planning to try and win her back…”
Finn didn’t finish what he was going to say.
“Just finish your sentence, will you?”
Shrugging, he looked back to make sure no one was around before focusing back on me. “The whole sleeping with you thing was a dick move, if you ask me. She was wanting to have one last fling before she settled down, and I feel like she used you.”
“I knew what I was doing that night I slept with her.”
“So, it doesn’t bother you that she cheated on the guy she is about to marry with you?”
Swallowing hard, I looked at the beer in my hand. “I think she wanted to see if she still had feelings for me. You weren’t there that night, Finn. We still share a connection.”
He sighed and pushed his hand through his hair. “If that’s true, then why did she leave?”
“Why did she tell me she was getting married? She didn’t have to tell me, but she did. You know why?”
Finn shot me a weary look. “I have a feeling you’re going to tell me why.”
“Because she has doubts about it. I ran into her the other day, and you should have seen the way she was looking at me. She still loves me, and if we have a chance to try it again, I’m going to take it.”
My brother looked down at the floor and slowly shook his head. He gave a small shrug and looked back at me. “I just hope you don’t get your heart broken by her again, Wes.”
Before I could say anything, he turned and walked out of the kitchen.
“Wes! Lunch is ready!” Harmony called out from the dining room.
I lifted the beer to my lips and downed it before grabbing another one and heading to the dining room.
Most of the conversation during lunch was about the game plan on getting the decorations for the anniversary party made. Harmony broke up everyone into groups and assigned tables to those groups. I silently thanked God I wasn’t at the table where Alex and Clare were going to be. They were at their own table together.
“Wes, is everything okay?” Rory asked as she stared down at the mess in front of me.
“Yeah, I just needed to find the right rhythm.”
Her eyes widened some. “The right rhythm of gluing on the bulbs?”
I smiled. “I’m not domesticated quite yet like my brothers.”
Laughing, she squeezed my arm and sat down to help. Apparently, she thought I was slow.
The sound of Clare laughing caused me to look over at her. Alex was doing something stupid with ribbon and Clare was completely besotted with the guy.
When he reached over and put the bow in her hair she blushed.
“What the fuck?” I mumbled.
“I know it can be hard to get it where you want it, but just put a little bit of hot glue, position it, then you can add more to secure it.”
Looking at Rory, who was concentrating on gluing, I simply said, “Got it.”
Reaching for my beer, I took a long pull from it and set it down. I attempted to focus on the work at hand but couldn’t stop myself from glancing over to Clare and Alex. He was talking about something while she rested her chin on her hand, completely enraptured by the guy.
“What do you think they’re talking about?” I asked as I motioned over to them.
Rory glanced over her shoulder then back to me. A huge smile on her face. “Whatever it is, he has Clare’s full attention. I’m so glad they’re hitting it off. Clare hasn’t been herself lately and I’m not sure why. I think a guy broke her heart, but she won’t tell me or Autumn about it.”
“What makes you say that?”
She lifted her shoulder. “Just call it intuition.”
“Was she dating anyone?”
“No, like I said, she hasn’t said anything, but a woman can just tell when another woman is feeling down. I think someone said something about her weight too.” She added a bit of anger to her voice.
“What?” I croaked out. “Why?”
“Last night on the phone she asked me if I thought she had put on some weight. Which is crazy. Clare has an amazing body.” She looked at me. “You’re a guy, do you think she has a nice body?”
My eyes jerked back over to Clare. She was wearing jeans and a light blue sweater. Her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail and she looked fucking amazing.
“Um, well, I mean, it’s Clare.”
“What does that mean?” Rory asked with a stern look on her face.
“That’s like asking me if I think you have a nice body.”
Rory laughed. “It is no such thing.”
I looked at my sister-in-law. “So, if I said I thought Clare had body men would love to get their hands on, you wouldn’t be mad?”
Rory tilted her head and regarded me. “If for any moment I thought you liked Clare, I would totally be okay with you thinking she’s hot. I mean, you can, of course, think she is without liking her, but I was just asking your thoughts.”
“Why do you think I don’t like Clare?”
“Well, for starters, you’ve done nothing but shoot daggers at her since she got here.”
I scoffed. “I have not. And for the record, I like her just fine. She’s…she’s…”
Letting my gaze drift her way once again, I had to keep from jumping up and hitting Alex. He had his hands on her. Well, he was brushing something off her face…but every guy knows that’s just the beginning.
“Yes?” Rory asked, following my gaze.
“She’s a friend.”
When I looked back down at Rory, she was smirking. “Wes, why did it look like you just wanted to rip Alex’s head off when he was wiping something off of Clare’s face?”
Laughing, I said, “Rory, you’re reading into things. I could not care less what Alex does to Clare.”
“Right, if you say so,” Rory replied with a smile.
We spent the next few minutes gluing in silence while I did my best not to look over at Clare and Alex.
What in the hell was wrong with me? What did I care if Alex and Clare went out. I had my own plans, and that included winning Mandy back and breaking up her wedding.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out. Smiling when I saw the name, I opened the text.
Mandy: What were the flowers for?
Okay, that wasn’t the response I was hoping for.
Me: Just thought it would be nice to send them to you, you know after seeing you the other day.
Mandy: I appreciate it, Wes, but please don’t send me flowers. Ron was there when they were delivered to the restaurant. He questioned who the flowers were from.
Me: I’m sorry, Mandy. I only sent them as a friend, that’s all.
I waited for her reply to come through, but nothing came. I slipped the phone back into my pocket, sighed, and reached for my beer. That’s when I noticed Alex was putting on his coat. Clare was standing at the front door with Finn. She handed a phone back to him and he grinned as he read something on it. He leaned down and they hugged quickly before Clare took a step back. Finn opened the door and Alex called out to everyone and said his goodbyes.
“Thanks so much for letting me join in!”
Goodbyes and see you around were said, and Clare waved goodbye. When the door shut, she had a smile on her face I hadn’t ever seen before. Something inside of me twisted with jealousy.
“Wes?”
I snapped my head back to Harmony, who was standing there. “Yeah?”
“Would you mind helping Clare with her decorations. I think she and Alex spent more time talking then they did making anything.”
Every part of me screamed to say no. Instead, I nodded and headed over to the table where Clare was. She was making the centerpieces for the tables.
I walked up and set my beer down on the table harder than necessary and Clare jumped.
“For fuck’s sake, Wes. You scared the shit out of me.”
Shrugging, I sighed and sat down. “I’ve been told to come over and help you since you and pretty boy were slacking off.”
Her head drew back in surprise. “Pretty boy?”
“What do you need me to do?” I asked.
After explaining how she wanted the candle sticks wrapped with this berry vine shit, she sat back down.
“Are you going out with him?”
Clare was wrapping one of the candle sticks and didn’t bother to look at me. “Who?”
I rolled my eyes. “Alex.”
Her gaze met mine. “You mean…pretty boy?”
I shot her a dirty look.
“I don’t know, maybe. Probably.”
Feeling annoyed, I asked, “Which is it? Maybe or probably?”
Clare looked up, and if looks could kill, I would have been dead on the spot. “Probably. He was nice, didn’t act like an asshole, and said nice things to me.”
Laughing, I slowly shook my head. “Let me guess, he said you had beautiful eyes.”
Those eyes shot up with a surprised expression.
“He probably said something like you look pretty in blue, it makes your eyes stand out.”
She rubbed her lips together and I couldn’t help but let my gaze stare at those soft, plump lips.
“He did say that, yes.”
I slowly lifted my eyes to meet hers, then shrugged. “It’s a pick-up line, Clare. He wants in your pants, that’s all.”
She went to say something but pressed her lips together tightly and focused on the candle in her hand.
We worked in silence for the next hour until all the centerpieces were finished. Everyone else was finished up as well, and we started to clean up the mess that was made with all the crafting. I had also finished off another four beers and was starting to feel like I was going to have to stay at Harmony and Preston’s place.
“Dude, how much have you had to drink?” Preston asked as I swayed slightly.
“More than I should have. Maybe I should just crash here at your place.”
“Yeah, that’s not happening. Mom is coming to get Presley, and Harmony and I want the house to ourselves.”
I pouted.
Preston shook his head. “No. Wes, you are not staying here tonight.”
“You are absolutely not staying here tonight!” Harmony practically shouted.
All eyes went to me.
“He drank too much… can someone give him a ride home?” Harmony asked.
Everyone turned and looked at Clare. Her eyes went wide. “Why do I have to take him home?”
“Because you live the closest to him,” Angie said as she smiled at Clare.
“Angie, just take me to Mom and Dad’s,” I said as I went to walk toward her and tripped.
“Jesus,” Finn said, grabbing onto my arm.
“I’m sorry, I don’t live at home anymore, Wes. If you remember, I have my own apartment and go to school.”
A low growl came from Clare as she walked up to me and shoved my jacket into my chest. “Let’s go.”
I felt myself about to stumble back, but got my feet planted on the floor. “I can call an Uber.”
“That will cost you a fortune to take an Uber from here to the city. Just let Clare take you home,” Rory stated. “She’s going the same way.”
Holding up my hands in defeat, I started to say goodbye to everyone. I wasn’t that drunk that I needed help out to the car, but it was another story trying to actually get into the car.
“Jesus, why is this car so low to the ground?” I said as I went to get in and smacked my head on the doorframe.
Clare let out a small scream. “Are you okay?”
I held my head and got into the seat. It was throbbing. “Fuuuck. What is this car made of? Metal?”
A small giggle slipped free from Clare’s mouth as she reached in and leaned over me, buckling the seat belt. I drew in a breath and closed my eyes.
“Damn…you smell good.”
She froze, then clicked the seat belt in. Slowly turning her head, our mouths were inches apart.
“Um, thanks. It’s Chanel.”
Frowning, I asked, “Who is Chanel?”
A smile slowly spread across her face. “You are drunk.”
Then she was gone. I dropped my head back against the seat, and before she got into the car, I was asleep.