Chapter 2
Chapter Two
SERENITY
Three weeks later
I was standing at the back of the room, partially tucked away in shadows, hoping for a few seconds of peace.
This was a joyous occasion, no doubt about it, and I was beyond thrilled that West had asked my baby sister to marry him, but I would have been lying if I said news of Stella’s engagement hadn’t brought a pang of envy that tended to flare up every now and then.
I didn’t want to be jealous of my sister and the happiness she’d managed to find. It made me feel like I was the lowest of the low. If there was anyone on the planet who deserved a happily ever after, it was Stella. I just couldn’t help but feel like I was being left behind.
Again.
She was getting married. Spencer’s wife was newly pregnant with their second baby. And then there was me: a woman in her mid-thirties who tended bar and waited tables and didn’t have a clue what else she wanted to do with her life.
“What are you drinking?” Stella asked as she skidded to a stop beside me, pulling me from the pity party I’d been hosting for myself.
“Never mind,” she blurted before I had a chance to answer.
“Doesn’t matter as long as it’s alcohol.
” She snatched the glass from my hand and brought it to her lips before tossing her head back and downing nearly an entire glass of Cabernet in two large gulps.
I arched a brow as she let out an aah before wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “You seem tense.”
Stella hit me with a flat look. “That obvious?”
I smiled reassuringly and threw my arm around her shoulders. “Relax, babe. This is supposed to be a fun night.”
She let out a huff of breath and sank into my side. “Easy for you to say. You’re able to chill out back here. I’m stuck in the middle of it all.”
My poor sister had never done well with being the center of attention, but given that the Tap Room was closed to the public tonight in order to celebrate her engagement, it was kind of hard for her to keep to the sidelines where she was most comfortable.
I felt for her, my heart going out and aching to protect her like always. She was the youngest, the baby of the family, and I took my role as big sister and protector very seriously.
“I know it might not feel like it, but stepping out of your comfort zone like this is a good thing.”
She cut her eyes to the side, her expression screaming you’re full of shit, and I can smell it.
“It’s true!” I insisted on a laugh. I waved my now wineglass-less hand to encompass the entirety of the bar.
“This is your engagement party, Stell Bell. All these people are here because they want to celebrate the fact that you found the love of your life.” I didn’t point out that the actual wedding day would be ten times worse.
That little tidbit would surely have sent her spiraling.
“They’re here because they care about you and West.”
At the mention of her fiancé’s name, the tension and anxiety carved into my sister’s face smoothed out and her expression went dreamy. That all too familiar pang shot through my chest at the sight of it, and I let out a silent sigh.
When the hell was it going to be my turn?
There had been a time in my life, years ago, when I thought that I’d found The One.
Thoughts of the future filled my head, plans for our white picket fence and the two point five kids.
I was so certain that was in the cards for me.
Then the man who I thought loved me above all else went and smashed my heart to smithereens.
“I’m really lucky, aren’t I?” Stella asked, her voice jerking me back into the present.
I clenched my arm, pulling her tighter against me in a sideways hug. “He’s the lucky one, little sis. He landed you. No better prize out there.”
She tilted her head, resting it on my shoulder. “Have I told you lately that I love you, Sere?”
All the envy bled out of me as I rested my head against hers. It was impossible for the love I had for my sister not to shine through anything else I might have been feeling. She was the kindest, most loving person you’d ever meet. A heart as pure as freshly fallen snow.
“Feeling’s mutual, Stell Bell.”
Just then I felt it, the prickling sensation skating across my skin that could only mean one thing.
I knew what I’d find even before I cast my gaze toward the entrance, and the mere sight of him never failed to make my heart race and my palms grow clammy.
The man actually made me nervous, something I hadn’t thought possible given just how jaded I was.
The things I’d done and seen when it came to the opposite sex had a way of stripping off the rose-colored glasses.
But I could say with unwavering certainty that I’d never met a man like Hunter McCann in my life.
The first time I laid eyes on him, he’d left me breathless.
Though, the same couldn’t have been said had the shoe been on the other foot.
I hadn’t exactly been at my best at the time, what with having been kidnapped by a complete moron and all, but when Hunter busted into the warehouse where my sister and I were being held by what had to be the stupidest criminal on the face of the earth, an instant crush had formed.
Sure, he hadn’t been the only one who came riding in to rescue us, in fact, he had the whole band of Alpha Omega badasses with him, and believe me when I say there was more eye candy to behold with that crew than one woman could handle. However, I’d only had eyes for him.
It wasn’t just his looks, although, there was plenty of fine to go around.
Everything from his sharp, masculine features to his rock-hard, muscle-bound physique looked like they’d been carved out of granite.
If I’d had to guess, he cleared six feet by a good few inches, making me, a woman who stood at five foot seven and had a penchant for sassy stilettos, feel positively tiny in his presence.
Just from looking at him, I knew he’d have been more than capable of tossing me over his broad shoulders and carrying me off to his lair, and man did I wish he would.
But in spite of how gorgeous he was, his eyes were what really drew me to him.
The most beautiful eyes I’d ever seen. A blue so crisp they reminded me of melting glaciers.
Those liquid pools carried such intense shadows, a shiver ran along my spine the first time his gaze connected with mine.
I hadn’t known it was possible for eyes as icy blue as his to hold storm clouds, but he proved me wrong.
He carried some kind of pain with him like a broody cloak he never took off.
As demented as it might have sounded, something about those shadows called to me like my own personal siren song.
I knew all about pains of the heart, and I wanted nothing more than to see if I could squeeze a little light out between the darkness lurking in his gaze.
There was just one teensy problem.
I wasn’t anything more to him that the sister of his buddy’s new fiancée.
Talk about a hit to a woman’s pride. Still, I couldn’t seem to turn the attraction off.
“Hey. Earth to Serenity.” Stella snapped in front of my face, giving me a jolt.
I shook my head to clear it of the cobwebs Hunter always seemed to cause. “Sorry. Did you say something?”
Her forehead pinched in a frown as she studied me. “You totally spaced there for a second. What were you staring at?”
“Nothing,” I answered quickly, but she was already leaning in front of me, following my earlier line of sight until her gaze landed directly on the very figment of every fantasy I’d had for weeks.
“Oh, Serenity,” she said in a way that had my spine going ramrod straight. Her tone held a warning while her features dipped with pity.
“What?” I asked with a defensive snap to my tone. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
She twisted and stepped in front of me, placing her back to the room. “Look, sis, I want you to be happy. There’s nothing I want more in this world than you to find a man to treat you how West treats me. But Hunter?”
My lips pulled into a frown of confusion. “What’s wrong with Hunter? I thought you liked him.”
“I do,” she insisted vehemently. “I do like him. He’s great, it’s just . . .”
I crouched a bit to meet her downcast eyes. “Just what?”
“I don’t know, he’s just . . . hard, I guess. That’s the only way I can think to explain it.”
I shot her a sassy wink, attempting to lighten the tension that had suddenly swelled around us. “Figured you already knew this by now, but the harder the better.”
She rolled her eyes and gave my arm a smack.
“That’s not what I mean, and you know it.
” She inhaled deeply, like she was trying to get her thoughts in order.
“He’s perfectly pleasant whenever we’re at work together, but other than that, the man’s a vault.
He doesn’t give anything away, and it’s damn near impossible to get to know him. ”
So, he was the strong, silent type; if anything, that made him even more appealing to me.
There was something about those hard, sexy, broody characters in the movies that drove women crazy.
Hunter was a real-life version of every male heartthrob to ever grace the big screen, and I was just like all the hopelessly infatuated women in those movies, drawn to him in a way that couldn’t—or maybe wouldn’t—be ignored.
“There’s nothing wrong with keeping your personal life private,” I defended.
“No, there’s not. But it’s not just that.
” She shook her head in exasperation, like she was trying to click her thoughts into place like pieces of a puzzle.
“I’m not sure there are many people—if any—who know everything there is to know about that man, and I’d hate to see you get hurt because he couldn’t give you what you deserved. ”
My mouth curved upward as I grabbed hold of my sister and pulled her into a tight, bone-creaking hug. Her concern was the perfect example of that generous and loving heart of hers.
“I love you for caring, Stell Bell.” Untangling her from my hold, I took her by the shoulders and pushed her back so we could see eye-to-eye. “But you don’t need to worry about me.” I winked to stress the point. “I’m a big girl. I know what I’m doing, trust me.”
She didn’t look convinced. “Really?” she asked archly, one brow rising.
I hemmed and hawed for a second. “Well, maybe not. But something tells me it’ll be damn fun, at the very least.”
She looked like she was about to argue when I was saved by the bell. Well, more aptly, I was saved by a six-foot-something hunk of man.
“I’m not interrupting, am I?”
I shifted my smile from my sister to her beloved fiancé. “Not at all.” I gave Stella big, playful eyes. “We just finished up here. Right, little sis?”
“Great.” West looked adoringly down at Stella, like she was the very reason the sun came up every morning and the moon shone bright at night. “I wanted to take my woman for a spin on the dance floor. How’s that sound?”
If it had been anyone else asking, I was sure my little sister would have thought that to be a nightmare, but I got the distinct impression, when the two of them looked at each other, no one else existed.
Stella took West’s hand, and together, the two of them started toward the dance floor as the song on the juke box switched to a slow ballad.
I watched them for a few seconds before leaving my cozy little nook in the back of the room and headed to the bar for a refill. I needed a little liquid courage for what I was about to do.