Chapter 20 #2
The parade is just kicking off, the marching band spilling festive notes into the air and everyone is covered in color. Firecrackers go off, a few teenagers jumping around and laughing.
Inching up on my tiptoes, I spot Madoc and Fallon sitting on the back of a classic convertible, my brother beaming, waving, and shouting joyously at friends he sees in the crowd.
Fallon, on the other hand, always looks like she’s suffering through a calculus class.
I laugh to myself. She’s a good sport with the whole public profile aspect of her husband being a mayor.
She found the trick to survival, though.
Focus on the kids. She smiles and waves at all of the little ones, taking balls from a box on the back seat and tossing them to the children.
I see another blond head, my heart skipping a beat, until I realize it’s just Hunter.
Kade is next to him. They breeze past, walking their dog, Tank, and tossing T-shirts into the crowd to promote their frat, while A.J.
rides Dylan’s back as she and Aro play rebel soldiers play-fighting Hawke—the British redcoat.
They look like the three stooges, antagonizing and fake-kicking each other’s butts.
I don’t find Lucas in the crowd.
A.J. tosses candy to the spectators, while James does the same from his ATV. Should he be riding that on the street?
I find my way to Jax and Juliet who stand on the sidelines with one of Aro’s siblings whom they foster.
“Isn’t that like a safety hazard?” I ask, motioning to my ten-year-old nephew on his four-wheeler.
Jax stands behind his wife, his arms around her. “I’m sure.”
I sigh, looking at all the phones out filming everything. “Madoc is trying his hardest to get canceled.”
Just wait till someone online takes issue with it.
“And yet, everyone just adores him,” Jax says with a hint of pride. “What do you think, honey?”
Juliet leans back into Jax’s nuzzling. “I think we’re about to have a senator in our pocket.”
Jax laughs, and I turn my eyes back on Madoc, seeing him shoot one of Fallon’s balls like a basketball into an empty stroller, the parents clapping and laughing with the toddler in their arms.
“You don’t wrangle him in,” I mutter, “you’re going to have a president in your pocket.”
They chuckle.
I don’t.
They stop smiling because they realize I’m not kidding.
Jax’s face falls, followed by Juliet’s worrying wide eyes.
“Jared would kill him,” Jax says.
“Fallon would kill him first,” she replies.
I continue on my way, amused. We could all try to hold Madoc back, but an unhappy Madoc is like a sea monster. You’re not sure it exists, and you don’t really want to find out, either.
I weave through the parade, cross the street, and jump on my bike.
Pedaling hard, I work my way back up to Eagle Point Park, the scent of freshly mown lawns and charcoal barbecues filling the air.
Firecrackers and bottle rockets pop and whistle as I ride past houses, and the music from the parade follows me, only fading a little through all the trees that hang over me in the park.
I coast, climbing off the bike and standing on one pedal all the way to my booth. Codi has arrived and helps arrange the treats, while Hailey stocks napkins.
“I’m burning some calories today,” I joke as I halt the bike and park it behind the booth.
A few people start to drift down through, while others are still busy setting up nets and lawn games for the kids.
I step up to Codi’s side. “Thank you for being here.”
She peeks up at me through the hair in her eyes, and I quickly take in her clothes. She wears cut-offs, but the same tattered, dark blue T-shirt hangs over her body.
“The parade will be over soon,” I tell both of them. “We’ll be swamped.”
“That’s cool with me,” Hailey calls out. “The more tips, the better my night’s going to be.”
Codi doesn’t add anything. What is she doing tonight? From what Farrow says, Weston might show up, but I haven’t seen them yet.
I touch Codi’s arm. “Sit down.”
I point to the chair, and she hesitates. But she sits.
Pulling my brush out of my backpack, I gently take her long hair and start untangling the ends, lightly at first, in case she gets nervous.
But Codi doesn’t fight, and before long, I’m running the brush over her scalp, relaxing when I see her head fall back a little and her eyes close.
Parting it in the middle, I pull it back into two French braids, securing it with the two rubber bands around my wrist. Then I tug at her blue T-shirt. “May I?”
She stiffens, but after a moment, she nods. Lightly, I pull it up, over her head, leaving her in her white tank top that’s more blue-gray than white anymore.
Taking off Lucas’s blue Cubs cab, I put it on her and dab a little of Aro’s red lipstick on her mouth.
“There.” I smile. “Red, white, and blue.”
I bring up the camera on my phone and try to show her, but she looks away instead.
Is she mad? She swallows, but she looks back up and nods again with a gentle smile. She doesn’t look in the camera, though.
I put it away, and she stands for the first customer.
“Codi, cute.” Mace bobs her head in approval as she steals a muffin and takes a bite.
Codi shies away, but I see the little smile she holds back.
In an hour, the park is packed, and I spot Dylan and Aro chasing AJ, James, and Aro’s brother Matty around.
Noah lurks around the booth, devouring two cheese danishes, four cookies, two Rice Krispies Treats, and a whole bag of red, white, and blue chocolate-covered pretzels.
He hands Codi money. He looks at her, I look at her, she doesn’t look at him, I look at him, he looks at me, he looks away, and I fold my lips between my teeth to stifle the smile. He likes the quiet ones, doesn’t he?
“What the hell happened to your leg?”
I hear Jared’s voice and inhale a long breath before I face him.
Lucas stands just behind him, talking with Madoc and Jax, but everyone’s attention is on me now.
Lucas’s mouth hangs slightly open as he fists a frozen drink.
And all of a sudden, the bruises that were a minor tingle earlier now burn.
Everyone is staring at the marks left by his fingers last night.
“Oh, um…” I shake my head, trying to think of a lie.
Damn, even Noah is staring at me.
Lucas steps up, about to say something to Jared, but I recover.
“I hooked up with this guy at the gym last night,” I joke. “We dry-humped in the locker room.”
Dylan, who I didn’t realize was that close, bursts into laughter, while Madoc rolls his eyes.
Jared gripes, “I’m not amused.”
Heh. They think I’m lying. I’m almost insulted they think I’m not capable.
I restock the paper sleeves, mocking, “Well, are you done then? I’m working.”
They drift off, Jax and Madoc taking a free treat, and I risk a glance up at Lucas. He barely breathes.
While nervous a moment ago, his eyes linger on my legs like he’s retracing every second of last night, same as me.
He’s going to come up to me. He can’t stop himself.
He’s going to take my ass in his hand and pull me in. In front of everyone.
Noah would. Farrow would. My brothers would with their wives. Hunter and Hawke would with Dylan and Aro.
Looking like he’s got two lungfuls of air locked in his chest, he pivots and follows my brothers, though.
I hood my eyes, sighing.
Whipping around, I’m about to throw the rest of the sleeves back into the box, but Noah stares at me as he stands between my booth and another vendor.
His brow damn-near touches his hairline as he no doubt saw the two of us eye-fucking each other.
He grins, and I’m sure he knows exactly where I got the bruises now.
When I look back at Lucas, he’s leaving. Walking over to Madoc, he downs the rest of his drink, kicks off his shoes, and joins him in the volleyball pit.
“Quinn?” Noah says.
“What?”
He leans against one of the poles that holds up the tent. “I knew it when he crashed your party the other night. He was out of his mind.”
Taking tongs, I place the rest of the danishes and cover them with the lid.
Noah plops his ass up on a stack of coolers, gulping down his Solo cup of beer. “He was jealous.”
“Nothing happened,” I whisper, checking that Codi and Hailey are tending to customers on the other side. “And get down from there.”
I give him a little slap on the cheek as I scold.
But he doesn’t get off, leaning in to catch my eyes. “Jared is going to kill him.”
Looking over, I see Lucas tear off his T-shirt as he glows with sweat already on the volleyball court, the muscles in his arms and chest flexing as he comes in for shots.
His damp hair sticks up in places and catches the wind in others, and he looks twenty again.
I had my legs wrapped around that body last night.
“God, I don’t care,” I breathe out with a laugh.
I’d rather not admit I’m anything like my brothers, but now I understand. When it comes to wanting someone, I can’t stop.
“Good,” Noah tells me. “Because the way he’s looking at you, he’s about ready to kidnap you and take you back to Dubai with him where you two won’t be interrupted.”
I meet my new friend’s eyes, feeling the heat rise in my cheeks as my heart picks up pace. Is Lucas really looking at me?
Noah exhales with a longing look. “I miss that feeling.”
“What feeling?”
He searches for his words. “You can’t think,” he says. “Can’t see reason. Can’t make the responsible decision you know you’re supposed to make because you don’t want to stop feeling her. You can’t.”
“How many times have you felt that?”
He’s lost in thought for a moment, then shrugs. “Not enough.”
“So what do I do next?”
Noah slides off the coolers, walks to the vendor next door, and talks to Brionne Sherwood who’s selling wrap skirts, Hawaiian shirts, and dresses. Bringing me a red-and-white-checkered sundress with spaghetti straps, he hands it to me.
I frown. It’s the same pattern as a picnic blanket I grew up with.
“Trust me,” he says.