Chapter 5 Talon
TALON
If I didn’t have a job to do here, I would grab her cousin by the back of his neck and smash his face into the punch bowl until he stops breathing. How dare these people take digs at Ainsley.
Can’t they see the kind of person she is?
She surpasses them in every possible way.
She’s gentle and kind, patient and understanding.
I’ve seen evidence of that for myself in the way she’s interacted with me.
I’ve seen it in the way she withstands her family’s cruelty without letting it harden her.
I saw it throughout her social media—the animal charities she donates to and the shelter where she volunteers a few days a month.
She genuinely cares. Maybe she sees some of herself in those abandoned or forgotten animals.
I’m losing my grip. That could be the problem. Like it’s not bad enough, I spent way too much time stalking her and her family online. Now I’m making up stories about her in my head.
It seems I managed to shut everybody up, at least. Her aunt and uncle weren’t here when I told her old man off, but their infrequent, stolen glances at me say Aunt Mary filled them in.
There’s not much conversation going on, probably as a result.
What, did they not have anything better to talk about tonight than Ainsley?
When everybody’s distracted by the couple’s first dance, I take the opportunity to lean in and murmur in her ear. “Looks like I made it so they can’t talk about their favorite topic. You.”
“I still can’t believe you said those things to my dad.”
“I was only defending you.”
“Oh, I’m not blaming you,” she whispers, eyes wide. “I’m… grateful.”
“It was nothing. Hell, I enjoyed it. I would do it again.”
“Oh God, please don’t. I’m already in for a ton of grief tomorrow.”
I see what she means, but I’m still not sorry. “If anybody has a problem, you send them my way.”
Her smile is a little sad. “Remember, I wouldn’t know how to tell them to find you.”
“Good point.” I don’t need any extra complications, which is exactly what this girl presents.
So why do I have to bite my tongue to keep from offering her my number?
I have a job to do, and the last thing I need is to give my target’s cousin my phone number.
That’s a rookie mistake, and I am no rookie.
But damn if it isn’t tempting. Especially when I remember how happy and proud she looked when I set everybody straight. She needs more of that in her life. She needs somebody like me to say the things she can’t find the words for.
At least now that the meal is over, there’s no reason for the family to sit together.
All I got when I asked Ainsley to dance was a blank-faced stare, so I guess that’s out.
Works for me since I’m not much of a dancer.
That’s not where my skill lies. Instead, we walk around the venue, getting drinks at the bar before stepping outside, where other guests drink and smoke.
Paul is one of them, standing with a group of guys who probably shouldn’t get behind the wheel of a car tonight for the sake of everybody else on the road.
“Nah, it was too much of a hassle,” he announces loudly. “All the shit you have to do before the wedding? I don’t have time for that, and that’s what I told Michael.”
Ainsley snorts from our end of the deck, keeping her face turned forward. “He’s so full of crap. Michael didn’t ask him because nobody likes him.”
“And there I was, thinking the guy couldn’t have any sense if he was marrying into your family.”
“They aren’t all bad, really. Caroline’s actually nice. Sometimes I wish she wouldn’t be, so then I wouldn’t feel bad for hating her.”
“You hate her?” Paul’s drunk as hell and destined to be worse still by the end of the night.
A low railing runs along the perimeter of the deck we’re now standing on, and underneath it is what has to be a man-made stream, lined with decorative boulders on either side.
It wouldn’t take anything to break the fucker’s neck and throw him over the side to make it look like an accident.
I lean over the rail to look down. It’s at least a twenty-foot drop. There are no cameras out here, either.
Ainsley, unaware of this, shrugs. “Not really. You know what I mean. She’s so perfect. I can’t help it.”
Perfect? I look over my shoulder, and from where I’m standing, there is a clear view of the dance floor.
The bride is dancing like nobody’s watching, as the saying goes, with her bridesmaids gathered around her.
They remind me of a bunch of Barbie dolls—the Basic Bitch line.
“She’s all right, if you’re into vapid bleached blondes. ”
“You don’t even know her. You can’t say she’s vapid.”
“But she bleaches her hair.”
“Okay, yeah. I’ll give you that. But that’s not a crime.”
“As far as I’m concerned, if your cousin ever heard her brother talk to you the way he did today and let him get to the end of it without kicking him in the balls, she’s not worth my esteem.”
She tries to laugh it off until she sees how very serious I am as I stare down at her. “You mean that, don’t you?”
“Entirely. These people? They’re nothing. They don’t have a fraction of your character—and I don’t think I’ve ever complimented anyone on their character before, so that makes you unique.”
“How do you know about my character?”
“Same way I knew about your father’s job. I did my research.”
“You’d better be careful,” she warns, solemn. “You might be able to laugh it off, but he’s got friends in high places. I wouldn’t want to see anything happen to you because you were defending me.”
“I have nothing to worry about.”
When she lifts an eyebrow, there is a moment I have to ask myself if she knows more than she’s letting on. But that’s impossible. She doesn’t know me at all, only what I’ve shown her so far.
“I guess you do look like a guy who is not afraid of anything.” She squints her eyes, examining me curiously. “The tattoo on the back of your hand for example. What’s that all about?”
“It’s a long story. A family thing.”
“You have a family?”
“No, I hatched from an egg somebody picked up on the beach.” She only rolls her eyes while I chuckle at her reaction. “Yes, I have a family. Two brothers. I haven’t seen them in a long time.”
“Do they live far away?” I nod. “Do they have matching tattoos?”
“You got it. It keeps them with me, even though we’re not together.” Fuck, I shouldn’t tell her any of this. Ainsley has this way of making me want to tell her about me. The real me.
She shakes her head slowly. “You are a very interesting person. I’m sorry I misjudged you when we first met. You were a little intimidating.”
“Yeah, I guess I can come off pretty scary.”
“That, and I’m not used to guys like you coming up to me out of nowhere and trying to make conversation.”
“Guys like me? Scary guys with ink all over them?”
Her teeth sink into her lip before she looks out over the stream, away from me. “That wasn’t what I meant, but now that you mention it, yes. That, too.”
A breeze stirs her hair, making it brush against her cheek.
I’m halfway to tucking it behind her ear before I stop myself.
What the hell is this? I have to be careful, and not only because I’m here on a job.
A girl who wears a miles-wide ball gown to a wedding because she thought it was pretty, a girl with nobody but pets at home to greet her tonight, might take that the wrong way. I can’t lead her on.
“All right, ladies!” The DJ’s voice rings out loud and clear, and we both turn to look inside. “You know what time it is. If there isn’t a ring on it, get out here on the dance floor for your chance to catch the bride’s bouquet!”
“Well?” I prompt when Ainsley remains rooted to the spot. A few of the girls dash inside, giggling, but not her.
“Well, what?”
“Aren’t you going in? You don’t have a ring on it,” I tease.
“Yeah, but… I don’t know.” She crosses her arms over her chest, trembling.
“Fuck them.” I nearly snarl before pulling back. I can’t afford to alienate her. “You have just as much of a reason to try to catch the bouquet as anybody else.”
“Who would want to marry me?” She catches herself, sliding me a guilty look. “I’m not really expecting an answer.”
“I didn’t think you were. And I still think you need to get your ass out there, and anybody who tries to get in your way needs an elbow to the face.
” She bursts into helpless giggles while I take her by the hand and pull her inside.
“Let’s go. I want to see you catch that bouquet, then hold it over your head and shriek like an Amazonian warrior. ”
“Okay, I’ll try. But I can’t promise the whole thing.
” At least she’s smiling now as she takes her place among the dozens of other girls vying for a chance.
I make it a point to look around, searching for her mother—and it’s no surprise to find her shaking her head and rolling her eyes.
Some mother. It’s times like this I’m glad I never have to deal with one of my own.
Sometimes, not having one is preferable.
Caroline stands on the raised platform where the DJ equipment sits, and she turns her back to the girls. “Okay, ladies. Here we go!” The DJ holds up a hand, counting down with his fingers. “One, two, three!”
The bouquet sails through the air, and it’s better than one of those Black Friday sale videos where everybody’s elbowing each other, trying to get the last discounted TV.
I can’t stop myself from laughing, the way so many others do, as the girls fumble with the bouquet, which bobs over their outstretched hands like a boat on the waves.
Nobody can seem to get a good grip on it.
Until one of them does. “I did it!” There’s a lot of half-hearted applause from the losers, all of whom slowly back away to reveal the victor.