Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
SCARLETT
“ W hoa.”
“What?” Dad asks, looking down at his nice, blue polo shirt and khaki shorts. “Did I drop something on myself?”
“No, you look really nice,” I reply and stand to straighten his collar. “What are you all dressed up for?”
Before he can answer, the doorbell rings.
“Hold that thought.” I hurry over to the front door and find Tucker standing on the other side. He’s in a sharp green button-down with jeans that hug his thighs perfectly. He shuffles back and forth on his cowboy boots.
And he’s holding flowers.
“Dad, your date’s here.”
Tucker’s eyes dance with humor as he steps inside.
“He’s not my date,” Dad says with a laugh.
“What’s going on?” I ask, tilting my head to the side and hooking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
“These are for you,” Tucker says, holding the arrangement of red poppies and purple lilacs in my direction. “And I’m taking you out on the town this evening.”
“Is Dad coming with us?” I raise a brow and look back at my father, who’s currently smiling like the Cheshire Cat.
“Nah, I’ve got poker night,” Dad replies.
“And Chloe’s at a friend’s house for the night.” Tucker leans against the door and grins at me. “So, we have the whole evening to ourselves.”
“Poker? Dad, are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“I had a stroke, I’m not dead. I’ll be here at home—my walker within reach—and the guys will be here if I need something. Go on your date, and don’t worry about me.”
“But…” I look down at my cut-off shorts and dirty tank top. “I’ve been scrubbing bathrooms,” I inform Tucker. “I’m in no shape to go out right now.”
“You’ve got thirty minutes,” Tucker replies, his eyes sweeping up and down my body, leaving gooseflesh in the wake of his gaze. “And then you’re mine.”
“Thirty minutes?” I laugh and shake my head. “I need at least an hour.”
“Thirty,” Tucker repeats, his voice strong, leaving no room for argument. He’s gazing at me with lust and manly affection, and I can’t resist him.
“I’d better hurry.”
I rush up the stairs to my room, excited about my impromptu date, and strip out of my clothes. A decade of concerts with more costume changes than a girl can shake a stick at has come in surprisingly handy for this occasion.
I’m in and out of the shower in five minutes. Thankfully, I washed my hair last night, so all I have to do is use the blow-dryer and a big brush to tame my long locks. At the halfway point of my allotted time, I brush on some makeup and hurry to the closet.
This is going to be the hard part. What the hell do I wear? I wish I had my full wardrobe back in Tennessee to work with. Sure, Tuck’s always just been a friend, but we’re much more than that now, and I want to look my best.
I’ll ponder the whole more thought later. There’s no time right now.
It’s warm out this evening, so I settle on a pretty summer dress. It’s pink, flowy, and falls off one shoulder.
With one last look in the mirror, I slip on some brown sandals and hurry downstairs.
“Twenty-eight minutes,” I say triumphantly. “That’s a record.”
Tucker’s eyes are pinned to me, and his jaw drops. The lust in his eyes has me squeezing my thighs together. This man is lethal.
“You sure look nice, sugar,” Dad says as he plants a kiss on my cheek. “Now, you two have fun tonight. Be careful. Be safe , if you know what I mean.”
“Dad.”
“Do you have condoms?” he asks Tucker, pulling him out of the apparent lusty fog he’s been in. “Because if not, I might have some?—”
“Oh my God, Dad.” I cover my ears and close my eyes. “Stop talking.”
Tucker wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me against him. “We’re good to go.”
“All right, then. Have fun, you two.” Dad smiles smugly. “I just want to say, I told you so.”
“Goodnight,” I say, narrowing my eyes at my father. “Wait, we can’t leave until your friends get here. What time are they coming?”
We hear a car door slam.
“Sounds like right now,” Dad says. “Don’t come home before midnight. We play pretty late, and no women allowed.”
“So noted,” I mumble, feeling frazzled as Tucker guides me down the porch steps toward his car in his driveway.
“Hi, Miss Scarlett,” Ray Howard calls with a wave. “Thanks for letting us borrow your daddy tonight.”
“Have fun!” I wave back and climb into Tucker’s car. “I haven’t seen Ray since I was a kid.”
“He and your dad are close,” Tucker says with a nod and pulls away from the house. “Rick will be well taken care of tonight.”
“How long have you been planning this?”
“A few days.” He glances at me and grins. His face is freshly shaven, and I can’t resist reaching out to brush my fingertips down his cheek. He takes my hand in his and kisses my knuckles before resting our linked hands on his leg.
“Where are we going?”
“Are you hungry?” he asks.
“I’m always hungry.”
He nods. “How does Mama Italiana sound?”
“Delicious.”
I settle back against the seat and watch our little town pass by. It’s changed so much. Grown dramatically. So much so that I barely recognize it.
“When did that little strip mall go in?”
“About ten years ago.”
New Hope is charming. A river runs right through it, with huge oak trees flanking it on either side. It’s perfect for picnics and parties.
“Looks like they paved those walking paths by the river.”
“A few years ago, yeah. It’s great for running, walking, biking. You name it.”
“I like it.”
He squeezes my hand and pulls into Mama’s. It’s a Friday evening, so the lot is full. Mama’s makes the best lasagna in the state and has been a hotspot in town for three decades.
“It’s good to see that some things haven’t changed.”
“Like the food?”
“Exactly. It wouldn’t be home without Charlie’s and Mama’s.”
Tucker walks around the car to open my door, takes my hand, and leads me into the restaurant. The tables are covered in red-and-white-checkered tablecloths. The room is dimly lit, with candles stuck in wine bottles on every table.
“Hi, Mr. Tucker,” a pretty young woman says with a bright smile when she sees us. “I have your table ready.”
“Thanks, Shelly.”
She preens and leads us through the packed restaurant to a table in the back. I notice that people see us, recognize us, but no one says a thing to me.
Tucker, on the other hand, is a different story. People wave, or call out, “hey there, Tucker.” He smiles and waves back as we weave our way through the tables.
This is new for me. I’m usually the one everyone wants to say hello to, wants to hug and have their photo taken with.
But tonight, in our hometown, Tucker’s the celebrity. I might as well be invisible.
I don’t know how to feel about that.
“I’ll sit next to you, if you don’t mind,” Tucker says, sliding into the booth next to me, rather than across from me.
“I don’t mind.”
“Here you go,” Shelly says, passing us laminated menus, and then, after giving Tucker another big smile, showing off a dimple in her left cheek, she sashays away.
“I don’t even have to look at it,” Tucker says, setting his menu aside. “I get the same thing every time.”
I glance over the menu, surprised to see that nothing on it has changed since I left town. “I guess I’m the same.”
I lay my menu on top of his, and just as he leans in to whisper something in my ear, a woman approaches the table.
She glances at me, but she’s all about Tucker as she touches his shoulder and smiles.
“I wanted to come over to say thank you again for stopping by the other night. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”
She winks at him, her hand still resting on his shoulder, and I feel my eyes narrow on her.
He was at her house? What did he do for her, exactly?
I’m not used to feeling jealous. At all.
I’m not a jealous woman.
But I don’t like this.
“Just doing my job,” Tucker replies, then turns back to me, dismissing the blonde. She smiles and awkwardly turns away. “You look amazing,” he whispers in my ear.
“Thanks. I didn’t have a lot of time to get ready. Who was that?”
“Maryanne Thompson. Her cat was stuck in a tree.”
“That’s a little cliché, isn’t it?”
She probably put her pet in the tree on purpose. Poor thing.
Tucker shrugs and kisses the spot below my ear, causing me to shiver. “I just responded to the call.”
“Isn’t that something a firefighter would normally take care of?” I ask, tilting my head a little to the side so he has more room to keep kissing me.
“The department was already on a call. Are you jealous?”
“No,” I scoff, shaking my head. “I don’t get jealous. It’s not part of my DNA.”
“Good.” His hand slides over my thigh, and through the thin material of my dress, I can feel his warmth. All thoughts of Maryanne and her cat fly right out the window. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since our kiss.”
I drag in a ragged breath and look around. We’re in a corner, and no one is paying us any attention. There sure as heck isn’t any paparazzi around, and the tablecloth reaches the floor.
I part my legs, allowing his hand to drop between them.
Tucker’s eyes fly to mine, a mischievous grin on his handsome face. “You always were a little wild.”
“Not much has changed.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” he whispers, capturing my lips in another kiss. “Everything has changed.”
His hand inches higher and higher, lifting my dress with its ascent, and… Oh, God. Come on, Tucker, just do it already.
I’m so freaking turned on. If we weren’t in a busy restaurant, I’d climb on top of him and take over.
“Tucker Andrews, is that you?”
Seriously? We’re interrupted, again, this time by a brunette with big, brown eyes and fake boobs bigger than Dolly’s.
“Hey, Darla.”
Dolly, Darla. Darla, Dolly. Close enough.
The difference is, I adore Dolly. She’s always been nothing but sweet to me. Writing Whiskey and Roses with her three years ago was one of the biggest honors of my life.
Darla, however, can take a long walk off a short pier. How dare she think it’s okay to just walk up and interrupt two people when they’re…okay, so maybe she didn’t exactly know what she was interrupting. But, still. It’s rude.
And something that happens to me all the damn time, which is why I sit back and take a deep breath.
“I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen you out of your uniform. You’re usually always on duty. Casual looks good on you.” Darla props her hands on her hips, showcasing her impressive breasts, and really, I want to laugh.
But I’m not a mean girl.
I am, however, a little territorial, and she needs to step back.
“He surprised me with a night out,” I say, taking Tuck’s hand in mine. I kiss his shoulder and smile up at her. “Isn’t that sweet?”
Darla’s smile falters as she looks at our hands. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t Scarlett Kincaid. I heard you were in town.”
I tilt my head to the side. “I’m sorry, I don’t believe we’ve met. Are you from around here?”
She nods smugly and licks her lips as her eyes fall to Tucker. “Born and raised, but you probably don’t remember me from school. I’m quite a bit younger than you.”
“Ah. Well, I’m sure there are men your own age around here somewhere. Now, if you don’t mind, we’d like to get back to our date.”
I smile innocently, and Darla scowls, looking at Tucker to save her.
“It was nice seeing you, Darla. Enjoy your evening,” he says, dismissing her in the nicest possible way.
Her jaw drops, and then she huffs away.
“You don’t get jealous, huh? Your brown eyes are looking a bit green, sweetheart.”
I shrug my bare shoulder. “I mean, I’m sitting right here . They can flirt with you when I’m not around.”
He kisses my temple just as our waitress arrives.
“Hey, Tucker. Scarlett.” She pulls a pad of paper out of the pocket on her apron. “What can I get y’all tonight?”
“Lasagna, extra bread,” I inform her, fully intending to spend the morning working out to burn off the extra carbs.
“Two of those,” Tucker says.
“Drinks?”
“Two sweet teas,” Tucker replies before I can respond, and then the waitress is gone, weaving her way through the full tables. “You don’t have anything to be jealous of.”
“I told you, I’m not jealous,” I lie easily, sipping my water.
“No. Not at all.” He laughs and wraps an arm around my shoulders, tugging me closer to him. “You’re the poster child for calm and collected.”
“I know.”
He laughs now and kisses my cheek. Affectionate Tucker is new. He wasn’t this handsy when he was seventeen. Then again… I didn’t give him the chance to be.
I like it.
A lot.
“You have good hands,” I inform him, running my fingers over his knuckles.
“Keep touching me like that, and I’ll have to show you just how good they can be,” he breathes, and the entire room falls away, leaving just the two of us.
It’s like something out of a cheesy chick flick, and I love it more than I can say. My heart pounds, my breaths coming fast as I stare up into his eyes, wishing he would kiss me and touch me.
Because Tucker can kiss.
“Tucker…” In a brazen move, I take his hand and put it back on my thigh.
“Here ya go,” the waitress says as she sets our plates in front of us.
Really? I blow out a breath, and Tucker laughs. He’s enjoying this. He knows that I’m absolutely crazy for him, and he’s getting a kick out of my frustration.
“That was quick,” I say.
“Lasagna and bread is pretty easy.” She winks, sets our teas on the table, then hurries away.
“I’m starving,” I say, trying to calm my libido. Plus, the faster we eat, the quicker we can get out of here.
“Me, too,” he replies. But his eyes aren’t on our delicious meal, they’re on me. My body heats under his stare, and I nudge him with my arm.
“Food will have to do for now, I guess.”
“Lightning bugs.” I point ahead on the path where the insects bob and weave through the air.
“You always had a soft spot for them. Wouldn’t let me catch them.”
“You used to pull their lights off,” I say, remembering the days we spent running together down by the river.
One evening, Tucker pulled a light from a lightning bug and stuck it on my ring finger. “It looks like a diamond on your hand,” he said, proud of what he’d done.
“Ew, get that off me.” I wiped my finger off in the grass and scowled at Tucker. “You just killed an innocent bug to put a gross green light on my finger.”
“Next time I put something on your finger, it’ll be a ring,” was his reply. Tucker wasn’t a cocky sixteen-year-old, but he knew what he wanted, and he wanted me. Unfortunately, I was a bitch of epic proportions, and the only thing I had my eye on was getting the hell out of dodge.
“In your dreams, Tucker Andrews.”
“What are you thinking about?” Tucker asks, pulling me from the memory.
“Us.”
“I like that topic. What about us?”
After dinner, we decided to wander by the river, hand in hand. The sexual tension between us has been off the charts. Part of me wishes we’d gone right home to get naked and sweaty.
The other part of me is happy for this reprieve. Things are moving fast between us. I don’t regret it—at all—but once we do this, there’s no going back. We’ll officially cross the line from childhood buddies to lovers, and I admit, I’m a bit nervous.
I’m not second-guessing. There’s a difference.
When I’m around Tucker, my body feels like a live wire, and when he touches me, I light up. Just the thought of him being on top of me, feeling the weight of his body as he devours me, has me sucking in a sharp breath.
“Are you feeling okay? I can take you home if you’re not,” he offers, looking a little disappointed at the prospect.
“I can’t go home,” I remind him. “No women allowed, remember?”
He grins. “Pretty sure your dad wouldn’t kick you out.”
“I don’t want to go home.”
We stop on the sidewalk by his car. He grips my shoulders and turns me to face him. His eyes shine in the moonlight. His jaw is firm and tight, his hands warm.
He’s home for me. He always has been.
“I don’t want to go to my dad’s house. I want to go home with you.”
“There’s nothing I would love more than to take you back to my place. But, Scarlett, you look nervous.” He presses a hand over the left side of my chest. “Your heart is beating a mile a minute, and your cheeks are flushed. Sweetheart, we don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for.” He drags a knuckle down the apple of my cheek. “We’re in no hurry, Scar.”
“I don’t have jitters. I’m no virgin, Tuck, any more than you are. That’s just what you do to me. Being close to you makes my heart race.”
He smiles. “Nothing else is bothering you, then?”
“Maybe one thing.” He cups my cheek, and I close my hand over his, leaning into his touch. “I don’t want to lose our friendship. If something happens, and we don’t work out, I don’t want to lose you again. I just got you back.”
He steps closer and lowers his face to within inches of mine.
“I’m not going anywhere. Whether we go home and make love all night, or you tell me to back the hell off, I’m your friend, Scarlett.”
I don’t deserve him. I don’t deserve this tenderness, this loyalty.
But I won’t reject it. I didn’t know how much I missed this, missed him until I had him back in my life again, and I will not fuck this up.
“Now what are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking that it’s about time you take me back to your place and have your way with me.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. What’re you thinking?” Please tell me you’re thinking the same thing .
“I’m thinking that you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
“I like it. Keep going.”
“And I’m the luckiest man in the world because I’m here with you.”
“Tuck?”
“Yes, sweetness.”
“Take me home before I get you naked on the hood of your car.”
“Yes, ma’am.”