Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Tucker
Well, well, well. If it isn’t the runner.
I assumed I’d bump into her again at some point. In fact, I had plans to visit the Grill again, every night this week if necessary, in the off chance that I would. This island is small, with a population of less than a thousand people in six square miles. It’s really hard to hide in a place like this.
But on the flip side, I never expected the woman who charmed me last night would be the maid of honor in the very wedding I’m here to celebrate, myself. Lady Luck is definitely shining her bright light on me today.
Penny is babbling faster than usual, which means Kate probably told her about meeting me last night. And it’s obvious from the whole “J.T., explained” conversation, Penny didn’t put two and two together until this very moment .
I wonder what Kate said about me, and if she told Penny why she ran.
“Kate owns Bush Monkey Bar & Grill.”
I tune back in to Penny’s constant chatter with those words. Turning my gaze on Kate, I cock my head and smile.
“Oh, really? I actually ate there last night when I got into town. The chili-cheese fries are amazing.”
Her cheeks bloom with a pretty shade of pink as Logan says, “Those are Kate’s favorite. She goes in when she’s not even working just to have a plate of them.”
“Does she, now?” I ask, keeping my gaze locked on the woman in question.
“Geez, Logan. You act like I never cook for myself,” she says, finally seeming to regain control of her voice.
“Do you? I’ve never seen it,” he quips back.
“Okay, Lo,” Penny says like an old pro at breaking up squabbles between these two, “stop picking on Kate before she punches you and gives you a black eye for the wedding pictures.”
“I’ll do it, too,” Kate says as Logan holds up his palms in supplication.
Seeming to have shed her initial shock, and dare I say, embarrassment, at seeing me, she grins as she bounces lightly from one foot to the other, shadow boxing in Logan’s general direction.
“I’m about to do to you what Limp Bizkit did to music in the late nineties,” Kate says, and holy shit, did she just quote Deadpool ?
I’m distracted again as she bounces higher, the skirt of the pretty sundress she’s wearing floating up and down with the movement, revealing quick peeks of her mouth-wateringly rounded thighs with each jump. My gaze wanders up to her chest, and her tits are bouncing, too, making me salivate as I imagine peeling the thin straps of the dress off her shoulders to see them.
Shaking off the trance, I frown as reality crashes down on me. I can’t sleep with her. This is Logan’s wedding. He’s my best friend, and Kate is Penny’s, as well as her maid of honor. If I sleep with her, it could make things…complicated.
And I refuse to cause any unneeded drama for the happy couple this week. I love them both too much to mess this up.
Besides, if the way she reacted to that douche in the bar is any indication, Kate’s not a one-night stand kind of woman. And one night is all I’m ever willing to offer. Okay, maybe two, but that’s the cap. I’m not ready to settle down, and I don’t know if I ever will be.
“J.T.’s family owns Rizzle Spiked Seltzer,” Penny says when Kate and Logan finish their “fight.”
She tries to mask it, but there’s no hiding the way Kate’s mouth turns down for an instant before she recovers. A low chuckle slips out of me.
“Not a fan of Rizzle?” I ask, and her cheeks bloom with fresh color.
Despite that gorgeous blush, she meets my gaze full-on. “Not particularly.”
A laugh barks out of me. “At least you’re honest. I actually kind of despise them, myself.”
Kate’s full lips turn up at the corners, and I return her smile. Just like last night, what she says and does is completely unexpected. Speaking from experience, most women simper and coo when they find out about my ties to Rizzle with hopes that telling me how much they love the canned drinks will stroke my ego and ingratiate themselves to me.
But Kate? Kate tells it like it is. And I love that.
Logan asks Penny to help him with something in the kitchen, and she drags her feet, shooting worried looks at Kate. Kate jerks her head, telling Penny to go, and Penny sighs loudly before following Logan out of the room.
Once we’re alone, I cross my arms over my chest and narrow my eyes. “So, am I your dirty little secret, then? Why did you pretend we’ve never met?”
She stiffens for a moment, looking somewhat disjointed by my directness, but quickly recovers, saying, “Sorry about that. I panicked.”
I arch one brow. “Why is that?”
Shrugging and shaking her head, she takes a deep breath and says, “I guess I only wanted to keep things light and happy today. I didn’t want to get into a long explanation for Logan that ends with you ditching me while I was in the bathroom.”
Her directness sends a shiver of shock hurdling through me before her actual words register. When they do, my head rears back.
“I didn’t ditch you. You ditched me.”
She shakes her head again, then mimics my stance by crossing her own arms over her chest. “I told you I’d be right back when I went to the restroom. And when I came out, you were gone. It’s okay. I totally get it.”
She says that like she knows the “real” reason I left. Even though I didn’t. And there’s no reason I would’ve walked out. In fact, I was planning on asking her if she wanted to leave––with me––so we could find some privacy and get to know each other a lot better.
But I won’t mention that. Not now that I know who she really is and how we’re connected.
“Well, I don’t get it ,” I say, “and I told you, I didn’t ditch you. After you went to the ladies’ room, my father called me to discuss an issue at work. It was loud in the bar, so I paid our tab before you could and stepped out onto the patio to take his call. When I got back, our places at the bar had been cleared and the bartender said you’d left.”
Her eyes widen with that, and I can see the gears turning in her head. It was obviously a big misunderstanding. She thought I’d snuck out while she used the toilet, so she left, too.
While it’s nice to know she didn’t actually run out on me, I’ve already made the decision not to go there. This week is too important for me to mess up by sleeping with a fellow member of the wedding party and causing unnecessary drama.
Even if she is damn irresistible with those luscious curves and that smart little mouth.
I should resist. Even if it seems impossible.
God, this is going to be one long-ass week.