CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
Cassie
“That’s it, Princess. Christ, I’ll never get over the way your tight little cunt clenches my fingers …
” Haden murmurs as I look out the window of his truck into the brush somewhere on one of the Ashbys’s maintenance roads.
My eyes roll back as he strokes my G-spot the way only he can, and my legs start to shake as I clench my thighs together and moan his name.
“We’re gonna be late,” I whimper.
Of course we didn’t make it from the wedding ceremony to the reception without making a side-of-the-road pitstop.
“No we’re not, beautiful, because your legs are already shakin’,” Haden chuckles, pulling the top of my dress down, freeing my aching breasts and flicking his tongue over my nipple. “And I’m willing to bet I can make you soak my hand before even another minute passes.”
Goddammit, he’s right. Heat and pressure build in my core as I thank my lucky stars these truck windows are so deeply tinted.
“So cocky,” I murmur as I grind against his hand, while his thumb adds pressure to my clit and I buckle.
“For good reason. Now show me what I have to look forward to later. Come for me, baby.”
“Haden! Shit!” I cry out, slapping a hand to the glass as my orgasm takes hold and I ride his hand, coming all over him just like he said I would.
“Fuck,” I whisper.
“Fuck is right,” he says, kissing me on the lips.
“How’s my makeup?” I ask him, knowing it’s a mess.
He doesn’t hesitate. “Just how I like it, fucked right up from kissing me.”
I kiss him again and he pulls his fingers from me, sucking them clean. “That’ll get me through dinner,” he says as I try to catch my breath. Just as I fix my panties and my dress, headlights shine behind us. I sit up straight and realize it’s Dusty.
Haden starts to chuckle as Dusty and his date pass us, with Dusty shaking his head, a huge grin on his face as he waves at us.
I’m pretty sure I’ve just turned the color of a ripe tomato.
The foggy windows tell the story of what just happened here.
There’s no denying it. I pull the mirror down and realize I need a bathroom stat, and to never see Dusty again.
“It’s just the truck, you know. It holds so many memories,” I say as I work on making my smudged mascara presentable.
“Uh-huh,” Haden agrees as he starts the truck. “Whatever gets you through the day, Princess.”
Fifteen minutes later, I enter the newly constructed all pine and ornate iron ladies’ room in the new Ashby barn, before we sit for dinner, to fix my lipstick and check on my hair after our truck tryst. Loud music plays through speakers but I instantly realize I’m not alone.
I stop applying my lipstick when I hear what almost sounds like a whimper.
I glance over my shoulder, and a few seconds later I think I hear a grunt.
I have a moment of panic wondering if I’m in the men’s room by mistake.
But I know I’m not, because there are baskets on the counter with women’s hairspray, deodorant, perfume, brand-new lip glosses, tampons and gum.
Another second goes by as I replace the cap on my lipstick and I hear a deep voice whisper “fuck” from behind a stall door.
My eyes grow wide as it dawns on me. People are fucking in there.
I glance down to see a rather killer left high heel. It’s a hunter green velvet stiletto with a gold bottom. I smirk and gently use my toe to slide the shoe back under the stall door before heading back out into the hall and making my way back to my table for dinner. Who am I to ruin their fun?
I’ve been to some pretty weddings in my life, I’ve been to ultra-formal weddings and I’ve been to backyard farm weddings.
I’ve never in my life been to a wedding where it’s just one big party from start to finish.
Cole and Ginger have outdone themselves for their special day; the Ashby barn is lit up with thousands of twinkle lights and the wood beams on the ceiling are decorated with flowers and foliage.
There are only about a hundred guests in the space that holds three hundred, and the back half of the barn houses a casino, complete with poker and blackjack tables, craps tables, roulette, and even a few slot machines where patrons can win gift certificates to local businesses if they spin just right.
Everyone is decked out in their best finery and our table—including Haden and me, Wade and Ivy, my mom and Jo, Nash and CeCe, and Olivia—has been dubbed the party table. Ginger, Cole and Mabel have their own table at the front of the room, and we’re sat just to their left.
Fifteen or so minutes after I return, Olivia and CeCe approach. CeCe is looking mighty pregnant these days as she takes a seat beside Nash, and Olivia sits beside me.
When dinner is finished, and everyone is choking back tears as Cole tells the room about all the times he wishes he’d told Ginger he loved her so he could’ve started their life together earlier, I bend down to grab a tissue from my purse.
As I do, I find myself staring at a really killer pair of hunter green heels with gold bottoms. On Olivia’s feet.
I grab the tissue and sit up, meeting her gaze.
She blushes pink when I look from her to Asher behind the bar in a full three-piece suit à la 1920s mobster.
“Asher cleans up nice,” I say.
“Mmmhmm.”
“So … how is it being on the ranch while he helps with the cabins? Seems he’s been right in your backyard?”
“Don’t ask,” she replies.
I start to laugh. “Oh, I’m asking,”
Olivia pulls her lipstick out of her purse as I continue to tease her.
“There’s just something about a man you’re not supposed to want. Am I right?”
“It doesn’t hurt that he’s that really scary type of gorgeous,” Olivia replies.
“Definitely doesn’t hurt,” I tell her. I glance over at Haden, who is in deep conversation with Nash. Olivia can have her bathroom stall trysts. There’s no man on earth that does it for me the way Haden Westbrook does.
“How about I let you ask me about it next week. Sangria?” Olivia says now, bringing my attention back to her.
“You got it.” I hold my glass up to hers. “To the men we can’t help but want. They may not go down in history, but may they go down on us.”
Olivia laughs as she clinks her glass to mine. “Amen.”
We turn our attention back to the speeches as Mabel presents Ginger with a locket that holds a picture of the two of them, and tells her that she’s her “mommy in her heart.”
I have never thought too much about having kids, but witnessing the relationship these two have with Mabel—and the joy Billi brings to Wade and Ivy—I’m starting to picture myself with a little one of my own. Part me and part Haden.
That’s a future conversation, though. Because, right now, we’re having fun getting to know every single thing about each other and settling into our new little life.
Moving into Haden’s home, our home, has been the easiest thing I’ve ever done, and there isn’t a day that goes by where I’m not grateful for the choice I made.
Dax even sent me an apology note a week after his blowup wishing me the best with Harper-Colburn and Fiona.
I’ve since heard he’s working with a hot new artist from Georgia.
We all watch as Cole and Ginger make their way to the dance floor for the first dance.
Ginger wraps her arms around Cole’s neck; her sleeveless dress sways as she does and hugs her figure perfectly.
She wears a headband with feathers and beads that covers one side of her hair completely. She looks stunning.
“They look so happy,” I whisper as I angle my back to Haden and lean into his chest.
“Not as happy as us,” he says, kissing me on the cheek and holding me close.
“Tell me something honest, Cowboy,” I say to him, tipping my face up to meet his gaze. He doesn’t hesitate.
“That’s gonna be us soon, you know.”
“The wedding or the kids?”
“Both.”
“Promise?” I ask. I’ve never felt as happy or at peace as I do right in this moment.
“I promise.” His lips come down on mine as the song changes to my song: “Your Truck.” Haden grins. “Special request. Let’s dance.”
“Smooth,” I say as he takes my hand and leads me out onto the floor.
“It’s these custom jeans. They give me all the mojo.”
I wrap my arms up around him. He takes my hand in his as I kiss his lips. The same way I did on a dance floor over eight months ago. “I’ve got news for you. The jeans are the reason I fell in love with you in the first place.”
Haden lets out a low laugh. “I knew they were your weakness.”
“You’re my weakness,” I tell him, looking into his eyes. “My weakness and my strength. I love you, Haden.”
“I love you, Princess. Always.”
I rest my head on Haden’s chest and breathe him in.
I’ll never be alone another day in my life with him by my side.
If anyone ever told me that one night would change my life forever; that I’d end up with the man of my dreams, writing music and living a peaceful, simple life on a horse rescue ranch, I never would’ve believed them.
But now that I’m here, there’s not a damn thing I’d change.