Chapter 4
BAILEY
Water dripped from my hair as I ran around my room in only a towel, frantically trying to decide what to wear.
Confidence flew out the window the moment he grabbed me by the neck and hauled me into his immediate vicinity. I hadn’t been expecting that, nor was I prepared for how my body would react to his domineering nature that had been hiding from me all these years.
“What the hell am I going to wear!” I cried out.
Tearing open my closet doors, I started sliding hanger after hanger across the bar as I searched for something suitable for tonight. Pulling out a flirty top, I thought momentarily about it before tossing it behind me.
There were so many choices, but none of them seemed right. I could go for a simple white shirt, but that might send the wrong message. I tossed that behind me. And then there was his favorite color—blue, but wouldn’t that be a tad obvious?
I threw that behind me also, along with nearly every other top in my closet until I reached the end, screaming under my breath in frustration.
“Uh…what’s going on?”
Surprised by Cheyenne’s sudden appearance, I spun around, clasping my hand to my chest as I forced myself to breathe. The moment I gathered my wits, I rushed over to her, grabbed her by the wrist, and dragged her over to my closet.
“Help. I need a massive amount of help.”
“Clearly. You’re acting like a lunatic. Why are all your clothes scattered across the room?”
“Because I’ve been invited to dinner tonight by his parents.
Which is not sexy at all, but when Liam showed up at the garage, he made it perfectly clear that I should choose him instead of Wyatt, which I wasn’t entirely expecting.
And if the way he gripped my neck says anything about how he is in the bedroom, this is one date I can’t afford to mess up,” I rambled.
“Hold on. Back up. You’re going to dinner with his parents?”
“Not my choice. Apparently, our mothers got together.”
“Ah, well, that explains a lot.”
“And now I have to go, otherwise he’s going to think I want to sleep with Wyatt.”
“And… why would he think that?”
“Because I practically baited him with the idea!” I screeched, tossing my head back in the air as I collapsed in a heap on my bed, wrinkling all the clothes strewn on the bedspread.
“Why would you do that?”
“Because I wanted to push his buttons,” I cried out, slapping my hands over my eyes.
“Okay,” she said slowly, tugging my hands away. “What we need here is sane, rational thought, and a whole lot of whiskey.”
“Before dinner? Do you want me to make a fool of myself?”
“Right. So, just sane and rational thought. That shouldn’t be too hard. Up you go,” she said, tugging on my arm.
Grudgingly, I got to my feet, staring at the mess around me.
“Okay, first. Let’s get all this picked up. You can’t wear any of it if it’s all wrinkled. I’ll do that. You…” Her eyes widened as she took in my disheveled appearance. “Go dry your hair.”
“Right. Hair. I can do that.”
I hurried off on my errand, making sure my towel was tucked in tight before plugging in my hair dryer and getting to work on my long strands of hair.
Fifteen agonizing minutes later, my hair was dry and my anti-frizz treatment had been applied to my hair. Right, that wasn’t so hard.
Besides the churning in my stomach.
Bracing my hands on the doorframe, I stared at Cheyenne. “I think I’m gonna be sick.”
“What? Why?” she yelped.
“I’ve wanted this for so long, and now it’s here. What if I screw it up? Dinner with his parents? That’s just stupid! I should be like the young kids who go on a coffee date to ease into things. Or maybe we can FaceTime a few times, and then—”
Her hand struck my face with more force than necessary, and I immediately shut up.
“I really didn’t want to have to do that, but you’re losing it.
You’re rambling, and you never ramble. Bailey, you’re one of the most put-together people I’ve ever met, and I will not allow you to fall to pieces in one night because of a man. ”
I nodded, taking a deep breath. “Right. You’re right.”
“This is Liam. You’ve known him all your life. You’ve eaten with him before. Hell, you’ve eaten with his parents before. This is no big deal.”
“But you didn’t hear how he whispered in my ear,” I breathed heavily.
“Then that only proves that you’re right about him. Girl, you have not turned down every eligible man in town for nothing.”
“Not every eligible man,” I grumbled.
“Yes, you’ve gone on a few dates with guys over the years, but it never worked. There’s only one man for you, and now he’s taking you to dinner—”
“With his parents.”
“But he wants you there. You will go, and you will woo him until he has no choice but to ask you to marry him.”
“Well, maybe not tonight.”
Rolling her eyes, she stalked over to my closet. “You’re not going to overthink this. He’s the man of your dreams.” Then she spun and narrowed her eyes at me. “Please tell me you’re not a virgin.”
I barked out a laugh at her comment. “I’ve had sex before.”
“Yes, but how many times? Do we need to clean out the cobwebs first?”
“There are no cobwebs, and even if there were, there is no we.”
“How long has it been?” she challenged.
Ignoring her, I walked over to my dresser and tugged open the top drawer, grabbing a pair of underwear. “That’s not important—”
My towel was tugged from my body, and I spun, gasping as I stared at Cheyenne in shock. “What the hell are you doing?”
She pointed at my coochie with wide eyes. “Oh my God! When was the last time a razor went anywhere near that bush?”
I snatched the towel out of her hands and quickly covered myself, glaring at her. “It’s not like I’ve been sleeping with every man in sight.”
“I should certainly hope not! No man could find his way to the motherland with that jungle!”
Rolling my eyes, I pulled my panties on and grabbed a bra. “I’ve been busy.”
“Too busy for basic maintenance? You’re lucky you’re not going to sleep with him on the first date.”
“Of course not! And this isn’t a date. It’s just dinner.”
“Thank God for that. I’ll schedule an appointment for you. It might take two to get through—”
“Alright, can we stop talking about my jungle hair?”
“Sorry, but I’ve never seen anything so mismanaged in all my life.”
“Well, it’s not like I met anyone recently that I’d want to take home.”
“No, but you’ve been in love with Liam for years. What if you got drunk one night and decided to take him home? He’d be flossing with your pubes!”
“Oh my God! Would you stop? It’s not that bad!”
“It is exactly that bad. I think you should actually trim before you go in for a wax because you do not want anyone seeing you that hairy.”
“Fine! I’ll trim first. Can we stop talking about this now?”
“All I’m saying is it’s a good thing we had this talk. Imagine if you had gone on an actual date with him. What if things had gotten heated?”
“Yes, I get your point. I will be sure to clean myself up before anything actually happens between us.”
“I just don’t get it. How could you have been pining for him all this time and not taken care of that?”
“Because I didn’t actually think anything would ever happen!” I shouted, admitting just how bleak a future with him had looked until now.
She was stunned silent for a moment, then nodded. “Well, now that we know just how likely it is that you’ll finally get your wish, we need to make sure we take care of this ASAP. And I’ll say nothing else on the subject.”
“Thank you.”
We stood in silence for a moment, but I knew it was coming. Rolling my eyes, I waved her on. “Just get it over with.”
I covered my ears as she started screeching out The Lion Sleeps Tonight.
“Well, that was interesting,” I muttered after the first verse.
When she didn’t stop, I went into the bathroom and slammed the door shut. She stood right outside, singing at the top of her lungs. I opened the towel and looked down at the mess between my thighs.
It really was a jungle.
“Now, remember, this is just another dinner. He may have whispered sexy words in your ear, but until you go out alone, this is just another—”
“I’ve got it!” I said testily. “You’ve already said that ten times.”
“I know. I just want you to relax.”
“And you really think that can be achieved by you saying the same thing over and over? You’re going to give me a complex.”
Shaking her hands out, she walked away from me, finally giving me space. “I know. You’re right. God, why am I so nervous?”
Oddly, I had calmed down quite a bit over the past hour, while she had only gotten more ramped up. I looked at myself in the mirror one last time and took a deep breath. I was ready for this.
“You look beautiful,” Cheyenne whispered, coming to stand beside me.
She was being so dramatic. It was nauseating. Turning, I pushed her back a step. “Alright, Mother. You can stop with the histrionics.”
“It’s just…this is what we’ve been waiting for…”
“Cheyenne, I’m fine. My freakout is over. I’m calm and ready for tonight. Besides, like you said, this has been a long time coming.”
She nodded, taking a deep breath just as the buzzer rang. Her head whipped toward the door, but I was faster.
Pressing the button, I calmly said, “I’ll be right down.”
Spinning, I narrowed my eyes at my best friend. “I won’t be home too late, but don’t wait up.”
“My baby,” she whimpered dramatically.
“Right, and that’s my cue to leave.”
Grabbing my purse, I headed downstairs in my jeans and cowboy boots. I’d gone with a slightly flirty cream top, deciding simpler was better. I was calm, cool, and collected.
But nothing could prepare me for the handsome man on my doorstep. There was nothing particularly special about his outfit. He wore his typical Wranglers and a black button-down shirt. His cowboy hat was the same one he wore every single day. But damn, did he wear it well.