Chapter 6 Bailey
BAILEY
Sighing, I plopped down on my bed and stared up at the ceiling, replaying that kiss over and over in my head. It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before, and nothing would ever compare.
Nothing could wipe the smile from my face, not when I knew this was the beginning of the rest of my life. It may have taken a long time, but Liam was worth the wait.
“So? It went well?” Cheyenne asked from the doorway.
“You could say that.”
Grinning, she ran in and jumped on my bed, laying down beside me. “And? Did he kiss you?”
I scoffed at the term. “Kiss? No, that was not a kiss. That was a mind-bending, life-altering reminder of how amazing Liam Parker is.”
“Can’t say I’ve ever had one of those.”
“You should. It was perfect.”
“So I gathered. And?”
Swiveling my head, I grinned at her. “And what?”
“Well? Do you have plans? He’s going to take you out again, right? I mean, of course he is. It’s Liam Parker and you’re Bailey Bennett. You’ve been destined for each other since the third grade!”
“He’s making me dinner tomorrow night.”
“Ooh, at his house, I presume.”
Biting my lip, I nodded, too excited to contain my glee. This was everything I’d ever dreamed of, and it was all coming together perfectly.
Cheyenne shot up, a look of terror on her face. “Wait, tomorrow?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Because you are most definitely not prepared for what is going to happen tomorrow. Need I remind you of our earlier conversation about your coochie?”
“I’ll just trim it. I don’t have time to go in for a treatment. Besides, I’ve never actually waxed, and I’m not sure I want to.”
“Girl, you cannot show up at Liam’s house like that!” she snapped, pointing at the juncture between my thighs.
“I told you, I’ll trim. Not every girl wants to wax.”
“It should be a requirement!”
“Well, I’m not doing it,” I argued, sitting up.
But just as I was about to get up, she grabbed me by the shoulders and forced me to face her. “Please tell me you at least have something sexy for underneath whatever you plan to wear.”
I shrugged. “Honestly, I haven’t thought about any of it yet.”
Her eyes widened in horror as she slowly shook her head. “You’re not prepared at all. You’re going to have to call in sick tomorrow. We have so much to do and not nearly enough time to do it.”
Pushing her hand away, I rolled my eyes at her. “I’m not calling in sick. That would be insanity.”
“No, what’s insane is that you think you can go to Liam’s house tomorrow without being prepared. This is your first time with him! How can you be so blasé about it?”
I wasn’t. Deep down, I was trembling with giddiness, fear, excitement, and any other descriptive word I could think of. But if I let that rule me, I’d never be able to go over there tomorrow. So, I was playing it cool.
“Okay, let’s just think about this for a moment,” she said, jumping off the bed. She began pacing around the room in thought. “If we leave first thing tomorrow morning, we can get to the city in an hour and get some major shopping in, maybe a wax, and do something about that hair.”
“What’s wrong with my hair?”
“Then we can do a quick spa treatment. We won’t have time for much, but it’ll be better than nothing—”
“Cheyenne!” I snapped, leaping in front of her and grabbing her arms. “Honestly, you’re insane! I’m not taking a day off work to go to the city. We have too much going on at the garage. Besides, Liam knows me. He would never expect me to do something like that.”
“No, but you have a much better chance of making this work if you take this seriously. This will be your first time with him!”
“That’s not a guarantee,” I argued, feeling the anxiety rise in me.
“It most definitely is! You want him. He wants you. Why would you even try to fight it?”
I wasn’t sure. But the longer she talked, the more the fear part about tomorrow kicked in. I was going to sleep with Liam. I knew it deep in my gut. After that kiss, there was no way I could go over there and not let his hands roam over every inch of my body.
It would be impossible.
“Oh God,” I whispered, sinking down on the bed.
“Finally! We’re getting somewhere!”
My gaze snapped up to meet Cheyenne’s. “This is what you want? Me, terrified?”
“No, but a little bit of reality would not go amiss.”
She was absolutely right. I couldn’t wear just anything over there. I needed to dress appropriately, and I most definitely didn’t have the correct undergarments for such an occasion. Nor did I have the time to take off and head into the city for a shopping spree.
“It’s okay,” I said, taking a deep breath. “I’ll head into the boutique at lunch time. Ellie can help me get everything I need.”
“She’s the biggest gossip in town!” Cheyenne exclaimed.
“But she’s also my only hope of making this go off without a hitch.” Taking a deep breath, I did the only thing I could. “I need to get some sleep. I can’t afford to have bags under my eyes tomorrow.”
“Right,” Cheyenne nodded succinctly. “I can meet you tomorrow.”
“Thank you.”
Sincerity bled through my words as I hugged her. She really was the best friend anyone could ask for. If it wasn’t for her, I’d probably show up tomorrow at Liam’s with a full bush and unrealistic expectations of the night.
“Any time. You know I’m always here to smack you back into reality.”
Chuckling, I started getting ready for bed as she quickly exited, leaving me to stew in the excitement for tomorrow on my own. I went through my bedtime routine, dragging the five-minute process out into fifteen just so I could calm my nerves, but it didn’t work.
I was well and truly screwed. There was no way I was getting a lick of sleep tonight. Not when I could still feel Liam’s touch on my skin and his kisses dragging out the most indecent thoughts I’d had in ages.
It was really going to happen. I was with Liam, and all my dreams were about to come true.
“Wyatt! I’m taking my lunch break!”
“Forty-five minutes today,” he called out, his head stuck under the hood of a car.
That just wasn’t going to do. I’d been taking shorter lunches all week to accommodate him. But today, I needed the full hour.
Rushing over to him, I prepared to beg. “I need the full hour today. I have some errands to run, and—”
“Does this have to do with your long-awaited date tonight?” he asked, pulling his head out from under the hood. Pulling the rag from his back pocket, he wiped his hands as he gave me a pointed look.
“Maybe.”
“Bailey, we have a shit ton of work to do today. I don’t give a shit about your plans. When there’s work to be done—”
“When I was hired, you told me I would get an hour lunch break,” I interjected.
“Every time you’ve told me to be back early, I’ve done it without complaint, and I have never once said anything about the fact that I don’t get paid for those extra fifteen minutes.
Nor will I. But today, I need the extra fifteen minutes, and I’m taking it. ”
I had the unfortunate habit of being too outspoken at the worst times, but it couldn’t be helped. Those fifteen minutes were absolutely necessary, and I was not backing down.
Even to Wyatt Callahan.
I held my breath in anticipation as he glowered at me with his green eyes. He had a way of intimidating everyone around town with his less-than-stellar personality and the charm of a box of razors.
Not to mention, his whole family was well known around town for being rather difficult to deal with. But I’d never given in to the gossip about him and his family. Yes, he could be a bear to work for, but he’d never given me cause to dislike him.
“Fine. An hour.”
“Thank you. I promise I’ll be back on time.”
He nodded, and I didn’t waste another minute on him, already sprinting for the door. But before I could reach it, he called out to me.
“Bailey!”
Cringing, I turned back to him. “Yeah?”
“Take an extra half hour.”
Stunned, I just stared at him. “Huh?”
“You’re right. You have been giving extra time to me. So, just this once, take an extended lunch. But be back here at one-thirty, and not a minute later.”
I could have kissed him, but wisely, I kept my hands and lips to myself, smiling as I ran out the door.
By the time I made it to The Last Best Place For Style—a play on Montana’s uncommonly known nickname—Cheyenne was already waiting for me.
“It’s about time!” she snapped, dragging me into the store. “We don’t have much time left, and you’re all sweaty!”
“I had to run, but Wyatt gave me an extra half hour.”
“That’s surprisingly nice of him.”
“Yes, but there’s no time to talk about my rake of a boss. Where’s Ellie?”
“She’s already got things waiting for you in the dressing room. And I got wipes for you to…clean up as best you can,” she grimaced, running an eye over me.
“Relax, I wore my coveralls. I’m just sweaty. It could be worse.”
“It could be better,” she sighed. “Oh well. Better get moving.”
Ellie popped her head out of the dressing room, smiling brightly at me. “So, a date with Liam Parker. That’s quite the catch. I heard he shoved you up against his truck last night and had his way with you.”
I blushed hard, but refused to give in to gossip. “It’s amazing what people will say.”
“Say?” She shot me a pointed look. “I heard from Mrs. Abernathy, who said she caught you red-handed.”
“Well, she might have caught me red-handed, but he didn’t maul me against the side of the truck.”
Not in the way she was thinking.
“Alright, what do you have for me?”
I spent the next half hour trying on clothes, picking out lingerie—only to immediately put it back.
Lingerie was not my thing, and no matter how much Ellie and Cheyenne begged me to choose something sexy, I stuck with the basics.
Silky underwear would be just as nice as a full bodysuit that would probably just get ripped off.
By the time I was done, I had everything packed into a single bag. The only problem was that I had to walk through town for every single gossip to see. Liam would have a good idea of what I’d been up to by the end of the day.
Even on the ranch, good news traveled fast.
“If you want, I can keep it in the shop until the end of the day. Then you can just pick it up.”
While I appreciated the offer, she would probably use the opportunity to tell every customer what I was planning on wearing tonight, and then she’d take pictures and show them to everyone else who hadn’t bothered to come in.
“That’s okay. I’ll just take it with me now, but I appreciate the offer.”
“Stop in tomorrow and let me know how it went!”
At the excitement on her face, I couldn’t help but smile. But stopping in was one thing I would never do. Not if I wanted to have a few secrets of my own.
“Thank you so much for all your help. I have to get back to work.”
“You’re so welcome! I can’t wait to hear how it all goes!”
At her wink, I rushed out of the shop with Cheyenne hot on my heels.
“Do not tell her a single thing.”
“I wasn’t planning on it.”
As we hurried down the street, Cheyenne glanced at her watch, cursing under her breath. “No time for actual lunch.”
“Aren’t you going to get in trouble for being gone too long?”
“My boss is gone for the day, so Loretta’s in charge.”
“And she’s practically your surrogate mother,” I concluded.
“So, I’ll be fine. But you will not be, if you’re late, so you’d better hustle.”
I gave her a hug, which she immediately flinched back from.
“Gross! You’re all mechanicy!”
Laughing, I hugged her tighter, wiping my face against her. Not that it would make any difference. My face was still clean.
“I’ll see you later,” I giggled, hurrying across the street.
I stopped quickly at my car, tucking the bag into the back seat. That was one less thing to think about tonight. Now, all I had to do when I got home was take care of some much-needed maintenance.
I still had a few minutes to spare, but there was no time to grab even a quick bite. Wyatt might have given me some leeway, but I didn’t want to push my luck.
Tugging the front door open, my good mood immediately soured when I saw his two brothers leaning against the counter. Austin and Clay were always hanging around, and while Clay wasn’t too bad, he followed in Austin’s footsteps no matter what he got up to.
Which was usually no good.
“Well, if it isn’t Bailey Bennett,” Austin grinned, his eyes trailing over my body in a very possessive, uncomfortable way.
“Austin,” I nodded, scooting past him to clock in.
His hand skimmed my ass as I passed, and I spun, glaring harshly at him. “Keep your hands to yourself.”
With a huff of laughter, his eyes turned darker. “I thought you were giving it up to everyone nowadays. At least, that’s the word around town after you let that Parker fucker grope you against his truck.”
“If I believed everything they said around town, I would think those rumors about you assaulting Josie Nash were true. And if I believed that, I’d also have to assume that the only way you got out of that was because your daddy pulled his sway on the town council and somehow got the charges dropped. ”
He moved so quickly that I hardly had time to flinch. In an instant, he was in front of me, pressing me against the wall, caging me in with his hands on either side of my head as he leered over me.
“I’d be careful what kind of gossip you spread around town. You never know, one of these days, that gossip may be about you.”
“It already is,” I hissed.
A door squeaked from the garage, but I didn’t dare take my eyes off the devil in front of me. One wrong move, and it could mean my life.
“Austin, get the fuck away from her. She has work to do.”
Wyatt’s tone was so calm and unaffected that I nearly yelled at him for allowing his psycho brother anywhere near me. But as it was, his brother backed off with nothing more than a smirk and something dangerous in his eyes that promised so much more if I didn’t get out of there right now.
Skirting past Wyatt, I pulled my coveralls off the hook and took a moment to breathe, still reeling from the threat in Austin’s words.
The garage door opened again, and I hustled to pull on my coveralls and forget the unfortunate encounter.
“If you were smart, you’d stay away from Austin,” Wyatt accused.
“He was at your garage. It’s kind of hard to stay away from him when he’s the one who confronted me.”
I jerked my arms through the sleeves and zipped up, marching over to my station when Wyatt suddenly grabbed me by the arm and spun me around. The fierceness on his face was one I had never seen before, only heard about.
And for the first time, a skitter of fear shot down my spine.
“If he comes in here, stay the fuck away from him.”
And on that terrifying note, he stalked away and left me a shaking mess.