Chapter 31 Kelsey
Kelsey
“Are you going to give the bull a try, candy head?” Riot murmurs close to my ear while we watch Bianca Del Ray in a tiny white bikini top and skirt spin circles on the bucking bronco.
She stole one of the Heart brothers’ cowboy hat a few minutes ago after flirting up a storm with him. I’m not sure which one it was. I can’t keep the names straight with the faces. “Mmm, I don’t think so.”
Bianca waves the tan hat in the air while yodelling at the top of her lungs.
Always dramatic.
“Bianca’s surprisingly good at staying on.” I tip my lips to his ear. The music is loud and so is the conversation. But I love it like that. It makes intimacy while pretending not to be intimate much easier when you have to get closer to have any kind of conversation. “She has thighs of steel.”
“She certainly has a death grip on that bottle of champagne.” He grins at me affectionately before searching out the bar. “Do you want to split a bottle of brut with me?”
Sharing a bottle in public is like kissing in front of everyone and knowing they’ll never figure it out in a totally teenage crush kind of way. Normally my answer would be yes. Normally I wouldn’t be holding back on him, either.
But it’s been one day and already many secrets have been spilled. It’s not the right time or place for this news. A couple of days from now, when we’re on the plane back, I’ll tell him about the baby.
It’s the only thing to do.
His fingers graze my lower back then hover while Bianca finally dismounts with a decent number on the clock.
One of the Heart brothers jumps on next. Kale, someone cheers. He hoots and hollers and bounces around like he’s ridden the real flesh and blood.
A couple of the brothers are teaching the drag queens how to line dance while Adira holds court in a corner of the barn that’s set up with several games and a picture board of the bride and groom.
I press my palm to my lower belly. “Mmm. Sam said I should take it easy.”
“We’re going to follow doc’s orders then.” He takes my hand and leads me to a table and chair closer to the action. “Sit. I’ll grab you some water.”
I do as he says while he strides to the bar and grabs us drinks. He comes back with two tall glasses with sliced lime and sparkling water.
“You could have had a drink.” I sip mine. Rebel asked him not to, but the agent said to carry on as normal. There’s no reason not to enjoy the party when we’re all together under the watchful eye of Rook, Jasper, and a whole security team handpicked by Riot’s brothers.
“Candy head, if you’re not drinking, I’m not drinking. That’s all there is to it.” He takes a seat next to me and stretches an arm over the back of my seat as Ivy climbs into the saddle. “Besides, I have smokes with me.”
Ivy is wearing a veil attached to her kitty ears. It’s covered in blue hearts and has been embroidered with Future Mrs. Love-Maddox. She giggles as the mechanical bull spins and bucks.
“Woohoo. That woman’s going to be my wife,” Rogue yells, clapping loudly. “You’re fucking amazing, baby. Show ‘em how good you can ride.”
Riot winces. “Jesus. He’s going to be messy by the end of the night.”
“I think it’s all show. Ivy’s not drinking either.
” Sure, I’d seen her with champagne in hand earlier this afternoon, but I swear she never refilled the glass, and it was never empty.
After Summer left to pick up Ro, she stopped bothering with a drink completely.
The vibe while we were getting ready was not the same.
Rebel said she doesn’t know about the dead goat, so something else must be weighing on her mind.
She loses her grip and with a shriek flies off onto the foam mats where she collapses into a pile of giggles.
Rogue hurries to help her to her feet. He brushes the hair away from her face, cradling it carefully while he checks her over.
“Who’s next?” The MC calls for another rider.
“They’re cute, aren’t they?” Summer takes a seat next to me as the bride and groom start kissing. “Super sweet.”
“It’s nauseating,” Riot leans around me to say, tongue in cheek.
“Shush, you.” She puts her hand up in his face. “Now, go ride the bull. I’ll keep Kelsey company.”
He covers the hand I forgot to remove from his thigh. “I’m sure there are plenty of people who want to ride.”
“Go.” I reluctantly steal my hand back. “I want to see your moves.”
“For you...” He rises to his feet. “I’ll break out all my moves.”
He pours swagger on each step to the bull, putting on a show for me, though the way the room stamps and wolf whistles, they think it’s for them. He mounts the machine and gets comfortable while he talks to the man in charge.
“So do we officially know now?” Summer asks. “Are we allowed to talk about it? Are we putting the details on social media? Should we expect a cute picture of the two of you to show up on Instagram by the end of the night?”
The machine starts, and Riot turns his black ballcap backward with a smirk.
“Only the family knows.”
Riot leans back, swinging his arms with the rhythm of the bull like Kale did. His hips angle and his muscles flex with each move.
“Could I be the luckiest woman on the planet?” A rock star, my best friend, and the way he moves. I uncross and recross my legs. God, he gives me the best tingles.
But I’m still his secret.
“Maddox men, right? They’re a whole different animal.” Her smile falls away; her shoulders drop. “They’re the best men. Better than my brothers some days.”
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” I ask around the saliva pooling on my tongue while my boyfriend makes bull riding look like sex.
“I ran into some idiots in town when I went to pick up Rochelle. Actually, have you seen her?”
“I haven’t.”
“I should tell you—”
“Have you heard the gossip?” Dizzy flings herself down next to Summer. “There’s an FBI agent at the party.”
Summer’s eyes widen. “There’s a what now?”
“That man in the crumpled blue shirt.” Dizzy grabs her wrist as she twists about in her seat. “Over there. That guy.”
She points out the agent. He has the most determined eyebrows I’ve ever seen.
I couldn’t stop staring at them while he asked Riot questions earlier.
Unlike earlier his hair is ruffled and the top button on his shirt is undone.
His sleeves are rolled up past his elbows.
He’s probably trying not to stand out, but clearly that isn’t working for him because Dizzy clocked him.
“How can you tell?”
“Uh. What doesn’t give him away?” Dizzy leans in his direction as though gravity is giving her a hand. “He scans the room like security. The way he holds himself speaks volumes. And he’s trying too hard to look like he fits in.”
The agent glances our way.
Dizzy squeals and bounces out of the chair, landing on her ass on the floor.
“Dizzy?” Summer’s incredulous expression must mirror mine.
“This was not what I meant,” she whispers to herself.
Summer raises a brow. “What did you mean, Dizzy?”
“It doesn’t matter.” Her eyes appear over the table as she takes another look. “I wish it didn’t matter.”
“Why the heck is there an FBI agent at the wedding?” Summer asks.
Riot spins to face the opposite direction, the bull tilting and whirling under him. I take a drink of water. When he’s done, we can claim we’re tired and go back to the room and I can show him how well I can ride the bull. “Riot has a stalker.”
“What?” Summer’s eyes go even more round.
“The FBI are looking into it. That’s why he’s here.”
Dizzy crawls onto her knees. She steals my water and takes a big drink. “Are you sure that’s why he’s here?”
“Yeah. The stalker has followed him across state lines, and we’re about to travel out of the country, so the FBI got involved.” I drag my attention away from my sexy as hell boyfriend as he flips around on the bull again.
Dizzy is insistent. “Are you sure he didn’t have any other reason for being here?”
“What other reason could he have?”
“God, that’s a relief,” Dizzy blurts.
Is it just me or is she being extra tonight? “Are you okay, Dizzy? You’re acting a little weird."
“Oh my God. No. I’m fine,” Dizzy says. “I’m always weird.”
“Why didn’t Riot say anything?” Summer asks.
“He didn’t want any of you to worry. We’re surrounded by security all the time and she was more of a nuisance than anything.” Until last night. “Plus, you have other things to worry about. Like Hawthorne.”
“Hawthorne’s not a problem.” Resting her arms on the table, Dizzy follows the FBI agent with her eyes. She makes no move to get up off the floor. “He’s really not.”
Summer doesn’t look assured. She looks a little gray. “As long as he’s out—”
“—there. No one is safe. Yada. Yada. Yada.” Dizzy spins around as the agent switches directions and strides toward us. She smacks the back of her head into the tabletop. “Ow.”
“It’s not a joke, Dizzy,” Summer says.
She reaches up and gingerly touches the spot that hit the table. “That was close.”
“What are you doing?” Rogue asks as he and Ivy approach.
“Nothing. It’s comfortable down here.” Dizzy twitches and then she catches sight of Summer’s legs encased in black velvet. “I wanted to check out Summer’s boots. Do they come in pink? I would kill to have a pair.”
“Why don’t you come up here.” Rogue extends a hand. “West is walking in the door.”
She grabs his hand and climbs his arm before he can pull her up. Dragging him closer by his shoulder, she uses him as a shield as she searches out West like she’s a covert operative in a suspense comedy. She swings back to the FBI agent. “Shit. This is not good.”
“What is going on?” Ivy steps between Rogue and her sister. She wraps her arms around her sister’s shoulders. “You’re wound up.”
“We have an FBI agent on the premises,” Summer says.
“Is it because of Alec and...” Ivy is deathly pale. “Jackson. That was self-defense. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Shit. I wish that was why.” Dizzy is vibrating at this point. About to explode out of her skin. She watches West, who is, as usual, scanning the room, probably looking for her. And then she watches the FBI agent, who is talking to Rebel. He has his back to the entrance and West.
Rebel introduces the agent to one of the ranchers. He spots West and gestures for him to join them.
“Dizzy!” Ivy all but shouts to get her attention.
Dizzy stills. Her gaze locks on her sister’s face. She points at the black material covering part of Ivy’s face. “Can I borrow that? I need to borrow it.”
“Borrow what?”
“Your mask. Please, Ivy. Please,” Dizzy begs.
“Oh.” Ivy nibbles her lip, then unties the mask. “Here.”
“Thank you.” Dizzy snatches the mask. She slips it over her pink hair and gives Ivy a grateful look before she darts away.
Rogue tugs Ivy to his chest. “What the hell was that about?”
Riot rises from the padded mats surrounding the bull. He dusts himself off as he too follows Dizzy’s pinball trajectory.
Could things get any weirder?