Chapter 1
CHAPTER ONE
One Week Earlier
“Liv, I will give you one hundred dollars if you hook up with someone at the wedding reception tomorrow.” Alice grinned at me and held up five twenties in her hand. “Five big ones, baby.”
“Five big ones would mean five hundred dollars, not one hundred dollars.” I rolled my eyes. “Twenties aren’t considered big ones.”
“They are to me.”
“Not to me.”
“Liv”—Alice sighed—“stop trying to change the subject. You going to do it or what?” She paused. “I dare you.”
My eyes narrowed as I stared at her. Alice knew that I wasn’t one to back down from a dare. “What do I have to do?”
“Just make out with a guy.” She grinned. “Any guy.”
“Any guy?”
“Well, a guy at the reception. It has to be a wedding hookup.”
“Joanna will kill me.” I shook my head and laughed.
“That’s the point.” She giggled and collapsed onto my bed.
“Oh, Alice.” I sighed and sat down next to her.
Joanna was our roommate from college. The three of us had lived together for the last three years. And we’d been shocked when Joanna informed us she was getting married, two months after we graduated. To Alice’s ex-boyfriend.
“If you hook up with Luke, I’ll give you five hundred.”
“I’m not hooking up with your ex.” I made a face and then slapped my mouth. “Sorry.”
“Why are you sorry?” Alice shrugged. “You’re a good friend.”
“I can’t believe she’s marrying him and invited us to the wedding.”
“She’s a bitch.” Alice nodded.
“We don’t have to go,” I said hopefully. I really didn’t want to go to this wedding. I had a really bad feeling that something was going to go awfully wrong.
“We have to go.” Alice licked her lips. “And we’re going to be crazy.”
“I don’t know if I want to be crazy.” I made a face and sighed again. I didn’t want to be crazy, but I knew for Alice’s sake, I’d be as crazy as I could be. Which would be hard, considering my background.
I was the good girl in my family. The youngest in a family of five kids.
I had three brothers and one sister. All of whom were crazy and out of control.
You didn’t have a family of crazy siblings and end up crazy.
You ended up as a good kid. You ended up as the kid the parents were thankful for.
You ended up as a Goody Two-shoes. I’d been a Goody Two-shoes all my life.
Up until college.
I went away to college, determined to have some fun.
And fun I had. Though it wasn’t the sexing a different hot guy every week sort of fun.
It was the smoking a joint in a dark room with three of my friends and talking about hot guys sort of fun.
Don’t get me wrong; I wanted to be one of those confident girls who just went out and got laid with whomever she wanted.
Only I didn’t have the sort of personality that permitted that.
Instead, I’d had three long-term relationships, with three average, safe guys, with some average, safe sex.
I’d graduated with a bachelor’s degree as a single twenty-two-year-old, feeling like I was just as boring as I’d been when I started school.
I was determined for that to change once and for all.
I wanted to live a life worthy of a classy reality show, though I wasn’t sure if that was possible.
Even if that meant making a spectacle of myself at Joanna’s wedding.
“Don’t forget—five big ones, baby.” Alice grinned at me as we walked into the church the next afternoon, both of us slightly tipsy from the free mimosas we’d had with our breakfast. “Just think of all the things you can do with the money.”
“One hundred dollars isn’t going to make me a millionaire.” I rolled my eyes at her as I laughed. “I thought you’d forgotten about that stupid proposition.”
“I had, but then I just saw Luke and Joanna, and I wanted to gag.” She made a face. “It would make me feel a lot better, knowing that someone hooked up at her wedding.” She grinned. “It would be like this dirty little joke that no one knew about, but me.”
“Well, I’d know and the guy would know as well.” We stood next to the pews awkwardly and continued talking. “Also, I don’t think this is an appropriate conversation to have in front of God.”
“God isn’t happy with Joanna either.” Alice made a face and then sighed. “Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.” She quickly made the sign of the cross and screwed up her nose. “Fine, don’t hook up with anyone and don’t make me feel better.”
“My hooking up with someone shouldn’t make you feel better anyway, Alice.” I laughed and then looked around. “Should we sit? I feel like we’re kind of early.”
“Yeah, I guess.” She shrugged. “Or we could just ditch and go get some more mimosas. That sounds like an even better plan.”
“We can’t ditch.” I laughed at the suggestion, though I wasn’t altogether sold on having to sit through the wedding of two people I didn’t really like.
“Please.” Alice made a hopeful face at me.
I laughed again as she made a drinking motion.
This time, my head fell back as I laughed, and I could feel someone staring at me.
I looked to the left, and there I saw a tall, brooding man with dark hair and a frown on his face, about two hundred yards away from us.
I attempted to give him a smile, but instead of smiling back, he gave me a disdainful eyebrow raise and looked away.
He then looked back at me and smirked, like he knew I thought he was hot.
“That guy is an asshole,” I whispered to Alice, the laughter gone from my voice.
“What guy?” She turned around and looked toward the entrance of the church, but the rude man had gone, and a group of older women were walking toward us.
“There was a guy up there just now, who was looking at me as if I were some commoner on his estate or something.” I could feel my face flushing red with anger as I remembered his superior look. “I’m not sure who he thinks he is, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with laughing in a church.”
“Yeah, that’s weird.” Alice nodded. “Maybe he’s related to Joanna or something. I think her entire family is full of snobs. No one is good enough for her.”
“I don’t get why he was glaring at me,” I said. “I wasn’t doing anything wrong.”
“Forget him. He probably needs to get laid,” Alice said loudly, and I groaned as I saw a priest behind her.
“Good afternoon, Father,” I said meekly, my face burning in shame now.
“Good afternoon.”
His eyes burned into mine, and I knew he had heard Alice and was thinking that both of us needed to go to some sort of confession, even though neither one of us was Catholic. He continued walking past us, and I grabbed Alice’s arm.
“Let’s go outside and wait until it fills up a bit. I feel like we’re just making a spectacle of ourselves.”
“Sex with the group would be making a spectacle of myself, not just standing here.” She rolled her eyes, and I felt a wave of compassion toward her.
“Are you okay? This must be hard.”
“My ex-boyfriend is marrying my ex-roommate and ex-friend. What’s to be upset about?” Alice sighed and then shook her head. “I don’t really care. He had a small dick. That’s Joanna’s problem now.”
“Ha-ha-ha.” I started laughing again, and this time, tears were rolling down my face. I wasn’t sure why I found it so funny, but I suspected that the mimosas had worked their magic, and I was feeling more relaxed than usual. “You never told me that Luke wasn’t good in bed.”
“He was good with his tongue.” She grinned. “That was good enough.”
“Hmm.” I scratched my head. “Let me think.” I closed my eyes and tried to think about a guy going down on me versus a guy entering me. “Cock or tongue—what do I prefer?”
I giggled and then opened my eyes. Alice’s face looked stiff, and I turned to the right of me and saw the brooding man from earlier, standing right there.
His green eyes looked amused as he stared at me.
He was gorgeous, and I was having a hard time breathing as I realized what I’d just said out loud.
I wanted to groan, but kept my mouth shut as I stared at him.
His lips looked pink and luscious, and he had a light, dark beard that looked sexy as hell on him—and I wasn’t even a girl who was into facial hair.
I could feel my face burning up as I stared at him.
All I could think about was his beard, and I wondered if it would tickle me if he went down on me.
I wanted to slap myself for my inappropriate thoughts.
That was it—no more mimosas in the morning.
“Did you make up your mind?” the man said slowly, his voice a deep, husky growl that made me think of dark rooms and handcuffs.
“Make up my mind about what?” I squeaked out, knowing exactly what he was talking about.
“Your preference.”
He grinned and licked his lips slowly. My eyes followed his long tongue, and I knew he was teasing me, but I didn’t care.
“Yes,” I said softly and flicked my long brown hair back.
“And?” He leaned forward, his eyes letting me know he was attracted to me.
I looked at Alice, and she was grinning at the two of us as she took a step back.
“And that’s for me to know.” I smiled at him sweetly, though my stomach was churning.
“What if I want to find out?” His eyes gazed into mine, searching, and he touched my shoulder lightly.
“What if you do?”
I shrugged, and he stepped back with a smile and nodded.
“You’ll find out.”
“I’ll find out what?”
My heart was racing as I studied his chest. Even though he was wearing a suit, I could tell he was well built.
“You’ll find out what happens when I want to know something.”
“Okay …” My voice trailed off.
“Okay then.” He grinned a cocky smile and licked his lips again. “I’ll see you later.” And with that, he walked away.
“What was that?” I whispered to Alice, my body trembling slightly from my encounter.
“I have no idea what just happened, but that guy was sexy as hell.” Alice looked behind her. “I wouldn’t mind his tongue or his—”
“Alice”—I laughed—“I think we should change the subject.”
“Why?” She sighed. “You can’t tell me you didn’t think he was hot.”