Chapter Thirty-Two
Pepper
After we leave the café, Clay says he wants to see the town through my eyes, which makes me love him even more. I love all the parts of us, but this part, where we can walk hand in hand and conversation comes easily, without awkward silences or the need for entertainment, is one of my favorites. Every now and again, I look at him, trying to figure out how we got here, or we look at each other with incredulous expressions, like we can’t believe we’ve fallen for each other. We don’t say a word. He just pulls me into a kiss, or we both laugh. I love that about us, too.
He lets my overthinking brain come out to play without picking it apart.
I take him to the site of my first kiss, and my competitive guy tries to kiss away those memories. When I show him the tree on the hill by the old church, he takes a picture of us there. I remember how stunned I was when he took that first picture of us in Paris in front of the bookstore. I never would have guessed we’d end up here, and now I can’t imagine my life without him in it.
When we get back to the festival, Surge is onstage playing “Do I Make You Wanna?” Clay walks backward, pulling me toward the area in front of the stage where people are dancing, asking me if I want to do each of the things the song calls out. But he changes the lyrics— Do you wanna stay up to watch the sunrise? Make love in the moonlight? Make out in the mornings? —and a handful of other things that he definitely makes me want to do.
We weave through the crowd, and he twirls me into his arms. He sings off-key as we dance. When they start playing “Lose Control,” Clay tugs me into his arms and says, “They’re playing our song, Reckless.”
His blue eyes hold me captive like they do so often. “You remembered?”
“Every second we’ve been together.”
I bundle that up in a ribbon and tuck it away to moon over later. Our bodies move in perfect sync, and heat builds between us as swiftly as it always does. I try not to get lost in it, loving the way he makes me feel so much.
As if he’s thinking the same thing, a wicked grin curves his lips. “Do you think everyone can tell I’m thinking about stripping off your jeans and dropping to my knees right now?”
My thoughts stumble, and I can tell by the gleam in his eyes that’s exactly what he was trying to accomplish. “What if I say yes?”
“Then I’d say we should give them a show.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
He presses his cheek to mine and says, “No, but I’ll make it up to you tonight.”
Shivers of heat move down my spine. “Is that a promise?”
“You know it is.”
The song comes to an end, and he keeps me close. I hold my breath waiting for his kiss, but as his mouth nears mine, he twirls me around. A laugh tumbles out, and he draws me into his arms again.
“ God , baby. That smile gets me every time,” he says roughly, and lowers his lips to mine, kissing me breathless.
As the band plays “My Person,” we slow dance, and Clay sings every word to me, swapping some of them, like mai tai for mojito , and singing about how we never stay in bed to sip coffee, and how he likes it when I steal his hoodies. I join him, making up my own words. Singing about him making my heart race while we dance and how I want to stay in bed but not sip coffee, wink, wink. That earns a husky laugh.
“I’m crazy about you, Reckless.”
My heart feels like it’s trying to break through my chest to get to him. “I’m crazy about you, too.”
He leans down to kiss me as the song comes to an end, but stops short again, his gaze catching over my shoulder, his brows slanting. “Um, Pep. You might want to see this.”
I follow his gaze and realize we’re the only ones standing in front of the stage, and everyone else is wearing a red sweatshirt with #teamplay across the chest.
Applause and cheers ring out, and the crowd starts chanting, “ Team Play. Team Play. ”
I look around expecting to see a Little League team or something and lower my voice. “Maybe we should move away from the stage.” Trying to make sense of it, I look at Sable. She and her bandmates are pulling on red sweatshirts, too.
Sable steps up to the microphone, and the crowd quiets as she announces, “Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Team Play!”
The crowd goes wild again. Clay and I clap, looking around and walking backward to clear the way for the team.
“That’s you, Pep!” Brindle shouts as she struts out of the crowd with Morgyn and Amber.
I freeze.
“You and Clay have your own hashtag!” Morgyn shoves sweatshirts into our hands. “Brindle thought it up!”
“Team Play !” Amber says. “ P for Pepper and lay for Clay!”
The crowd bursts out in hysterics, and someone yells, “Mr. M can’t unhear that!” causing more uproarious laughter.
Clay is laughing, pulling me against his side. “Our own hashtag, baby! I love it!”
“Ohmygod. Brindle! ” My cheeks burn. “You got the whole town involved in this?”
“Don’t look at me like that,” Brindle demands, the din of the crowd quieting. “If it weren’t for our matchmaking, you’d still be running away from Clay.”
“What are you talking about? You didn’t have anything to do with us getting together.”
“Not alone, I didn’t.” Brindle turns to face the crowd and shouts, “Matchmakers unite!”
I watch in stunned silence as my parents, Grace, Dash, and Ravi step out of the crowd, and Sable comes off the stage, joining the gaggle of them.
“Wha…you all … Grace? Ravi? ”
Ravi holds his palms up to the sky. “Someone had to make sure you didn’t cop out of going to Paris because of work.”
That’s when I remember that Grace talked me into going to Paris in the first place when I was wavering.
“I’d say sorry,” Grace says, “but I’m not.”
“We had to do something to make sure you couldn’t run from Clay anymore,” Morgyn supplies.
“And Clay needed you,” Amber adds. “He’d just lost the playoffs.”
“We knew you were the only person who could have gotten his mind off the game,” Dash says.
“Thanks, you guys!” Clay says, and I glower at him. “ What? I got my girl. I’m happy.”
“I’m happy, too ,” I insist. “But I can’t believe there was so much scheming going on behind our backs. Mom? You and Dad were in on this?”
“Honey, it was so obvious that you were attracted to Clay, but you were standing in your own way,” my mother says. “All we did was think up a few extra reasons for Dash to invite him to visit this past year.”
“Dad!”
My father hikes a thumb at my mother and says, “It was her idea.”
The crowd laughs.
“What are you upset about?” Sable steps forward. “You got the guy you’ve been drooling over. Shut up and kiss him already!”
The crowd cheers, and Clay draws me into his arms. “What do you say, Reckless? Should we show them how right they were?”
I know out of everything I have ever done, or will ever do, this moment will be the one Oak Falls residents remember me for. My rational brain says to be low key, but my loving heart says eff that . “Kiss me like you never want to stop, or don’t kiss me at al—”
Whistles and cheers explode around us as my words are lost to his delicious lips. Clay crushes me to him, and I return his efforts with vengeance and possession, wanting everyone to know I’m his and he’s mine. He intensifies his efforts, and I go up on my toes, his muscular arms holding me so tight, I can barely breathe. But I don’t need to, because he does it for me. His hand snakes into my hair, and my thoughts flit away, the din of the crowd turning to white noise, and I’m overcome with a sense of freedom I’ve never known before.
Our lips part on a series of feathery kisses, and as the cheers come back into focus, the rational woman in me can’t believe I did that.
But Reckless is all smiles as my family converges on us in hugs and embarrassing comments that make me blush despite myself. I give my siblings a hard time but tell them I forgive them, and Dash says he’s not sorry and that he and Amber knew we belonged together at their wedding.
When the chaos finally calms and the crowd begins to disperse, Sable and her band head for the stage, and my father makes his way over to me. “I’m sorry to trick you, princess.”
“You’re lucky I like him, or you’d be on my shit list.” We both laugh. “I’m sorry about the PDA. I know it was a little over the top.”
“Don’t ever be sorry for showing the world your heart.”
The sound of a helicopter drowns out the blood rushing through my ears, and Sable announces, “Team Play, your ride is here!”
I spin around toward the stage. “What?” I see Clay jogging over.
“Sorry, Cade, but we’ve got to go. Come on, Pep.” He takes my hand, heading for the field where the helicopter is landing.
“Have fun,” my father calls after us. “Dash and I will get your car home!”
My family and friends shout their goodbyes and wave.
“Where are we going? And why does everyone know about this but me?” I ask, hurrying to keep up with Clay. “Whose helicopter is that?”
“Seth’s. He’s flying it.”
“Your brother is a pilot ?”
“Overachievers run in our family. We’re going to meet my family in Ridgeport.”
I stop running, my heart thundering. “We’re meeting your family ? Why didn’t you tell me? I’m a mess.”
The wind from the helicopter blades blows my hair around my face. He puts his hands on my cheeks, setting his excited blue eyes on me, talking over the noise. “You’re always beautiful. My family is going to be as crazy about you as I am, and our bag and coats are in the helicopter. It’s really hard to get my family in one place, and tonight is the debut of Flynn and Sutton’s Heart Stories documentaries. I want you with me when we surprise them. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about it. I just didn’t want to freak you out.”
“News alert! I am freaking out!” My head is spinning, but my heart is reeling. “I’m glad you want me there, but next time something big comes up, can you please give me notice?”
“Noted! Let’s go .”
We head over to the helicopter, which is insanely loud. Clay helps me climb in and hands me headphones. We put them on, and as we settle into our seats and put on our seat belts, Seth turns to greet us. He’s got thick dark hair, and he’s wearing glasses and a freaking red #teamplay sweatshirt. “Welcome aboard Team Play,” he says through the headset.
“You, too?” I exclaim, turning wide eyes to Clay.
“Don’t look at me,” Clay says.
Seth laughs. “Dash left no stone unturned. It’s nice to meet you, Pepper. Let’s see if we can make this bird sing.”
I grab Clay’s hand as the helicopter rises into the air. “Are you sure he knows how to fly this thing?”
“I sure hope so!” Seth says through the headset.
“Oh my gosh. You heard that? I didn’t mean—”
Clay saves me with a hard press of his lips, and his brother’s deep voice comes through the headphones. “If clothes start coming off, I’m hitting the eject button.”