Chapter 12
Sitting in the back seat of Laney’s car, Addison flipped through the pages of a bridal magazine. Tabs marked a few pages displaying flower arrangements and dresses. All the images had the same feel, classic and soft—very Laney.
“Wait a minute. What’s this?” Addison stopped. She held up the marked page. Bold wildflowers and a dress that would bring any man to his knees jumped off the page.
Marti leaned over the front seat. Her eyes brightened. “Oh, I like that one.”
Addison eyed Laney through the mirror. Her friend’s faint smile showed a hint of the new woman she’d become since her divorce. “Is this the dress you like or just the bouquet?”
“I know it’s a little bold, but…” A blush deepened her cheeks.
“Hell yeah. Cade will swallow his tongue.” Marti wagged her eyebrows. “Then again, you’ll look magnificent in anything with those long legs and curves.”
“Are you going to wear white?” Addison asked.
“I don’t know. I’m thinking off-white or pearl.” Laney pulled into a parking spot in front of the floral shop.
“Virginal white might be a stretch.” Marti snorted.
Addison kicked her seat.
“Hey. I’m just jealous. You’ve seen the sparks flying off her and Cade when they’re in the same room. You know they’re doing it like bunnies.”
“Not like bunnies.” Laney’s color turned a pretty shade of rose.
Now Addison was jealous too.
Inside the floral shop, Laney’s sister and mother waited for them.
“There’s my baby.” Laura Hunt rushed across the shop to hug her daughter, maybe a little too tightly.
“Hi, Mom.” A strained smile crossed Laney’s lips. They hadn’t been in the shop two minutes, and Addison’s best friend was already stressed.
“I’m so excited. It’s a once in a lifetime event, planning your daughter’s wedding.” Laura gave a little clap.
Shelly cleared her throat.
“I mean, per daughter.”
Laney arched an eyebrow. “Really, Mom?”
“Oh, you know what I mean. Let’s look at flowers.” Laney’s mom pulled her across the store to the huge flower arrangement book.
Addison hung back. She was here for moral support.
If Laney needed someone to have her back, she would engage.
For now, she peered into the coolers filled with blooms. On a deep inhale, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the amazing fragrance.
She could only name three flowers, but she loved the smells.
“Did you hear that? I’m so proud of her. She just shot down her mom’s choice of boutonniere,” Marti whispered. She leaned against the shelves of potted plants. Both of them were spectators… backup, in case a brawl broke out in the fresh-cut blooms section.
Addison watched as Laney showed the florist the picture of the bright bouquet from the magazine. You go, girl!
“What do you guys think?” Laney waved them over to look at the options. “This style, but with these flowers?”
“Love it. Now we just have to find that dress.” Addison didn’t know if the dress or flowers came first, but she had no doubt that Laney would be gorgeous on her wedding day.
They piled back into the car, and Laney set the navigation for the dress shop two towns over. “If I can’t find anything I like there, I’ll make an appointment at one of the bridal shops in the Twin Cities for another day.”
As they pulled out onto the highway, Laney asked, “How was your date last night?”
“Nice.” Addison stared out the window. Her mind circled back to Nash’s lips on hers.
“It must have been good because you either have a rash or that’s whisker burn on your collarbone.” Laney locked gazes with her through the rearview mirror.
Shit. Addison slapped a hand over her neck.
“Wait. What? I thought you had a date with Frank last night?” Marti whipped around in her seat.
“It’s not a rash, is it?” Laney’s brow shot up as she waited for Addison’s response.
“No. It’s nothing.” She racked her brain for another subject.
Marti squinted. “That’s funny. Frank would lose a beard contest to an eleven-year-old boy. The only way you could get whisker burn from him is… Eww.”
“No!” Addison covered her eyes, like she could wipe away the image now poaching on her gray matter. Yuck!
“If it wasn’t Frank, then who?”
Her gaze flitted from Laney to Marti. Nope. They would not be deterred, but no way she’d admit she’d locked lips with Nash.
“Yeah. Don’t get me wrong, if you did… I can’t say it. But if you did, it would be the best date of my cousin’s life.”
Addison exhaled. Her shoulders dropped. “Eww, no. I had a nice dinner with Frank. We talked about Star Trek and comic books.”
“That sounds more like my cousin.”
“Then I was driving home, and my car’s engine started to sputter. I was only a couple of blocks from the shop, so I pulled in there, thinking I would leave it and call my mom for a ride.”
“Okay. That doesn’t explain the abrasions.” Marti crossed her arms over her ample chest.
“Nash was there.” Laney grinned like she’d solved a puzzle.
“Oooh. Sexy Mr. Steele was in the shop. Come on. Don’t hold out on us.” Marti bounced in her seat.
“Yes. Nash was there.” So much for not telling them.
“You owe me a pop.” Laney high-fived Marti.
“Hey! You two were betting on me?” Addison scowled at her friends.
Laney shrugged. “It was Marti’s idea. She didn’t think you’d cave to Nash’s charms.”
“Yeah. Yeah. Back to the hickey on her neck.”
“It’s not a hickey.” She didn’t think. “It all happened so fast. He looked at my car. Someone poured sugar in the gas tank.”
“Wait? Who would do that?” Laney whipped her head around, concern in her eyes.
“Laney. The road.” Addison pointed toward the windshield.
“Sorry.” The car jerked as her bestie whirled her attention back to the traffic.
Addison exhaled before continuing, “I think it was a prank, but Nash was suspicious. He grabbed my arm and hustled me into the shop. We argued, and next thing I know, he kissed me.”
Marti wiggled her finger at Addison’s neck. “I’d say it was more than a simple kiss. Oh look, she’s blushing.”
“I don’t blush.” But man, was it hot in the car suddenly? “It was a lapse in judgement. That’s it. Besides, I want a normal life with a man who’s a good husband and father. I want the fairytale.”
“Nash is a dad. A pretty good one from what I can see.” Laney’s brow raised in her mirror.
“Davey’s definitely a charmer, like his dad. I have a date to go to his baseball game tomorrow.”
“What? Nash asked you to go to his son’s game? That’s a new angle for picking up women.” Marti leaned back in her seat.
“No. Davey asked me. Nash said I could back out, and he’d make an excuse for me.” Which surprised her more than a little.
“Davey’s a chip off the old block.”
“He’s a great kid. What are you going to do?” Laney asked.
Addison shrugged. “Go to the game. It might be the best date I’ve had all week. Even if he is in junior high.”
Her friends’ giggles filled the car. As they motored down the highway to the bridal shop, Addison watched the fields go by.
Her mind looped back to Nash and Davey. From their brief interaction, he seemed like a good dad.
But something in her chest wouldn’t let her fall any deeper into a relationship with Nash. Not yet.
Oh, she was going to Davey’s game alright. Now that she knew Nash’s lips were electric, Addison planned to pry deeper into his life. Who was Nash Steele, really? This great guy everyone is trying so hard to convince her he was, or just another hot guy with dimples that made her knees go weak.
She’d find out tomorrow.
“Back seat,” Nash said sternly, but the dog didn’t budge.
Max’s tongue rolled out, and his doggy smile dared him.
“I mean it. Look, she’s almost to the truck. Get in the back.”
Addison opened the truck door. Her cool facade crumbled when she spied Max. “Hey there. I didn’t know you were bringing the pup.” She scooped him up and snuggled him close as she hopped into the seat.
So much for Max learning to ride in the back.
She scanned the inside of the truck. “Hi. Where’s Davey?”
“He stayed at his mom’s house after yesterday’s game. They live closer.” He put the truck in drive and headed out of town.
“Wait. Aren’t the ball fields that way?” She pointed in the opposite direction from where he pulled out onto the highway.
“Gray Duck Grove’s fields, yes. But we’re heading to the Cities. That’s where Davey’s mom lives and where he goes to school.”
“Oh.” Her expression sobered.
“Obviously, you didn’t realize this was an all-day thing. If you don’t want to go…”
“No. I do. What time does the game start?” She adjusted her ball cap and pushed up her dark glasses.
“Ten. We should be there in plenty of time.”
She sat quietly, stroking Max’s fur. Usually, silence didn’t bug Nash, but something nudged him to get her talking. “Did you gals find the dress yesterday?”
“I think so. Laney knew what she wanted both for flowers and her dress. We narrowed down the bridesmaid dress colors as well.” A slight grin tugged at her mouth.
“What?”
“Laney and her mom almost came to blows about veils. It was the big veil or no veil discussion. Marti and I thought we’d need to jump between them.”
“That intense?”
“You have no idea.” She relaxed back, stroking a hand through his dog’s fur while she recapped the events of the ladies’ day.
The tension Nash had been feeling eased. His grip on the steering wheel relaxed, and the rhythm of her words lulled him. It could be the smell of her perfume as well. It filled the truck as if the backseat held two dozen bouquets.
The conversation moved from wedding prep to work for the next few miles. Addison slid into her position at Busted Knuckle like a well-oiled piston in a cylinder.
They were getting along so well that she actually smiled a time or two. Nash hated to change the subject, but he couldn’t beat back his concern. “Did you file a report about your car?”
“No.” Her spine straightened.
Shit. The last thing he wanted was to put emotional distance between them again. “I think you should. I will document the repair just in case.”
“You’re overreacting.”