Chapter 8 Beau #2
Or maybe it had nothing to do with any of that, and everything to do with her being the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen, rival or not.
Carrying a half-conscious Henry over to his parents, I said, “I think this boy’s tapped.” He was holding onto the stuffed monkey he won at the ring toss after playing enough games to empty my wallet. But it was for a good cause and made him happy, so I didn’t mind it.
“Think you’re right, brother,” Joseph said, taking him from me. “I’ll go get him in the car.” He clapped my shoulder, a shit-eating grin on his face. “Thanks, BoBo, for the night off.”
“Kiss my ass,” I groaned, and he laughed. Only Henry could call me that and get away with it.
I helped Anna stand and handed her her purse. “Stop being a bitch, Beau.”
A choked cough escaped me. “What the hell are you talking about?” Was this the hormonal rage I had heard cautionary tales about? Did she not want her purse? I’d carry it for her if she didn’t want it that badly, but she’d have to ask a lot nicer than that.
“You’ve been looking at her all night. And then you let Weston dance with her? Idiot.” She rammed her finger into my chest, enunciating her next words. “Stop. Being. A. Bitch. And ask Claire to dance.”
My lungs deflated, my shoulders dropping pathetically. “I can’t go ask her to dance,” I said quietly. “I’m competing against—”
She held a hand up, silencing me. “I haven’t seen you look at someone the way you’ve been looking at her since she got here ever.
” I opened my mouth to respond, to tell her she was wrong, but she cut me off again.
“I’m not done. You obviously feel something towards her, so stop being a coward and go do something about it. ”
I glanced back, finding Claire nursing a beer and chatting with Delilah, who kept glancing at Emmett on the dance floor with Louise. Poor guy, she was eating him alive. Delilah said something, and Claire laughed, the sound carrying over the thinned-out crowd.
That laugh did me in. Next thing I knew, I was striding across the park.
I locked eyes with Delilah first, and she smacked Claire’s arm frantically, getting her attention. Claire turned, beer bottle to her mouth, and her eyes went wide. She lowered the bottle and wiped her mouth. God, that mouth. How could something so vicious look so sweet?
Delilah stepped in front of her, arms crossed like a guard dog, acting as if I couldn’t toss her over my shoulder like a bag of feed.
I hadn’t seen her in years, but she still had her signature light copper hair and seemed as bold and outspoken as ever, wearing her red leather jacket and skin-tight jeans. “What do you want, Beaumont?”
Claire fidgeted behind her. It was so unlike her that I ended up not answering Delilah and blurting, “Dance with me.”
She blinked quickly. “W-What?” I’d never heard her sound so unsure in my life. It only made me want to hold her close even more.
I held a hand out for Claire. “Dance with me,” I said, my voice more sure. Surer than it’d ever been.
She hesitated for a second before handing her beer to a concerned-looking Delilah. “Are you sure, bear?” Bear. I had forgotten they all called her that because she was like a mama bear. Fierce. Protective. Loyal.
But someone had to take care of the mama bear, too. And tonight, I wanted it to be me. Consequences and competitions be damned.
“Yeah,” she said, a little breathless, and when her hand slid along mine, sparks ran through me like I had grabbed a live wire. Her hand wasn’t soft, not entirely. Rough in all the places that were a testament to how hard she worked. And God help me, it was sexy as hell.
Claire smelled like flowers as I pulled her in close, probably the closest we’d ever been, definitely the closest as adults. The music cut, and then came the slow drawl of “Tennessee Whiskey.” I looked over to see my meddling sister waddling away from the stage, grinning like the devil.
“I’m gonna kill ‘er,” I chuckled under my breath, shaking my head.
Claire smiled softly in Anna’s direction, relaxing in my hold a little more, her guard dropping a little more.
“How is she doing? Her family?” An unexpected pang of sadness hit me, knowing how far apart they drifted when they used to be best friends.
All because of our fathers, because of that stupid merger.
“Good. Her son, Henry, is four, and she’s due in a few months with a baby girl.”
Her smile widened at that, her eyes meeting mine. “He’s cute,” she said. “I saw you with him earlier over by the ring toss.”
“He’s spoiled rotten, that’s what he is.”
She giggled, and I felt like the king of the world. But then her walls slammed back up, and she put more distance between us. “This doesn’t change anything, you know. So if this is some mind game, it’s not going to work.”
“This isn’t a mind game, Claire. I don’t need games to win.”
She rolled her eyes, looking away, before meeting my gaze again.
Her eyes were so green up close, distracting enough that I faltered and nearly stepped on her foot, but she didn’t say anything.
She just kept looking at me with this…I couldn’t even describe the look in her eyes, but it captivated me.
Did she feel this thing between us? Whatever it was?
“You know this will be in the Whispers tomorrow, right?” Her voice had a husky rasp to it now.
“I don’t care,” I replied, pulling her closer.
Needing it. She followed easily. I brought out our joined hands against my chest, and I knew she could feel how fast my heart was racing.
I licked my lips, letting out a shaky breath.
“I just know I saw you walk in earlier, and I haven’t been able to focus on much else. ”
She cocked a brow, smirking. “Who’s the one looking now?” But I didn’t miss the subtle flush in her cheeks.
“I’ve been looking all night, Claire.”
Her playful expression disappeared. She swallowed roughly. “Beau…what are you doing?” Her voice was barely above a whisper. The question reverberated through me harder than any bass could. Because for the first time in my life, I felt truly out of control.
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I really don’t.”
“Okay,” she said, and let me pull her in closer.
Everything fell away as I held her against me, her body now flush with mine. A perfect fit. My hand slid lower down her spine, stopping just short of being indecent. Further than Weston dared. “Am I a better dancer than Weston?”
“Very,” she replied. “He just asked me about Savannah and stepped on my toes.”
I couldn’t stop the satisfaction I felt. “I’ll let him live, I guess.”
“Why? Were you jealous?” she chuckled, looking around at the fundraiser.
My grip on her tightened until her eyes met mine. “Very.”
Her lips parted with a shaky breath, her pupils blown wide despite the fairy lights.
I could hardly breathe, couldn’t think far beyond how beautiful she was, and how I’d been an idiot for never noticing until now. I’d always thought she was cute when we were kids, but this was different. Different than anything I’d felt before.
“Have I told you how beautiful you look yet?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Well, you do.” I let go of her hand, brushing a lock of hair off her shoulder, and letting the back of my fingers ghost her skin as I did. “You’re radiant.” My voice was low, reverent. I never imagined speaking to her like this, given our history, but now that I had, I didn’t know if I could stop.
She shuddered against me, and I felt it roll through every muscle of her. “Thank you,” she whispered.
My blood fizzed like freshly poured champagne, a need I’d never felt before taking over. My eyes lowered to her lips, so plump and soft, and I was desperate to taste them.
Claire tilted her face up, a silent invitation. I leaned in, my heart thundering against my ribs.
But then my fucking brother showed up. “Sorry to interrupt,” Colt said awkwardly, clearing his throat. “It’s a phone call for you.”
“I’m kinda busy here,” I said through clenched teeth, gesturing to Claire.
“I know, but you’re gonna want to take this.”
My eyes drifted shut, and I sighed. Colt wouldn’t cut in like this if it weren’t important. I let go of Claire. “I’m sorry, it could be about—”
“It’s fine,” she said quickly, her voice higher than usual. “I need to get home anyway, Gran’s watching Mama.”
I watched her go, my heart sinking. I hoped that she really did need to get home, rather than regret what had just happened. But Claire wasn’t the type to make excuses or do something she didn’t want to.
What had just happened? I had no clue. All I knew was I wanted it to happen again.
“Someone better be dead,” I growled at my brother and brought the phone to my ear. “Hello?”
“Beaumont. Hi, this is Preston Hollis, Levi’s half-brother.”
I looked at Colt, wrenching my jaw and mouthing, “You’re the dead one.”
“What do you want, Preston?”
Levi and Preston Hollis belonged to the most power-hungry, wealthy, and morally bankrupt family in Wild Creek.
Their grandfather, Sterling, was president of the town council and an oil tycoon who owned half of Texas at this point.
Unfortunately for me, Levi was my cousin on my mother’s side.
Levi was bearable, pleasant even, but Preston and the rest of them?
They could go kick fucking rocks for all I cared.
Especially for interrupting my dance with Claire.
“We’d like to acquire your land, and are prepared to offer—”
“Not interested.”
“It’s a multi-million dollar offer, Beaumont. More than you’d ever get from Cavendish. You’d never have to work again a day in your life.”
“Still not interested. Bye.” I hung up before he could say anything else and slammed the phone into Colt’s chest. “Fuck you for that, Colton. Now take me home, Anna ditched me.”
Colt sighed and caught up with me. “Sorry, but when someone offers you millions of dollars, you kinda have to hear them out. That’s just how it works.”
“The hell I am. ‘Specially when it’s a Hollis making the offer.” Mount always told me to never make a deal with a Hollis because they were “slimy bastards,” and it was one of the rare pieces of advice from him that I followed.
We got in Colt’s squad car, and I slammed my door shut. “You’re just pissed about Claire.”
He was right, I was pissed at him for interrupting, but was more pissed at myself for wanting Claire to stay, for letting myself blur a line I wasn’t sure I was capable of clarifying again. “Just take me home,” I grumbled, done talking.