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She went back to work on the arch. Huck turned to leave, but when he reached the back door of the hotel, he looked over his shoulder at her.
“I can play this game too, honey,” he said. When she met his stare, he tossed her a wink. “Pull my strings and back away all you want, but we both know how this is going to play out.”
…
All Huck knew was that he needed one full night to get her out of his system, then he could walk away happy and back to his normal self by morning. Two weeks screwing each other’s brains out sounded nice if that was what she wanted, but he was already pushing his luck going after her for a second night.
He really wasn’t sure how he’d explain to Colt and Jenna why he wasn’t showing her around town, but he’d figure something out. As soon as he got his cock to shut up so he could think straight.
“You going to ask her to dance?” Ryder asked. His friend was standing in a matching tux, looking across the reception dance floor in the same direction as Huck.
“What?” Huck snapped from his thoughts and glanced at his friend and business partner. Ryder was the patriarch of the town and had saved Huck’s ass a time or two. He could always count on his friends.
A few years ago after Sydney left, Huck had hit a downward spiral, and Ryder had been there to pull him out. They’d gone from swinging hammers on odd jobs to launching their own business, and now they were co-owners of the most successful contracting and land development company this side of the Mississippi.
“You keep staring at the leggy bridesmaid,” Ryder said, and Huck didn’t miss the way his buddy’s eyes did their own scan. Something like fire and annoyance pricked his stomach. Something like…jealousy.
“Don’t you have a date somewhere?”
“Nope,” Ryder said and downed the rest of his beer. Huck didn’t know what was going on with him lately, but between the trips out of town and his normally happy mood teetering, Huck could guess it had something to do with a woman.
“Go ask her to dance and stop staring like a creep.” Ryder nudged Huck’s shoulder.
“Nah, man.” In the past hour he’d watched her turn away at least four guys who’d asked the same thing.
“Why?”
“Because I think she’ll she shoot me down.”
Ryder’s eyes went wide, and Huck realized what he’d said. “Holy shit,” Ryder said. “This woman has you nervous.”
Huck frowned and looked at Autumn. She was clutching her glass of water and seemed nervous herself. She didn’t appear to know anyone there, just hovered near the wedding party’s table. He’d never seen someone more alone in a crowd in his life. And that bugged him for some reason. He didn’t like the look he saw in her eyes. The woman was tough, but there was a glimpse of something very soft beneath.
The dress was obviously not to her taste, but it was short and showcased the longest set of legs he’d ever had the pleasure of having wrapped around him. The light color of the dress made her olive skin glow in contrast, and her black curls hung down her back in glossy waves. All he could think about was how it had felt, soft and fine, and he wanted to wrap all that hair around his fist while he fucked her.
All he needed was for her to agree to one more night. Yet he stood ther
e, doing nothing.
“I’m not nervous,” he said, more to himself than Ryder. “I know that woman enough to know that asking her to dance isn’t going to get me anywhere.”
“And where is it you’re trying to get with her?”
Huck didn’t answer his friend’s question, because truth was, he was trying to get back to feeling normal. Whatever that meant.
“Look, man, I know you had a hard time last week with the—”
“It’s cool,” Huck said. That was his answer to a lot of things. Just like he was picking up that Autumn’s go-to response was, “It’s fine.”
Yeah, last week had been the anniversary of the day his ex left him. The day he came home to the truth that Sydney was gone and had been fucking someone else. He still remembered the smell of stale carpet as he stood in the doorway and found his entire house cleared out and her gone. Nothing had shocked him more.
He thought they’d been happy. Christ, they’d been set to get married, talked about having kids. Shit of it was, he’d wanted those things. The idea of being a dad and husband had made him happy. Now it gave him the shakes. He’d been a sucker. Never again would he be caught off guard like that. Never again would he be left. Destroyed.
“All I’m saying is maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to hang around the same woman for a while. Just for two weeks. Especially since she seems to have an effect on you.”
Huck tried to brush off Ryder’s remark. “Well of course she does, she’s gorgeous.”
“Gorgeous?”
