All the wright moves, p.14
All the Wright Moves, page 14
22
Nora
Waking up alone in that hotel room made me sad.
I’d told West that none of it mattered. In fact, I basically convinced him that this was all peachy. I hadn’t wanted him to think that he was like his dad. Because he wasn’t.
And still, I’d been sad when I woke up.
I’d agreed to all of this. I wanted that fun fling since I’d never done anything like this before in my life. But I wasn’t supposed to develop real feelings. I wasn’t supposed to have feelings about him being gone from my bed.
Not that I planned to tell him that. He was stressed enough with the band and now his dad. We were having fun for the few weeks before he went back to LA. This didn’t have to be complicated.
It would be better when we returned home. We lived together, so there was less sneaking. I could wake up in his bed any day of the week if I wanted. And I did most nights of the week. He spent a lot of time at the condo Campbell had purchased in town, going over stuff for the album release.
I could feel the clock ticking on our tryst.
It was easy not to think about it, considering wedding season was in full swing. Jordan and Annie’s wedding had basically kicked off my busy season. I was at work from sunup until sundown almost every night. Every Friday and Saturday night and even some Sunday afternoons, there were local weddings at Wright Vineyard. The only thing I had time for other than my job was crashing into West’s bed at night and soccer on Sunday nights.
“I’m going to be late,” I grumbled as I strode into the house on my four-inch high heels.
“We still have time,” West said. He was playing a video game in the living room but gave up as I ran into my bedroom to change into my soccer uniform.
The Tacos were playing the indoor soccer championship tonight, but my wedding had run late, and thus I was running late for the game. Fewer players played on an indoor pitch, but Annie had been called in to the ER unexpectedly, Cézanne hadn’t been able to play all season, and Eve had a house to show, so she wouldn’t make it until the second half.
Which meant, without me, they would be playing a man down. In the championship.
“Just imagine if I could work less,” I said as I tugged my shirt over my head and snatched up my bag. I threw him the keys to my truck.
“You could work less,” he said.
I almost growled at him. That was how little downtime I had. “I could, but I don’t know how not to hustle.”
“I get it. It’s hard when you’re following your dream job.” I scoffed, and he glanced over at me in surprise as we got into the truck. “What? Wright Vineyard isn’t your dream job?”
“Dream implies something I fantasize about. What person fantasizes about working a hundred hours a week from April to October?”
“Fair. What would your dream job be then?”
“If I had my pick…I’d work a handful of fabulous weddings a year. I’d get these incredible, outrageously expensive weddings, and my fee would cover my expenses for the rest of the year. Then, I could travel the world. I mean, even getting to go away during the summer would be nice.”
“That does sound like a dream.”
I sighed and kicked my feet up on the dash. “Not that it seems likely.”
“You never heard from English?”
I frowned and looked down at my clasped hands. I’d told West about that interaction in New York City. He’d been excited for the opportunity for me, but it wasn’t like she’d been serious. “No. I haven’t heard from her. She was probably in the moment.”
“Maybe.”
“Anyway, I need to tell Hollin that we need to hire someone else. We could bring Tessi on full-time and get a few more assistants since the wedding business has burgeoned so dramatically.”
“Do that,” he said automatically. “I don’t like to see you this stressed.”
“I’d be less stressed if I wasn’t going to be late to this game.”
“We’re going to make it,” Weston said. “And I called Harley earlier when you said you’d be late. She played in high school. She was excited to cover for you. She might already be there.”
I blew out a breath of relief. That did make me feel better. But I detested being late for anything.
West’s phone beeped as we turned off the loop toward the indoor complex. “That’s Harley. She said she’s there. Isaac gave her Annie’s uniform. So, you can breathe.”
“Fine. Fine. But it’s the championship game.”
He reached across the dash and took my hand. “It’ll be fine.”
“With my luck, Harley will be better than me, and they won’t want to sub me in.”
I wasn’t that bad, but I’d only gotten into soccer for The Tacos. Originally because August was so good at soccer that he wanted to play on Hollin’s team. I’d agreed and worked hard to be good enough to be on the team. I’d once told Hollin that my breakup with August was worse for the team, and he’d scolded me. Not because I was better than August, but because we had gotten Eve out of the situation, and she was way better than him.
Still, I didn’t want to miss the final game of the indoor season.
West pulled into the parking lot three minutes after the game started. My fuzzy pink dice swinging dangerously from the rearview window.
“We made good time,” I said, dropping out of the passenger seat and hurrying around to the driver’s side to grab my bag from the back.
West stepped out next to me. “Before you go.” He snagged my arm, pulling me toward him.
“I don’t have time.”
“I know,” he said as he pushed my back against the SUV.
My heart rate accelerated as he took control of my body. His lips descended on mine, and I gave in, wrapping my arms around his neck and letting him kiss me breathless. He was distracting me from my nerves in the same way I’d done for him in New York City. He could kiss me here without anyone around to see.
And I wanted this. God, I wanted this.
The kiss turned feverish, and for one delirious moment, I wondered if we had time for a quickie in the parking lot. It couldn’t possibly happen. Not with the game beckoning. But it was a glorious fantasy.
“West,” I groaned.
“I know. I know. You have to go.”
“I really do.”
And then I kissed him again for good measure.
The crunch of gravel under feet should have been the indication that someone was getting nearer, but I was lost to West’s lips.
It wasn’t until a throat cleared and someone said, “Nora?” that I pulled back.
I’d know that voice anywhere.
“August?” I gasped in surprise.
He froze, looking between me and West in shock. He saw straight through what was happening here. West’s arm was still around my waist. My back braced against the SUV. I stumbled forward.
I didn’t have to justify myself. August had hurt me in the worst way possible. He’d demolished my heart and then kept right on rolling over it. He had no right to look at me as if I were the person doing something wrong.
“What are you doing here?” I forced out.
“I…I came to talk to you.” He glanced back toward the indoor facility. “I knew you’d be at the championship game.”
“And why would you think I’d want to talk to you? I told you that I didn’t want to see you anymore. Multiple times actually.”
He nodded. His eyes shifting to West, who still had said nothing, and back to me. “Can we have a moment…alone?”
“That doesn’t sound like a good idea,” I said at the same time West growled, “No.”
I put my hand on his chest to stop him. I could handle this. I could handle August.
“I said all I needed to say to you. Go back to your fiancée,” I said with venom in my voice.
He swallowed. “I see.”
“I don’t think you do. I’m not the same girl that you abused, August,” I told him.
“Abused?” he asked in a straggled gasp. “Nora, I would never…”
“The woman said what she said,” Weston said.
“Why don’t you stay out of this?” August snapped at him.
“I don’t think I have to do that. You heard her.” West straightened to his considerable height and crossed his arms over his chest. “She doesn’t want anything to do with you.”
August looked ready to argue, but since when did he fight for what he wanted? When had he ever fought for me? No, he gave me one more pleading look and then slunk away.
“I have no idea what that was about.”
West shook his head. “He’s up to something.”
“Well, whatever it is, I don’t want any part of it.”
“Good,” he said, pressing a kiss to my hair.
I wasn’t sure he even realized that he’d done it. How intimate it was. It wasn’t about sex…or anything with our little fling. It was just what he’d wanted in that moment. I glanced up at him, and my stomach flipped at the look still on his face. The one that said he’d do anything to keep me from being hurt by that ass again.
But who was going to protect my heart from him?
23
Weston
A few days later, my fingers flew across the piano. I was lost in the music, humming the lyrics I’d put to my beat. It wasn’t something that Cosmere would ever sing. Those were exclusively Campbell’s songs, but this was something else. Something important to me.
And something I could currently drive all my anxiety about said band into.
“I like that,” a voice said from behind me.
I cut off playing and found Nora in the doorway to my music room. She was in a white dress with green flowers on it and nude high heels. She leaned her hip against the doorframe and crossed her arms. She’d been swamped with work, and I’d hardly seen her since the championship.
“You’re home early,” I noted.
“Tessi started full-time yesterday. She told me to take the afternoon off,” she explained as she walked over to my upright piano.
“Thank God for Tessi.”
I reached for her, pulling her down into my lap. She laughed but settled into place as I played the simplified chords of the song.
“You’ve played that for me before, haven’t you?”
“I have.” I pressed a kiss into her shoulder. “It’s your song.”
She startled. “My song?”
“Uh-huh,” I said, moving smoothly up the keys and then back down. “I call it ‘Nora’s Melody.’ ”
Her cheeks flushed. “I didn’t know I had my own melody.”
“Just something I’ve been working on.”
All the tension left her body, and we sat there, not speaking. I let the music speak for itself. Said all the things about her that I couldn’t get into words. The things that were too tangled up with the fact that I was going back to LA. And that we had an expiration date. Still, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I couldn’t stop writing about her.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered, swiping at her eye. “I’ve never had a song written about me. Does it have lyrics?”
I shrugged. “Something I’m still working on. The keys are easier for me than words. I’ve always understood the music.”
“I can tell. It almost doesn’t need words.”
I moved back up the keys as I came toward the conclusion. When I landed on middle C, the note long and mournful, I pulled my hands back and wrapped my arms around her.
“Can we stay like this?”
She dropped her head back and tilted it to look at me. “If only.”
I drew her mouth to me, pressing down firmly. “What’s your plan for today? A whole afternoon off.”
“I’m not sure. I was thinking of going to see Apple.”
I blinked at her. “Apple?”
She laughed. “She owns the nursery I frequent. She’s probably confused as to why she hasn’t seen me in months.”
“Of course you’re on a first-name basis with the nursery owner.”
“You’d like her.”
“I think you’re right.”
“You could come with me.”
I arched an eyebrow at her. “What do I need with a plant?”
She came to her feet and rolled her eyes at me. “What? Would you rather mope in this room the rest of the day?”
“Ouch.”
She wasn’t wrong. I had been moping. I’d been moping all week since Campbell had gone back to LA without me. He said he had some stuff to work out with the band. I offered to go with him, but he said that he didn’t need me. And I’d tried not to flinch at those words.
They’d needed me for so long. Michael had left the band, and I was the one who had stepped up to make sure Campbell’s vision was realized. I’d recorded with them. I’d played with them in New York City. And now, I wasn’t needed. It brought out the darker side of my personality to know that my art had been good enough, and now, it wasn’t.
Nora had told me that wasn’t at all the case, and a part of me knew that she was right. I was self-aware enough to know that I was dealing with imposter syndrome. It didn’t make any of it any easier.
She dropped her hands to my shoulders. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. You’re just so sad.”
My hands returned to her hips, drawing her back into me. “I’m an artist. Sad is when I work best.”
“I guess so. I don’t like to see you like this.”
“And a plant will fix it?”
She laughed and nodded. “It works for me.”
“You’ve convinced me.”
I stood, taking her with me. She yelped and then wrapped her legs around my waist. I carried her into my room, tossing her gently back onto my bed.
“This does not feel like going to get a plant.”
“Priorities,” I said as I ran my hands up her inner thighs and pressed my mouth against her underwear.
She gasped out, “West!”
Fuck, I loved to hear that.
I tugged her panties off and buried my face between her legs. She tasted like fucking heaven. I’d had a rough couple of days. She’d been gone a lot. I needed to find salvation here with her.
Her fingers threaded through my hair, which had grown long enough to pull. I groaned against her body as she did just that.
“Fuck.”
She came on my mouth a few minutes later in a panting mess. I loved to see her this way. I still could hardly believe that someone had convinced her she couldn’t come like this. I’d never understand it since she was so utterly responsive with me.
I rolled a condom on and then pulled her down on top of me.
She laughed. “This is what you want?”
I maneuvered my cock, aligning it with her awaiting pussy. Then, she settled down inch after inch until I was seated inside of her. She braced her hands on my chest and made a soft noise. Her eyes were closed and her mouth slightly open. She looked like a fucking painting. I wanted to mark this in my memory forever.
I grasped her hips and rolled them back and forth.
“That is…” she stammered. “Oh…oh God.”
“Close again already?” I teased.
She shot me a look as she lifted her hips and dropped back down onto me. “Are you?”
I dug my fingers into her hips at the sheer perfection of her. Then, I worked her up and slammed her down over and over again. She braced herself forward as everything built and built and built.
“Fuck,” I cried out.
“Yes.”
I was so close. And then she pressed us together, chest to chest, just moving her hips up and down. The contact made me unleash. I cried out as I came inside of her. She made mewling noises as she clenched tight all around me. Then, her body went limp.
“I should come home early more often,” she murmured with a sigh as she rolled off me.
I chuckled softly. “I will not disagree.”
After tossing the condom, I changed into jeans and a T-shirt. Nora was pulling her panties back on when I turned around. I hadn’t even gotten her out of her dress. We were a little more rumpled than when we’d started.
I snagged the keys from Nora and drove her SUV south. She didn’t seem to mind anymore that I’d started driving her around. I loved my Subaru, but her CR-V was newer with fewer miles. And I felt safer behind the wheel than as her passenger. To say she was a reckless driver was an understatement. Sometimes, I wondered how she’d passed her driver’s test.
“There it is,” she said with excitement shining on her face.
Apple’s Nursery was sort of a hole-in-the-wall. She’d mentioned the place in passing, but I’d never seen it before. It was a small building tucked onto the end of a strip mall with a greenhouse on one end, but Nora looked at it as if it were El Dorado.
She grabbed my hand and all but skipped toward the entrance. “Come on.”
Her enthusiasm was infectious. I could feel my bad mood sliding off of me. Somehow, she was always able to get me out of these depressive episodes. I didn’t know how she knew exactly what I needed, but she did.
A bell dinged overhead when we entered. There were a half-dozen patrons already inside, browsing the dense selection of greenery that took up every inch of the place. It smelled fresh and earthy inside. It was…settling. I’d lived the last couple months surrounded by Nora’s plants, and this felt nice. I wasn’t sure how I’d lived my whole life without a houseful of plants. Though I probably would have killed them all, but Nora managed to effortlessly keep them all alive. Green thumb on that one.
“Well, what do I do?”
“You pick a plant,” she said with a laugh.
“But how do I know which one to get?”
She shrugged. “Talk to them.”
I blinked at her, waiting to see if she was joking. She wasn’t. “I…talk to them?”
“Yeah. How else do you find out if you’re going to be friends?”
“You’re insane.”
She laughed. “A little. Just go wander around and see if any of them speak back. I’m going to say hi to Apple.”
