“He never wanted me to pursue music full time. Why would he congratulate me?”

  “He was wrong.”

  Damn right he was.

  “I’ll believe it when he says that to my face.”

  “And how can he do that if you never talk to him?”

  I rolled my eyes. I didn’t care if Owen Wright ever congratulated me. I wasn’t sure I’d believe it even then.

  Whitt hit me. “Bro.”

  I glared at him to tell him I was done with this conversation. But his eyes were elsewhere.

  “What?”

  He pointed across the barn. I followed his finger past dozens of guests in their finest, sipping on drinks and eating finger food while they waited for the bride and groom to make their appearance, to the golden girl who had just stepped inside.

  My heart stuttered. “Fuck,” I whispered.

  Whitt patted me twice on the back. “Good luck with that.”

  “What?” Harley asked. She looked between us all. “What are you talking about?”

  Nora Abbey glided into the barn. She’d changed out of the floral dress she’d worn to work the ceremony and into a floor-length gold dress that made her look like a goddess. The dress plummeted between her breasts and left her arms bare, but the material swished delicately around her legs as she maneuvered the room, saying hello to everyone who knew her. She might be shy around guys, but she was in her element here.

  “Oh,” Harley whispered. “Is that Nora?”

  “Yeah,” I said, entranced.

  “Well, she’s a bit out of your league, isn’t she?”

  Whitt nudged Harley. “Seriously?”

  “Look at her,” Harley said with a laugh. “She’s gorgeous.”

  “She is,” I admitted out loud.

  I was glad that Campbell and Hollin were on the other side of the room. That they hadn’t seen that I was eye-fucking their sister from a distance.

  A few minutes later, after she made her rounds, she walked toward me with Eve on her arm. Eve wore an emerald dress that matched her eyes, and her black hair was down in waves. But I barely noticed her. I couldn’t say the same for my brother, who gripped the table tighter as she approached.

  “Hey, handsome,” Eve said, looking at Whitt.

  “Eve,” he said with a charming smile.

  “You look…” I said, gesturing to Nora.

  She ran her hands down the sides of her dress, accentuating her hips. “You think?”

  “Stunning.”

  Harley huffed at all the hormones flying. “I’m going to go get a drink.”

  “No, you are not!” Whitt said at the same time I said, “Harley!”

  She laughed. “Can’t stop me.”

  Then, she disappeared. I ground my teeth together, and Whitt looked like he was about to follow her.

  “Let her go,” Eve said. “This is a safe place. She won’t get into any trouble.”

  “You don’t know my sister,” Whitt said.

  I couldn’t disagree. “Harley finds trouble wherever it is.”

  Eve laughed. “I know all about that.”

  “Tessi will keep an eye on her,” Nora said. “I gave her a list of minors ahead of time. There are a few of them.”

  Whitt still looked like he wanted to go off after her, but Eve was still standing there, admiring him up and down.

  She touched the sleeve of his suit. “Mind if I steal you for a minute?”

  Whitt’s eyes shot back to Eve. The gentle touch, the familiar flirting. He nodded. “After you.”

  Eve shot him a simpering smile. She winked at Nora and then headed off with my brother, leaving us all alone.

  “Well, they’re unexpected,” I admitted.

  Nora shrugged. “Eve is the kind of girl who goes after what she wants.” Her eyes flicked up to mine. A small, knowing smile came to her lips.

  I should resist that smile. The look from under her lashes. The way she leaned in toward me. Yep, I should definitely walk away from this.

  “The wedding turned out amazing.”

  “Thank you,” she said brightly. “I was pleased.”

  “You have a talent.”

  Her eyes moved around the room and then back to me. “I was told not to talk about weddings right away, but hey, we’re at a wedding, right?”

  I blinked at her. “Nora…I…this…”

  She laughed softly. “Oh man, am I that bad at this?”

  “That bad at…what?”

  “Flirting,” she said, biting her lip.

  “You’re flirting with me?”

  “I mean, apparently, I am not good at it.”

  “No,” I said quickly. “You’re not bad at it.”

  “Okay. I’ll keep practicing then,” she said with a wink.

  I clenched my hands on the table to keep from reaching for her. She was playing me at my own game. And it was working.

  “Did you practice while I was gone?”

  Her eyes were guileless. “Why would I do that?”

  “Because you said that you wanted to move on. You wanted to flirt and date and all that.”

  “I did. I do,” she said firmly. “And I can’t say that everything is perfect, but I have moved on. And I want to flirt and date and all that.”

  “But you didn’t while I was out of town?”

  “I didn’t,” she confirmed. “Did you…see anyone when you were out of town?”

  I shook my head automatically. “We went out, but I wasn’t interested.”

  She bit her lip, and it looked like she wanted to ask why. But of course, I couldn’t explain why.

  “LA was sort of a lot anyway.”

  She took the segue for what it was. She put another step of distance between us. “What happened in LA? You didn’t mention that things were different when we were texting. Did something happen?”

  “I don’t know. It’s probably nothing, but I got a bad feeling that the Cosmere manager doesn’t like me.”

  “Bobby? What did he do to make you think that?”

  “Nothing. He made some offhand comments about bringing Michael back, about letting another keyboardist record the new song. That sort of thing. Nothing concrete, but it makes me think he’s going to try to get me cut.”

  “Can he do that?”

  I shrugged. “Probably.”

  “But why would he even do that? You’re Campbell’s best friend.”

  “That’s why. Bobby thinks he has less influence on him when I’m there. And look, I’m only trying to help. I didn’t ask for anything that’s been given. Everything that has happened has been at Campbell’s insistence.”

  “Which Bobby hates?”

  “Yes.” I shrugged. “I’m sure he’d rather I take the production offer from the studio than to keep working directly with Cosmere.”

  Nora’s lips pursed. “I’m sure he would. But you don’t want that?”

  “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to keep working with Cosmere. But that offer is better than anything I’ve ever had before.”

  “Last resort,” she mused.

  “It’s a pretty good last resort. Just waiting to see where all of this goes, and Bobby Rogers didn’t make me feel any better about it.”

  “Hmm…have you talked to my brother about this?”

  “Nah, I don’t want to bug him.”

  “But it sounds serious.”

  “It’s not. Like I said, just a feeling.” My eyes returned to hers. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “If you say so.” She looked skeptical, and honestly, I felt the same way. I didn’t know how to broach it with Campbell anyway.

  We were kept from saying anything else with a music change to announce Jordan and Annie Wright. They moved immediately into their first dance, and then the buffet opened.

  “I’m going to check on something with Tessi. Save me a seat?” Nora said.

  “Sure. I can do that.”

  “And a dance,” she said with another smile before disappearing.

  As I watched her skirt swish away, I knew that I was truly and utterly fucked. I’d been able to deflect for a moment, but I wasn’t sure how long I could hold out. How long I wanted to hold out.

  I glanced up and found Campbell’s eyes on me. How long had he been watching? Did he know? I nodded my head at him, and he waved me over.

  “Got you a seat.”

  “Thanks.”

  And I swore it wasn’t strange to hold the seat next to me for his sister. She would be sitting here normally anyway…right?

  I’d worried for nothing.

  The rest of the reception went off without a hitch. Nora and I danced in the crowd of people to all the typical wedding songs. I only got a look from Campbell once when Nora and I slow danced and she rested her cheek against my chest. I held her tight to me and pretended that I couldn’t see his glare. Blaire hit him to get him to leave us alone.

  Nora laughed with a flush on her face at the whole thing. At one point, Whitt and Eve slipped out.

  “Did you see that?” Nora said, gesturing to the door.

  My phone dinged in my pocket, and I checked the message from Whitt.

  See you later.

  I waggled my eyebrows at her. “Well, well…”

  “Think he can handle Eve?” Nora asked with a wink.

  “Oh, she might not even be crazy enough for him.”

  She gaped at me. “Eve? Eve?”

  I laughed. “Oh, the stories I could tell.”

  “I would never have guessed. He seems so buttoned up.”

  “Oh, he is.” I glanced around the room. “Mostly, I’m surprised he left without Harley.”

  Nora followed my line of sight and found my baby sister dancing with Chase Sinclair. I took a step forward as anger coursed through me. She grabbed my arm to stop me.

  “Hey, leave her.”

  “She’s nineteen,” I growled.

  “They’re just dancing.”

  “One, I thought you hated the Sinclairs. And two, isn’t he thirty?”

  “I don’t hate Chase, and I think he and Annie are the same age. Twenty-nine?” she said, watching them move together.

  “That’s a ten-year age gap.”

  “They’re just dancing,” she reminded me. “Just like us.”

  Our eyes met as we twirled under the chandelier light.

  “Fine. I’ll let them dance. But she is not leaving with him.”

  Nora laughed lightly. “I’m sure Chase would like the distraction, but even he’s not dumb enough to take home a teenager.”

  “Why would he need the distraction?”

  “Oh right. Sometimes, I forget you weren’t here for all the drama. Annie and Chase were best friends growing up. Both always thought they’d end up together, but obviously…she just married Jordan.”

  “And he still showed for the wedding?”

  “Yep.”

  “But he still loves her?”

  “Yep.”

  “Damn,” I said softly.

  I glanced back over at him laughing with my little sister. That was never ever happening as far as I was concerned. I ignored how hypocritical that sounded, coming from me. But I couldn’t deny he needed the distraction. Just so long as it didn’t go past dancing.

  “Leave them be,” Nora said, pulling me back into the dance.

  As the night wore on, I watched Chase and Harley dance a half-dozen more times.

  When all was said and done, I stood with a sparkler in my hand as Annie and Jordan walked down the makeshift aisle to the old-timey car they’d rented for the occasion. They kissed at the apex as we cheered for them and then drove off into the night.

  Harley was still talking to Chase as the crowd dissolved around them. I grabbed her arm as soon as Chase headed to the parking lot.

  “Don’t think about it.”

  “Think about what?” she snapped at me.

  “He’s, like, ten years older than you.”

  “So?” she said with a laugh. She shook me off. “I’m not stupid. I’m going home.”

  “Good. Be sure you do.”

  “Having older brothers is the worst,” she said as she stomped off.

  I sure hoped that she took my advice. She usually only listened to Whitt.

  “Still worried about her?” Nora asked.

  I nodded.

  “She’ll be fine. Come on. Help me and Tessi clean up.”

  I watched Harley disappear and then followed Nora back into the barn. By the time we were through, the place looked abandoned. No one would have guessed there had been a wedding inside.

  “I’ll do the rest in the morning,” she said with a yawn. “What a night.”

  “A great night.”

  “It was.” She smiled up at me and then slung her arm through mine, resting her head against my arm. Even in her heels, she wasn’t tall enough to reach my shoulder.

  I didn’t object. There was no one to see us anyway. “Let’s get you home.”

  I drove us back to my place. Nora kicked off her shoes in the entranceway and covered a yawn.

  “I’ve been up since the sun,” she said. “And somehow, I’m exhausted and wired.”

  “Must be part of the job.”

  She nodded. “It is.” She turned back to me, a devious smile coming to her face. We’d been walking on a tightrope all night. We’d laughed off her flirting earlier, but now, here we were again…all alone. “I had a good night with you, West.”

  “Me too.”

  She took a step closer. We weren’t touching, but we were fucking close enough that it would be obvious what was happening if anyone were around.

  “Thanks for letting me practice on you all night.”

  My blood heated. I wanted to practice on her some more. How much longer could I hold this back?

  “Nora,” I said.

  “I like when you say my name like that.”

  “Like what?”

  She looked up at me. “Like you can’t get enough of saying it.”

  “I can’t,” I said.

  She was stunning in her golden gown with those perfectly pink lips and her beckoning blue eyes. She had been flirting with me all night. We’d been skating this line for much longer than that.

  “But I’m going back to LA. You know I’m going back.”

  She smiled invitingly up at me. “I know, but I want this anyway.”

  And maybe I was a bad friend for considering this. But there was a fine line, and I’d already crossed it. I might as well make it worth it.

  “Come here,” I commanded.

  Her eyes widened slightly, as if she hadn’t thought that any of this would work.

  I drew her into me, tipping her chin up to look at me. Her heart was hammering in her chest, and she trembled slightly under my touch.

  “Do you want more practice?”

  She shivered. “Yes.”

  “What do you want?”

  She bit her lip and said nothing. It had all gotten very serious. And I couldn’t walk back from that line. I was too far gone. I’d thought of nothing but her since I’d made her come on my fingers.

  I wanted her. She wanted me. Fuck everything else.

  “This?” I asked, dipping down until our lips nearly touched.

  Her eyes fluttered closed, and she released a soft sigh.

  “Tell me.”

  “Yes.”

  “Tell me again that you want this.”

  “I want this,” she nearly pleaded.

  And I was undone.

  My lips fitted to hers.

  Our first kiss.

  Our first everything.

  17

  Nora

  Even when I’d dreamed of flirting with Weston, I hadn’t quite believed that it would work. And now, he was kissing me.

  It might be practice, but it felt like so much more. It felt like worlds had collided, the universe was singing just for us, the entirety of existence had slowed to this moment.

  I’d been kissed before.

  I’d never been kissed like this.

  Weston cupped my jaw with one hand as his other slipped around my waist and dragged me hard against him. I was so much shorter than him that he had to bend forward at the waist to get to my lips. Our kiss was soft at first but picking up momentum.

  He walked me through the kitchen until my back hit the counter. He released me long enough to grip behind my thighs and hoist me up. My ass hit the cold countertop, and I yelped in surprise. He smiled against my lips as he shoved his way between my open legs.

  “Oh!” I gasped.

  The only material separating us was the flow of my gold dress and his suit pants. He pressed hard against me as he brought both hands to my jaw and stole another kiss. His tongue slid against the seam of my lips. I opened to him and he entered my mouth like an invader coming to conquer. His movements were swift, determined, and oh-so fucking tempting. I could never predict what he was going to do next. The way he took control.

  I realized then that Weston Wright had been holding back. He’d been really holding every single thing back in every interaction. If this was who he really was, then I had no idea how he’d kept his cool for as long as he had. How he’d even gotten me off without taking more from me.

  “Fuck,” he groaned into my mouth. “Fucking fuck, Nora.”

  My breath came out in pants. “Yes.”

  “I need more. I need all of you.”

  I pulled back to look at him. To see the desirous look in his eyes. “I won’t deny you a thing.”

  He smirked, a devilish thing. “Be careful what you wish for.”

  I stole another kiss. “This is what I want. You showed me exactly what I want.”

  “And what exactly do you want?” he asked. He brushed a stray curl away from my cheek.

  “You.”

  “You sure you’re ready for that?”

  I knew what he was asking. I’d been with exactly one person. And that person had betrayed me in every way that mattered. But over the months, I’d learned to trust my body…my heart with Weston. Time and time again, it was him who had made me want to keep trying and him who had shown me how. I wanted him to show me more.

  “Yes.”

  “We can stop at any time if you change your mind.”