The Bad Boy's Seduction (Bedding the Bad Boy Book 2) (8 page)

Tucking her chin, she aborted the kiss and reached for a turkey.

Daisy knowing she and Colt were messing around was one thing; kissing Colt in front of her was another.

“There you are.” Daisy appeared at her side, out of breath and clutching a slightly battered turkey in her mittened hands. “Tucker is holding a lane for us. We got here early to warm up. Get a big one, they skid faster on the ice.” She giggled as she tossed her turkey in the air. “Hey, Colt. Glad you came.”

“Hey Daisy,” he said, shifting the turkeys around until he found an enormous one at the bottom. “Are you finished being mad at me?”

“Yes, I’m finished being mad at you.” She sniffed. “For now. Matty brought a growler of pale ale by our lane about twenty minutes ago and you know I’m not an angry drunk.”

“You got drunk in twenty minutes?” Olivia shot Colt a worried look as he handed her a turkey just slightly smaller than his monster bird.

“Oh, I’m not drunk yet,” Daisy said cheerfully, slinging an arm around Olivia’s shoulders. “But I’m off to a good start. Come on.”

Olivia let Daisy drag her across the crunchy, snow covered grass, soaking in the festive atmosphere. There were more people here than there had been when she was a little girl—there were one hundred lanes set up around the square instead of ten or twenty, and tourists outnumbered the locals at least two to one—but so much was still the same.

Christmas carols blasted from the speakers, and food vendors, their booths decorated with brightly colored lights, filled the air with delicious smells. Adults who’d overdone it at the brew festival were already laughing too loudly, and from the courthouse steps came the giggles and screams of children waiting to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas.

Olivia glanced over at the scene as they passed, unable to stifle a laugh at the sight of a red-faced infant wailing for his mother as he was settled onto Santa’s lap.

“Poor kid,” Colt said from just behind her. “Sitting on Santa’s lap is cruel and unusual punishment.”

Daisy grinned over her shoulder. “You’re just scarred for life because you threw up on him when you were five.”

“How do you know,” Colt shot back. “You were only two.”

“I’ve heard the story enough times. And I’ve seen the pictures.” Daisy’s smile grew wicked around the edges. “I’m going to show them to Olivia at Christmas Eve dinner this year. Then she’ll never want to kiss you again.”

Olivia laughed uncomfortably as they reached the lane Tucker was holding for them, an iced up parallel parking spot with oversized bowling pins arranged at one side and a card table set up to hold score cards and pencils. “Don’t tease him, Daisy. Or me, okay?”

“Yeah, Daisy, Olivia and I aren’t up for discussion or teasing or anything else. And I expect you to keep anything you think you know to yourself and not tell Mom and Dad.” Colt gave Tucker one of those back-thumping man hugs the Brody brothers had perfected before turning back to his sister. “Unless, of course, you want me to tease you and Matty when your boyfriend heads this way with more beer.”

Daisy’s grin became a scowl. “He is not my boyfriend, Colt. Seriously, don’t even start. You’ll embarrass the shit out of me. As usual.”

Colt shrugged. “We’ll see. If you behave, I guess I can locate my good manners too.”

“Fine,” Daisy growled, rolling her eyes. “No talking, no teasing. So how do we want to play, singles or teams?”

As they sorted out the bowling order, Olivia cast Colt a grateful look. He had defused Daisy and ensured they would all be able to hang out and enjoy the evening without any awkwardness or speculation. As much as anything he had said, it made her think that they could pull this off.

They could have their fun before he left, and when he came home on leave, things would be the way they’d always been.

They would be friends, almost like family, and nothing important would have to change.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Colton

It felt like everything was changing.

The turkey bowling was still silly fun, the beer was cold and crisp, and he was having a blast spending time with his family and friends, but there was something else in the air. Something that made it impossible to tear his eyes away from Olivia, to keep from smiling when she smiled or laughing when she laughed or observing how cute she looked with her nose turning pink from the chill in the air.

“What?” Olivia asked as she thunked her turkey down on top of the card table. “Do I have popcorn crumbs on my face?”

“No.” He shook his head, grinning as he brought his finger to press against the tip of her nose. “But you’re starting to look a little like Mrs. Claus. Your nose is bright red.”

She wiggled her nose experimentally. “Yeah, I think I’ve lost sensation in my face. That’s probably not a good thing, is it?”

He laughed as he reached into his pocket to grab his wallet. “Probably not. Why don’t you go inside the courthouse and grab a couple of hot chocolates. Standing in the line will give your nose a chance to thaw.”

She covered his hands, pushing his wallet away before he could pull out a ten. “Good idea, but this is my treat. Do you want peppermint schnapps in your hot chocolate?”

“Nah,” he said. “Two beers is my limit. I’ve got a race tomorrow.”

She bounced on her toes. “You’re right. I can’t believe I forgot. Plain hot chocolate for both of us, then.” She turned back to Daisy and Tucker. “Do you all want anything from the Jaycee’s table inside? I’m going to head in and warm up before my nose falls off.”

“I’ll come with you.” Daisy plopped her turkey down next to Olivia’s. “My nose is fine, but I need to make sure my butt hasn’t fallen off.”

“Wouldn’t want to lose your butt,” Olivia teased.

“No, I wouldn’t. It’s one of my best features.”

“Stop,” Tucker said, settling into one of the chairs at the card table. “I don’t want to hear my sister talk about her butt.”

Daisy stuck her tongue out at Tucker before threading her arm through Olivia’s and starting toward the courthouse. Colton pulled out the chair next to his brother’s, smiling as he watched Olivia lean in to whisper something to Daisy that made his sister throw back her head and laugh.

“It’s good that Olivia’s back in town,” Colt said, stretching his legs out in front of him. “Daisy’s happier than I’ve seen her in a long time. I didn’t realize how much she missed her partner in crime.”

Tucker grunted in response.

Colt turned to see his brother studying him with narrowed eyes. “What?”

“You need to be careful, tough guy. Or you’re going to find yourself in way over your head.”

“Not you, too.” Colt sighed, stretching his neck to one side and then the other. “Listen, Olivia isn’t a kid anymore, okay? She doesn’t need my entire family second-guessing her choices. She’s capable of making the decisions that she thinks are best for—”

“I wasn’t talking about Olivia.” Tucker leaned forward to rest his forearms on his thighs. “I was talking about you. I’ve never seen you look at a girl the way you look at her.”

“What way?” Colton asked, the skin between his eyebrows bunching.

“The way you should look at a girl you’re sleeping with.”

Colton crossed his arms at his chest, rolling his eyes toward the night sky. “I think I made it clear that that part of Olivia’s and my relationship is private. As for the way I look at her, she’s a friend I’ve known forever, Tucker. That’s the only thing that’s different. We were friends first.”

“You keep telling yourself that and one morning you’re going to wake up and realize you let something special slip through your fingers,” Tucker said, as serious as Colt had seen him in years.

Since Missy had died, Tucker wasn’t always fully present in the world the way he used to be. He seemed to drift through life, in it but not of it, refusing to let anyone close enough to see what he was really feeling.

But he was present now and staring Colt down with an intensity that warned that he would be smart to pay attention to what his brother had to say next.

“I know this is the first time this has happened to you,” Tucker continued in a tone that crawled under Colt’s skin and started to itch. “It shouldn’t be—you’re too old not to have been in love before—but I know part of it’s my fault. And Dylan’s and Blake’s. You saw how we fucked it up and didn’t want to end up bitter or a sad, pathetic son of a bitch like me.”

Colt’s anger faded, replaced by empathy for his brother’s pain. “Tucker, you’re not—”

“I am,” he insisted, his hands balling into fists as he glared at a place on the ground between them. “I am sad and pathetic, but at this point I don’t know how to change. I don’t know if I’ll ever stop missing her, but I do know this.”

He lifted his gaze to Colt’s. “If I had the chance to go back and do it all over, even knowing I would lose her again, I would do it. I’d go back. Because there is nothing—no pain, no sadness—that can eclipse a love like that. It’s worth hurting for, worth everything you might have to risk or sacrifice to hold onto it. If I could just have one more day…”

Colton swallowed, a lump forming in his throat. He’d known Tucker was crazy about Missy, but he’d never heard him talk this way. Seeing the older brother who had always been the strong, silent, keeps-to-himself sibling in their house full of loudmouths making himself so vulnerable brought home how important this conversation was to Tucker.

He wasn’t sure what to think about the assumption that he was falling in love with Olivia—except that it didn’t strike him as crazy as it should have—but he wanted Tucker to know that his words hadn’t fallen on deaf ears.

“I hear you,” he said, laying a hand on Tucker’s shoulder. “And I’ll think about what you’ve said. I promise.”

“Don’t just think on it,” Tucker said. “Do something about it. If you’re going to go for it, go for it. If you’re not, get out before it’s too late.”

Colton was about to joke that Tucker was making Olivia sound like a roadside bomb about to explode, but before he could speak, Daisy and Olivia reappeared, neither of them looking warmer than when they’d left.

“The line is all the way out the door,” Daisy said, mouth turning down at the sides. “So we decided to call it a night. We’ve got the race tomorrow and should probably get some rest so we’re in prime form. Either of you guys want to take my turkey home? My oven isn’t big enough to fit an eighteen pounder and Olivia said one turkey is more than enough for her.”

“I’ll take it back to Mom’s with mine,” Tucker said, rising from his chair. “With everyone but Dylan staying over for the holidays, she’ll probably appreciate extra food lying around.” He leaned in, pulling Olivia in for a hug. “Good to see you, Olivia. I’ll be cheering you on tomorrow from the sidelines.”

“Good to see you, too.” Olivia turned back to Colt, smiling when she saw he already had both of their turkeys in hand. “Walk me home?”

“Absolutely,” he said, his chest feeling lighter now that he was about to have her all to himself.

And it wasn’t just because they were going back to her place to get naked. That was part of it—his cock hadn’t fallen off for God’s sake—but it was more than that. He was just happy that soon he wouldn’t have to resist the urge to touch her or hide how much he enjoyed being in her company.

Not like you did a very good job of that, anyway, seeing as Tucker’s convinced you’re in love with the woman.

The thought made his stomach feel unsettled. He
had
spent most of the day staring at the phone, wondering if Olivia was going to call. And he’d lain awake for hours the night before, replaying every touch, every kiss, and that troubling moment when she’d acted like what had happened between them was no big deal.

And then he’d stopped by the boutique flower store—not the flower section of the Rocky Top Grocery—and bought her ridiculously expensive flowers.

He had made out like the gift wasn’t a big deal, but that was only because Olivia had made it clear she wasn’t thrilled about him bringing flowers. In fact, she’d looked ready to bolt for her front door, while all he’d been thinking about was saying whatever he had to say to make her stay. He was usually good at telling girls what they wanted to hear, good at working the angles and getting what he wanted without getting in too deep.

But he was beginning to suspect that he was already in too deep and, like Tucker had said, over his head.

“What’s wrong?” Olivia squeezed his hand as they waited to cross the increasingly busy street. “You’re awfully quiet.”

“Just thinking,” he said, his fingers tightening around hers.

Even holding her hand affected him, sending a warm, content feeling spreading through his veins and making his cock thicken inside his jeans.

He’d been semi-hard all night, his body refusing to let down its guard on the off chance that Olivia needed to be fucked at a moment’s notice.

But it wouldn’t be just “fucking” and that was part of the problem.

“If you’re tired, I can take a rain check,” Olivia said, blinking up at him, oblivious to the fact that she was throwing his entire world into complete chaos. “We probably should get some rest before tomorrow.”

“I don’t want to rest.” Anger sparked to life low in his belly, helping banish all the soft, confusing feelings as he leaned down to whisper in Olivia’s ear, “I want you, naked and underneath me as soon as possible.”