Below Unforgiven (13 page)

And I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.

“Let’s eat!” Luke announced, initiating laughter with the entire crowd. The party consisted of five bridesmaids and the maid of honor, and five groomsmen and myself. The bridesmaids were all whispering among themselves as we filed out of the church, and Vivian was at my side in a flash.

“Three of the five girls are single-Lilly, Kate, and Alexis. You’ve been detected and targeted.” Her urgent, commando voice made me grin. “Say something…
chauvinistic
,” she whispered into my ear.

I played right along, thoroughly enjoying our little charade.

“No,
I’ll
take the keys, princess-we all know that women can’t drive.”

I chortled like an ass, too loudly, and definitely a little over the top.

I was rewarded with appalled stares from a couple of the girls, and Vivian laughed, snuggling closer to my side.

Back in the Ferrari, the place where I came to recognize as our sharing circle, the remnants of our conversation about her past began to surface. As I followed my brother’s car to the restaurant, I decided to go ahead and tranquilize the giant elephant in the… car.

“Are you still in love with him?” I asked.

She whipped her face in my direction. “Who?”

“Who? Tom Cruise. Who do you think I’m talking about?”

She reached over and flicked my aviators down from my forehead to my nose. “Subject is closed, Maverick.”

“How do you know so much about old movies?” I hurried, before she lost her lighthearted mood.

“I’d like to say it’s because I’m an actress and have studied film, but that’s not really true. I’ve been working in a video store since I was sixteen-back home in Ohio, and now here. I
love movies.
I love actors, and actresses, and action, and drama, and all of it. I watch movies and pretend I’m in them.”

I glanced her way through my sunglasses. The passion in her voice amused me, and I felt bad for thinking the words
dumb kid.
“Do you know what artistic truth is?”

She paused. “No, I don’t.”

“Artistic truth is sincerity. It’s the authenticity on a stage. Beauty is real, and can’t be created by imitating others. When there is honesty, there is truth. When there is truth, there is art.”

She listened, and I could see her mind piecing my words together.

I cleared my throat. “That’s why the more I kiss you alone, the better it will look in front of everyone else.”

Blinking slowly, she turned to me, those big, blue eyes engrossed in my every word. When I finally found a parking space near the back of the restaurant, she leaned toward me.

“You make that bullshit sound
sexy
,” she declared, a slow grin spreading over her lips.

Her mouth.

Those eyes
.

Her natural humor, and her fucking amazing body.
Who could walk away from this girl?

I caught her by the hand as she began to move toward the door. She looked back at me sharply.

“I open the doors for you. I pay for you, and I dress you. I dance with you,” I tugged her closer, and her breath caught in her chest. “And I kiss you. No one else, Vivian Hale. Not until Sunday at three. Are we clear?”

I wondered if she’d slap me again. Actually, I kind of hoped for it. Instead, she leaned forward, inches from my face.

Her hot breath trailed over my jaw. “I’m yours for the weekend. I signed the contract. And I like when you tell me what to do, director.”

With that, she pulled away, waiting patiently for me to open her car door.

I curled my fingers under the handle, lowering my lips to her ear.

“
Remember that later,
” I ordered, careful to let my lips graze her neck before pulling away.

I could feel her melt without me touching her at all.

Made of Honor

My massive over-share lingered over our heads.

I’ve never been one for keeping secrets, not someone else’s or my own-I was far too dramatic for that. But when it came to this, the most personal moments of my brief existence all laid out for Keaton like a dysfunctional feast, I wished I’d have kept my dumb mouth shut.

Now he went from the sarcastic guy I was beginning to actually enjoy to the over-protective boyfriend that I wanted to stab with my 1-inch heels. Hand on small of my back-check. Overly attentive-check. Waiting outside the bathroom door until I finished? If there wasn’t $2,085.46 on the line, I’d have crawled out the window.

I was forced to think about Matthew more today than I had in months.

The dinner with Keaton’s family was fun, despite the fact that Madeline’s sister Lindsey (who, according to Madeline, had truly earned her title) was missing from the party. After an hour, though, I could tell that Robin was not convinced that Keaton and I were for real.

She would be the hardest sell of all.

Keaton’s eyes lit up when Robin’s boyfriend, Dean, swooped in. His inked arms bulged from his way too tight Hollister muscle shirt, and a full-on blonde soul patch matched his gelled hair.

“
Behave.
” I cut Keaton off, imagining his mouth salivating with the hundreds of sarcastic comments locked and loaded on the tip on his tongue.

He sat to my right, and I watched his lips twitch with self-control. I could almost see the overload going on in his brain.

“
Dude!
” Dean swooped over to Keaton, pulling him into a handshake/ hug/ fistbump. “You’re the big LA director? I expected you to be, you know, older,” he snort-laughed, a rapid-machine-gun-fire noise that made everyone but Robin wince. “Kind of look like a kid, ha-ha-ha-ha.” He fixed his eyes on me, and I smiled politely.

I’d heard enough about Dean to know he didn’t make good first impressions, but Robin liked him, and that was all that mattered to me.

“Yeah,” Keaton forced, and I wanted to kiss my fake boyfriend for his obvious restraint.

“Robin told me about you, but I couldn’t find you on My Space. You sure you’re famous? This your girlfriend? Dammmmmn.” He stepped back to ogle me from head to toe, and I nervously leaned closer to Keaton.

“My Space? Is that still a thing?” Luke asked, and I watched as both brothers exchanged an entertained smirk.

“Dean,” Robin grinned at me. “This is my brother’s girlfriend, Vivian.”

“I’ve heard so much about you,” I managed, holding my hand out to him. Now that he was closer, the overwhelming scent of Axe cologne threw me back into the hallways of my high school, and I tried not to breathe in through my nose.

He shook my outstretched hand, pulling me forward into a hug even as I remained glued to my chair. His hands dipped below my waist, resting just over my thigh before squeezing.

That lasted for about half a second.

“Okay, okay, hands off,” Keaton burst to his feet, and Dean jumped back, defensive.

“Hey, sorry bro, we’re all family here.”

Eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh.

Okay, so Robin’s boyfriend was a complete tool.

“Fireworks tonight!” Jane interrupted, drawing all of our attentions. “The regatta, right? Who’s going?” She gushed, and Dean finally settled into his seat next to Robin.

“Oh, not tonight,” Luke grinned my way, and I looked quickly to Keaton. “Someone’s got a birthday to celebrate.”

“Viv! Damn it-your twenty-
first
birthday tomorrow,” Robin finished her sip of wine, excitement burning her smile. “We’re going out! Keat, let’s take her to Metal Bar-”

“No, I already know where I’m taking her,” he said, sitting back in his chair and draping his arm behind my back.

“What, we’re not invited?” Dean whined, ordering a beer.

“Maybe they want to be a
lone
,” Madeline suggested, gripping Luke’s hand over the table. “I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t want to hang out with us.”

“Well eff that, I’m coming,” Robin insisted. “I need to make sure you don’t get her completely trashed. She’s the maid of honor now.”

“I’m not drinking,” I lied. Actually, I was going to drink. Come midnight.

A lot.

“You have to have one,” Keaton urged, and I felt his hand slide over my leg from under the table. As his fingers curled beneath my knee, I bit my lip, lowering my face quickly and jerking my leg away.

“You’re the ‘boss,’” I said, bobbing my index fingers in the air, and he raised his eyebrows.

His hand returned to my leg, but this time, crept along my inner knee and up my skirt. I inhaled sharply, forcing myself to keep from squirming and alerting the entire party that Keaton’s hand was inches from my panties.

“Did you not read item three?” I demanded from under my breath, making myself sit perfectly still. The heat of his fingertips so close to the center of my thighs sent pulsing waves of blood pumping.

The sparks in his eyes lit with his grin. “
Is it reaching for me?
” He teased.

I burst out laughing, dropping my forehead to his shoulder. He removed his hand and tilted his face to mine, catching my lips.

Every kiss became more natural, encouraging my body to come alive. This time, innocent, with only a tiny hint of his tongue against mine, his mouth charged something deep within my chest. For the first time in a very long time, my heart fluttered sharply before settling back into its protective shell.

“Oh, Keaton,” Jane’s wistful voice interrupted us, and I turned to her, still trapped in Keaton’s hold from behind my neck and hair. She said nothing more, just sending us both knowing smiles before turning back to Robin to discuss the flower arrangements.

He was still smiling down at me, tightening his grip at the back of my hairline once before letting go. “We’ll go back to the hotel and change before we go out.”

“I’m fine in this,” I assured him.

“Tonight, I’m dancing with you.” His throaty voice, affected, stirred me in the same way that his lips had. He took a sip of his water, clearing his throat. “I need to make sure you know how to move.”

I lowered my hand to his knee, pinching softly. He nearly choked on his second sip of water.

“I can move.” I promised.

“Not so sure those two are making it out of the hotel room,” Dean pointed between the two of us, cracking off more laughter, and it couldn’t have been a better-placed comment. The three single bridesmaids (and even one of the married ones) looked ready to claw me, their envious glances even more obvious than the strategically placed plunging necklines on their shirts.

“So let’s go back to the hotel, and then meet in the lobby at ten. That’ll give us an hour to change and… whatever,” Robin looked pointedly at me, and I blushed, focusing on my salad.

Keaton glanced at his watch, and then cleared his throat again. “I need to speak to my assistant about a contract addendum. That should give me enough time.”

“No work!” Robin argued. “That’s not fair to Vivian.”

“I don’t mind,” I assured her, following Keaton to the door.

He held the door open for me through the restaurant, and then at the car. I could see that he was lost in thought, and he quickly turned up the music. U2’s “With or Without You” filled the warm, summer silence.

Finally, as we neared the hotel, he turned to me.

“Do you still love him?” He demanded again, and this time, I knew that I couldn’t dodge the question.

I frowned, unable to look into his eyes. “I hate him.”

He swung into a parking space, turning off the ignition. “If you can hate him, then you still love him. When you’re indifferent to him, when you don’t care about him, then you’re healed, Vivian. It takes time to get there.”

My stomach churned. I reached for a strand of hair, tying it around my fingers. He got out and opened the door for me, taking my hand as we walked to the hotel. His over-attentiveness was becoming a little less annoying. In fact, I was kind of liking it.

Inside the elevator, he turned to me. “Item three. Be specific.”

He caught me off guard. “What, the contract? I think I was very specific. No sex. Not with me or anyone else.”

“That’s exactly what I mean.” He tugged his thin tie back and forth, and I was starting to recognize the action as a habit of his. “None for
me
. We need to add you in there.”

“Excuse me?” I tried to sound insulted, but truly I was just taken aback. “You are telling me that you want to exclude
me
from sleeping with someone else. This weekend. You want to tell me who to sleep with.” My words came out in offended jumbles, getting an octave higher with every faltering fragment.

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”

The elevator doors opened, and I marched to our room, my temper flaring. “You know, you’ve got some balls, I’ll give you that. You’ve known me for twenty-four hours, and you just
assume
I’d sleep with someone I’d never met. I’m not like you, Keaton, I don’t need to hire a babysitter to make good choices, and I don’t sleep around.”

He slid the keycard into the door, and I moved inside, slamming my purse down on the bed angrily.

“Hold on.” He closed the door, standing perfectly still. Staring at the floor for the longest time, he finally lifted his eyes to mine. And then continued to stare.

“What? What are you doing?”

“I’m filtering.”

“Filtering?”

“Trying to think before I talk.”

The silence in the hotel room, combined with the way he was just staring at me, was bizarre. Uncomfortable.

His eyes locked with mine, and I felt my heart rate accelerate almost painfully. Already, a shadow of stubble trailed over his face, only adding to the shade in his intense gaze. Every part of my body reacted to his wild eyes, his wide smile, and his vibrant personality.

Matthew had always been quiet; a calming force in our relationship. I was impetuous, reckless, and often it took Matthew’s sensible words to bring me back down to Earth where I belonged.

Keaton and I were too much alike. We would be wildfire. Stupid wildfire.

Hot… fire.

Well, most fire
was
hot…

Ugh!
Getting a grip on my thoughts, I pinched my lips into a thin line.