Falling for the Wingman (The Kelly Brothers, Book 3) (12 page)

Well, that was one question answered. Alex had made the angel with the crooked halo, not Kourtney, and she was the one he needed to thank for saving his life. Was she responsible for anything else?

“See something you like?” Alex asked behind him.

He turned around to find her standing a few feet away wearing nothing but a towel. The need to touch her threatened to overtake his better judgment, but he managed to keep his desire in check as he held up his lucky charm. “You made this, didn’t you?”

After a pause, she nodded.

“Why didn’t you tell me the other night?”

“Would you have believed me?” A flicker of anguish passed across her face before she fixed a tight smile in place. “I’ll be ready in a few minutes.”

She turned to go back to the living room, but after a coy glance over her shoulder, she let the towel pool around her ankles and continued toward her bedroom completely naked.

Caleb tightened his grip on the lucky charm until the metal wings dug into his palm.
Dear God, does she have any idea what she’s doing to me?
It was torture to watch her walk away, her damp hair swishing just above her bare ass, and not chase after her. The desire he’d felt last night returned with a vengeance that nearly brought him to his knees. But her words from last night kept his feet fixed in place.

If this is going to happen between us, then I need to know it’s because I’m something more to you than just a quick fuck.

And until he straightened out the matter of the emails, his heart was still bound to her sister.

****

Alex held her breath and focused on copying the seductive sway of her hips that she’d seen her sister employ numerous times. When Kourtney walked away, men followed like greyhounds chasing after that mechanical bunny. But when she walked away, the one man she’d hoped would follow stayed right where he was.

Figures.

She’d hoped that once she confirmed she’d made the angel figurine, he’d put two and two together and ask about the emails. But he didn’t. Hell, he didn’t follow her into the bedroom when she’d openly invited him to finish what he’d started last night.

Let’s face it. You blew it, and you’re going to have stand back and watch him continue to make a fool of himself over Kourtney.

Or just come clean with everything. But if she told him now, would he believe her?

She yanked a clean pair of jeans from her drawer and pulled them on, frustration punching out her movements. Unless Kourtney lied to him when he confronted her about the emails, he’d learn the truth. Then she’d come clean.

She just hoped Caleb wasn’t stupid enough to fall for her sister’s lies.

She finished dressing and came out of the bedroom to find Caleb just as she’d left him, still standing in the same place and clutching the angel figurine in his hand. “You okay?”

A hint of indecision flickered in his eyes, and he glanced down at the figurine. “Yeah, I’ll be fine once I get this over with.”

A new jolt of pain ripped through her chest. He probably couldn’t wait to end their fake romance so he could get back to her sister. The sad thing was, every once in a while, she almost believed it was real, that Caleb could actually fall for her. Unfortunately, that kind of ridiculous hope made reality ten times more harsh when it came crashing down around her.

She buried her grief deeper inside. “Come on, then. The sooner you have your rendezvous with Kourtney, the happier you’ll be.”

“Alex, wait.” He caught her hand before she reached the door and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry about last night.”

“You were drunk.” She tried to slip her hand free, but he held onto her as tightly as he did his good luck charm. “Really, Caleb, it’s nothing.”

“Yes, it is. I know I said something to hurt you, but that wasn’t my intention.” He released her and looked around the room, his shoulders slumped. “In fact, nothing this week has gone the way I’d intended.”

“Don’t say that. I know for a fact Kourtney’s madder than a hornet about our little escapades, and she’ll probably pounce on you the first moment she gets. You’ll see.”

“Maybe.” He looked down at the figurine one more time before stowing it back in his pocket. “But back to what I said last night—what I was trying to tell you is that I was so out of practice, I worried I’d come before I’d given you what you deserved.”

Her breath caught, and that familiar warmth of desire stirred within her lower stomach. “And what’s that?”

The sexy glow returned to his eyes, and he gave her a crooked smile that intensified the throbbing of her heart. “I wanted to make you come. Multiple times, in fact.”

Then, just as quickly as it appeared, Caleb’s flirtatious side vanished. “But I’m glad you stopped things before they got out of hand. You deserve better.”

Her tongue refused to move. It would be so easy to wrap her arms around him and drag him to the bed with a searing kiss, but it would be no different than last night. She wanted to be more than a quick fuck. She wanted the whole package. And maybe, just maybe, his meeting with Kourtney today would be enough to tip the cards in her favor.

She licked her lips and found her voice. “I promised to play your wingman this week and get you close enough to Kourtney to find out what happened. Let’s not miss what we’ve worked so hard for by being late.”

“You’ve been the best wingman I could’ve hoped for.”

“Good, because I’m in this for the long haul. Whatever happens, I just want you to be happy.” She grabbed her phone and wallet and ran to the door before he had a chance to stop her again. “Let’s go before the catered lunch disappears.”

“Fine, but we’re taking my car.”

At least there’s a silver lining to this
, she thought with a rueful grin. She’d finally get a ride in his Camaro.

Chapter Eight

By the time Caleb pulled into the Leadbetters’ driveway, his stomach was roiling, and he only wished he could blame it on last night’s beer.

Alex hadn’t said anything to him on the way over, which was a small blessing. He’d already let his dick get the better of him and said more than he’d wanted at her place. He’d let her know he wanted to sleep with her, which was an asshole thing to do considering why he was here. And to her credit, she had enough composure to keep focused on his mission and prevent him from making another possible mistake.

In other words, she was being the ideal wingman.

Worse, he knew he was hurting her, despite her attempts to hide it from him. He’d seen it in the way her mouth angled down and the pinch in the corners of her eyes. But he owed it to himself and to her to find out what had happened while he was gone. Once the facts were clear, then he could move forward.

Alex hopped out of the car as soon as he threw it in park and went straight for the front door. He managed to catch up just as she reached the foyer and Kourtney appeared from the doorway of the other room.

“You’re late,” she said, her eyes narrowed. Then Kourtney saw him, and her expression did a one-eighty into shock. “What’s he doing here?”

“He came to help out.” Alex took his hand and led him to the same room he’d run into on Sunday. Only now, instead of being filled with Kourtney’s future in-laws, it was packed with bridesmaids, all of whom stared at them as they entered. Alex appeared to ignore them and went for one of the boxes of wedding favors. “What do you need us to do?”

“I need you to start filling the bags with Jordan almonds, and I need him to leave. Now.”

He’d always known Kourtney liked to be in control, but she was taking things to a whole new level of bitchiness. “I’ll just hold the bags while Alex fills them.”

The glare she shot at him contained only half the fury of the one she directed toward Alex. Her nostrils flared and she curled her fingers so her painted nails looked more like claws.

An overwhelming urge to protect Alex took over, and he moved between the two sisters. “Relax, Kourtney. We’re not here to make any trouble.”

Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she spun around in her high heels and retreated to the furthest corner from them.

“That went well,” Alex murmured as she pulled a box of pastel coated almonds down from the stack. “Give her a couple of minutes to cool down.”

“And then?”

Alex gave him a conspiratorial wink. “Then you can fetch me a Coke from the fridge, maybe even help yourself to some of the sandwiches I know are in the kitchen.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

And as he held open the little pink bag for her to scoop the almonds into, he realized that Alex had been right about everything. Every time he glanced toward Kourtney, she was staring at them with a mixture of anger and jealousy. Alex had set up the perfect plan of attack, and it was up to him to carry it out.

It was now or never. He leaned over to place a kiss on Alex’s cheek. “Wish me luck,” he whispered before saying in a louder voice so Kourtney could hear, “I’m going to grab something to drink. Care for anything, Alex?”

“Just a Coke.” She continued filling the little bags with candy, but when she looked up from her work, he saw the same anxiety that flowed through his veins on her face. She gave him an almost imperceptible nod and went back to the candy.

Caleb wandered across the room, checking just once to see if Kourtney was watching. When he got the confirmation he needed, he disappeared into the kitchen and zeroed in toward the fridge for the sodas. He’d barely had a chance to grab two before the door to the hallway slammed shut. He turned.

Kourtney stood in front of him, her arms crossed. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, Caleb?”

“Getting a soda for me and your sister.” He held up the cans as evidence.

“That’s not what I mean, and you know it.” She snatched the cans from his hands and slammed them on the counter. “I’m not amused by your little rebound fling with Alex.”

“Says the woman who left me while I was deployed and hooked up with another man.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets, his fingers brushing against his good luck charm, and leaned against the fridge. “Care to explain to me what happened while I was away?”

“Only if you agree to stop making an ass of yourself with Alex.”

“Jealous?”

“Hardly.” But he didn’t miss the flare in her eyes as she raked her gaze up and down his body. “Just what are you doing here in town?”

“I came here for answers.”

“You saw the day you arrived that I’d moved on.”

“And maybe I have, too.” That caught him by surprise. Maybe Alex was just what he needed to get him over the sting of Kourtney’s rejection.

“That doesn’t explain why you’re still here.”

“I told you why I’m here. And besides, Alex needed a date for the wedding, and I’m having a good time with her.”

“Is she aware that you’re only fucking her to get back at me?”

The slap of her words almost shattered his patience. He straightened up and closed the space between them. “Who says I’ve slept with her?”

“The whole town is talking about what a slut she’s being.”

Once again, the urge to protect Alex took over. He backed Kourtney against the counter and imprisoned her by placing his hands on the counter on either side of her. “You shouldn’t talk about your sister that way.”

“Then leave before you ruin both my wedding and her reputation.”

“Not until you answer a few questions.”

Her bottom lip quivered, but she arched one haughty brow. “What?”

“After I deployed, how many days did you wait before you moved back here?”

Her breath quickened, and her anger gave way to panic. “Maybe a week. I couldn’t handle being alone.”

“And were you hooking up with your fiancé the whole time you were sending me those emails?”

“Emails?” Her perfectly groomed brows drew together. “What are you talking about?”

“The emails you sent me while I was deployed.”

“The only letter I wrote to you while you were gone was the one you found in our apartment, in which I made it very clear I wanted to be with someone who wouldn’t abandon me for months at a time.”

Now it was his turn to do the one-eighty into shock. “If you didn’t send me those emails, who did?”

“Are you sure you didn’t inhale any hallucinogens while you were over there? I have no idea what emails you’re talking about, but I can assure you, they didn’t come from me. My email got hacked right after I returned home, and I had to get a whole new account.”

He backed away, still trying to digest this new information. She’d just denied the one thing that had bound his heart to her, and now it was free. But it still didn’t solve the mystery of who was behind the emails. They might not have come from Kourtney, but he was starting to get a good idea who they might’ve come from. There was still one woman who knew him better than he knew himself, who could put his soul at ease, and whose kisses felt like coming home.

Kourtney inched away from him. “Now that I’ve answered your questions, will you please leave town so I don’t have to worry about you ruining my wedding?”

“So you’re serious about this guy?”