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

She pulled out her cell and punched in a number. “Hello, Miss Martha, how are you this evening?” After a few uh-huhs and a “You’re so sweet,” she continued. “Do you have any rooms available at your B&B? My date for the wedding just got into town, and he needs a place to stay.”

Her date for the wedding?
A moment of panic kicked his heart into high gear, but Alex just kept on going as though nothing was wrong with this scenario.

“Well, I would invite him to stay with me—once you get a look at him, you’ll understand why—but I don’t want to set tongues wagging.”

Oh, she’d definitely have one wagging tongue—his. Not to mention her sister’s.

“You only have a room available until Wednesday morning, huh?” She slid her gaze back to him, her drawl becoming more syrupy by the second as she twirled her hair around her finger. “That should be fine. Perhaps by then, I won’t care about my reputation.”

He could almost hear the other woman on the line giggling with Alex.

“That’s so sweet of you. I’ll send him over in a bit. Thank you again.” She ended the call and set her phone on the table. “I’ve got you a room at the Honey Bee Bed and Breakfast for the next three nights. Miss Martha’s a great cook, so you’re in for a treat.”

“Back up a minute, Alex. What’s this about me being your date for the wedding?”

“That’s where my plan comes into action. Mama and Kourtney have been harping on me for weeks because I don’t have a date for the wedding, so if you pose as my date, that gets them off my back for a few seconds.”

“Just one problem—I’m here to convince your sister to marry me, not sit beside you as she marries that asshole.”

She reached for his half-drunk bottle of Purple Haze and helped herself to a drink from it. “Just hear me out. As my date for the wedding, you’re automatically invited to all the pre-wedding bullshit, meaning you’ll have more access to my sister.”

His jaw fell lax. He hadn’t considered that.

“Furthermore, I know my sister, remember? I know for a fact she always wants what she can’t have. If she sees the two of us together, she’ll want you even more, especially if she thinks you’ve moved on to me of all people.”

“Are you sure of that?”

“Do I look like I’m trying to pull a fast one on you?”

No, Alex had never been one to beat around the bush. She was frank and direct, more one of the guys than some girl who got off on playing head games with men. And as crazy as her plan sounded, it might actually work. “What’s the rest of your plan?”

She dragged her chair to his side of the table and beckoned for him to lean in closer as she dropped her voice. “Starting tonight, we’ll show up in places where I know the town gossips will be and act like we can’t keep our hands off of each other. It’ll get back to Kourtney, and when we show up at Mama’s house on Wednesday afternoon to help with the reception favors, Kourtney will be so crazy with jealousy that you’ll have her in the palm of your hand.”

It almost seemed too easy, except for one small problem. He’d have to pretend to be crazy about Alex when all he could think about was her sister. “And you’re okay with me using you like this?”

He didn’t miss the flicker of pain in her eyes or the way her smile tightened. “It’s not like guys haven’t done it before. I’m used to them pretending to like me only to get closer to Kourtney.”

That was the only hitch in her otherwise perfect plan. Alex was a nice girl, one he’d consider introducing to his brothers. She was fun, no-nonsense, always grinning. Hell, if he hadn’t met Kourtney first, he might have considered dating her. “Listen, Alex, I don’t want to hurt you—”

“Who said anything about me getting hurt? This is my idea, after all. And I know going into it that you have your heart set on my sister, so there’s no deception or anything on your part. Just do me one favor, though.”

“What’s that?”

“Just don’t call me by her name.”

He forced a chuckle to bust up the awkwardness of her request. “I doubt we’ll find ourselves in a situation where I’d mistake you for her.”

“Maybe not, but I’m finally feeling those beers kicking in so I won’t be responsible for my behavior in about fifteen minutes.”

“Then perhaps we should get your plan in motion before you pass out and I have to carry you home.”

She giggled. “That definitely would set the town talking.”

The door to the crimson and white side of the bar opened, and a couple strolled in. He recognized the woman as one of Kourtney’s friends, but he couldn’t remember her name. And judging by the narrow-eyed look of suspicion that she gave him and Alex, she probably recognized him, too.

Alex grabbed his T-shirt and pulled his attention back to her. “Kiss me,” she whispered.

“What?”

She answered him by pressing her lips to his. He stiffened from the initial shock of it, his mind still reeling that another woman was kissing him. Then the next shock hit him—he was enjoying it. Alex ran her tongue along the seam of his mouth, begging for entry to his mouth, and like a stunned fool, he gave it to her.

Kourtney’s kiss had been sharp and electric, a bolt of lightning that surged through him and in a matter of seconds left him harder than a horny teenager. Alex’s kiss was more like a fire on a cold day or a cup of morning coffee. It spread through his veins with the same easygoing nature she embodied. He followed her lead, his tongue twirling around hers until he almost forgot why he was in this small town in the first place. His mind screamed at him to stop, but his body refused to listen. He longed for the warmth and comfort her kiss offered, for the sense of coming home he’d desired when he stepped off the plane. He wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her closer until she was practically sitting in his lap, eager to enjoy everything she so willingly offered.

And that was when she pulled away. Her bottom lip trembled, and her breaths came fast and deep. “Not bad, flyboy.”

Oh, shit, what have I done?

Alex clamped her hands around his cheeks and held his gaze on her. “Don’t think about it, Caleb. Remember our plan.”

Easy for her to say. She isn’t the one getting caught in a compromising position
.

“Just look at me and listen,” she continued in a low, calm voice. “The woman who just walked in—what is she doing?”

He glanced over her shoulder at the couple. “She’s pulling out her phone and texting.”

“Good. Now, we’re going to leave here hand in hand and go to your car. Understand?”

He nodded, offering a silent prayer he hadn’t royally fucked things up by agreeing to Alex’s plan.

“Arm around my waist,” she murmured. “Remember, we want everyone to think you’re all into me.”

He continued the ruse until they were safely shielded by his car. Then, he released her and leaned on the hood of his Camaro, staring at his reflection and wondering when everything went to hell. “That wasn’t what I was expecting.”

Alex leaned against the car next to him and crossed her arms, not displaying an ounce of his worry. “Really? I thought it went quite well.”

“What are you talking about? I was groping you in front of one of Kourtney’s friends.”

“Just as I’d expected you to do. Lynette’s probably telling my sister all about the very believable performance you just gave.” She tilted his chin up. “Relax, Caleb. Everything is going according to plan.”

He wished he could share her confidence. Instead, all he felt was disgust at his behavior. It was one thing to fake a kiss. It was an entirely different matter to lose himself in it, especially when his heart belonged to another woman. “I feel like I’m cheating on her.”

“Bullshit. Besides, it’s not like she wasn’t cheating on you while you were gone.”

“Way to twist the knife in my gut. While you’re at it, care to slide a few hundred splinters into my skin and set them on fire?”

“Ooh, I never suspected you were the kinky type.” She took his hands and turned him around so he was sitting on the edge of the hood. “Listen, Caleb, don’t beat yourself up. Remember, I’m in on this, too, and I know the only reason why you even pretended to enjoy kissing me was because of our agreement to help you get my sister back.”

That was the problem—he hadn’t been pretending.

“I know I’m Kourtney’s hideous little sister—”

“You’re not hideous.”

“I’m not her.”

“No,” he agreed. Kourtney screamed sex, from her pale blond hair to the generous cleavage and hourglass curves that made him the envy of every man in his unit. Alex was tall and slender, her boyish figure complimenting her tomboyish disposition. “But you’re cute.”

She groaned. “Now it’s my turn to have a knife twist in my gut. Calling a girl cute is the equivalent of telling her she has a nice personality.”

“You do have a nice personality.”

“Stop it!” she teased, her laughter infecting him and driving away his guilt. “And I suppose you’d love to introduce me to one of your friends, but they’re already all in relationships, right?”

“Actually, I was thinking one of my brothers…”

“Enough!” She released his hands and wrapped her arms around his neck. “A girl can only take so much.”

Before he realized what he was doing, his hands were back around her waist, and they were leaning against his car like a happy couple. It surprised him how easily it happened, as though they’d been out on a real date rather than setting a plan in motion to deceive everyone around them.

“So you’re not mad at me for jumping the gun and kissing you in front of Lynette?”

“No, I’m not.” He stared at her, wondering why he hadn’t noticed how well her thick lashes framed her warm brown eyes before. “And I was wrong about the cute thing—you’re actually kind of pretty.”

“Keep it up, flyboy, and you may be battling your baby brother for the best acting performance of the year.” A wave of color rose into her cheeks, and her attention shifted to the Camaro. “You know, I’m seriously in love with your car.”

“Is that so?”

She nodded. “You wouldn’t believe the fantasies I have about it.”

“Now who’s the kinky one?” He’d intended just to give her a friendly jostle, but it ended up pressing her body against his and awakening a whole new level of awareness. She fit well in his arms. Almost too well.

Her breath caught, and she stilled against him. Her fingers grazed the nape of his neck, setting off a flurry of erotic explosions from the seemingly innocent touch. That little voice of warning begged him to let go, but he needed to find out if that kiss in the bar was nothing more than a fluke.

This time, he initiated the kiss and controlled it. No tongue. No open-mouth devouring of the other person. But it didn’t matter. Just the pressure of her lips evoked the same reaction as before.

Correction—the reaction was even stronger than before. He ran his hands up her back, pulling her even closer until they were connected from their lips to their thighs. This was what he’d imagined it would be like when he got home and kissed Kourtney after all those months apart. This was what he dreamt about when he closed his eyes in the barracks every night.

But when he opened his eyes, he caught a glimpse of Alex’s wild red hair and froze.

She pulled away, her face downcast, but didn’t remove her arms from his neck.

“I’m sorry, Alex.”

“Don’t apologize.”

“I don’t know what came over me.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

But the hurt in her voice did worry him. “If you think this is a bad idea—”

“I’m fine.” She lifted her face, revealing a new mask of indifference he’d never expected from her. “But I think we’ve done enough for tonight.”

“Agreed.” If he spent any more time fertilizing this fake romance, he might end up in deep shit. “So, what’s the next step in your plan?”

“You’re going to get some rest at Miss Martha’s. Just turn right at the gas station, go two blocks, and make a left. It’s the big yellow Victorian house.”

He mentally repeated her instructions and nodded. “And then?”

She peeked over his shoulder into his car. “I don’t see a suitcase in there.”

“I didn’t have time to pack.”

“I figured as much.” She let go of him and stepped back. “There’s a Wal-Mart on the edge of town that way. Or, if you’re too hoity-toity to shop there, then you’re looking at a half-hour’s drive to Opelika for clothes.”

“I’ll go shopping tomorrow.” Today already had him more confused than he cared to admit.

“Good. Then meet me at the shop tomorrow around 5:30. We’ll go from there.”

“Sounds good.” Maybe by then he’d be able to control his body better.

Or at least figure out why he forgot all about Kourtney when he was kissing her sister.

“All righty, then.” She took another step back, looking more like an awkward teenager who’d just spoken to her high school crush. “Just be careful around Miss Martha—she’s been known to let men know how much she appreciates their backsides with a little pinch.”

“Now you tell me.” The tension vanished, and they were back to the way they had always been, teasing each other good-naturedly and sharing a laugh. “If my ass is bruised in the morning, I’m blaming you.”