Mustang Sassy (37 page)

She coughed and said, “Thanks for being here, Lib. It means a lot to me.”

“I wouldn’t miss it.”

Sass turned to grab the little white purse, or
clutch
, as Mary-Lynn called it, opened it and busied herself filling it with tissues.

“I appreciate all you’ve done…over the years,” Sass had to stop. She swallowed and then started again. “You’re a good friend.” God, was that her voice? She sounded so stupid. But then, this was Libby and for some reason on this day Sass had to say what she had to say. “You’re, ah…well, you’re my best friend.” She couldn’t say any more.

“I know,” Libby said from right behind her. She wrapped her long arms around Sass’s shoulders, only for a moment, and gave her a quick squeeze. This time, Sass found herself hugging back. It wasn’t even weird.

“You’re my best friend too.”

Sass grabbed one of the tissues and blotted her eyes. “Oh, crap. Now I’ve gone and smeared the makeup.”

A light rap sounded at the door and someone called, “The car’s waiting. Time to go.”

…

An hour later Sass stood under the arbor at the West Palm Beach Golf and Country Club, crying for the second time that day. This time she let the tears roll. She couldn’t help it. There was just something about seeing Buck all gussied up in a suit, blushing and stammering out his vows like some fool school kid. It tugged on Sass’s heartstrings like a litter of kittens yanking on a ball of yarn.

As unlikely as their pairing had seemed at first, she couldn’t have chosen a better partner for Buck. Her dad was happy; she’d never seen him so happy. And Mary-Lynn, well by the way her eyes were all bright and hopeful, her smile, debutante shy, and her hands shook beneath her bouquet of lilies, there was no mistaking that Mary-Lynn had it bad for Buck Hogan. Sass had no doubt they loved each other, no doubt they brought out the best in each other

After the truck wreck on the side of the road three short weeks ago, Sass realized that her dad had lived in some self-proclaimed purgatory since her mom died. Blaming himself for something that wasn’t his fault. Just like she did. He deserved happiness. She deserved happiness, too.

Sass smiled through her tears because, she had to admit, she was happy. A big part of that happiness had to do with one tall, blond giant by the name of Jordan Carlyle. Sass craned her head to the very back to see if he’d made it yet, but she couldn’t see him. What was keeping him? He was supposed to be there hours ago.

Halfway through the outdoor, afternoon reception, Sass’s stomach continued to churn even after she sipped tonic water to soothe it. Perhaps it was because everyone was there. Everyone who was important to her. Eating, laughing, and dancing under the fragrant canopy of gardenias. Enjoying themselves. Everyone but one. She scoped the crowd again.

“May I have this dance?”

Startled, Sass gazed up into the eyes of her father. She grinned and gave him her hand. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d danced with Buck, if ever. Neither of them really knew how so they just swayed back and forth to the soft strands of the live jazz band.

“You are beautiful.”

She twisted her lips into a wry smile. “Thanks.”

“I mean it, Sass. You…” Buck paused to flick a drop of moisture off his cheek but he must have missed because his cheek was still damp. “Lord, you remind me of your mother in that dress.”

“I do?”

“Yes.” His smile was proud, and Sass struggled to contain the pressure building behind her eyes.

“She was the most beautiful woman I ever knew.” He bent low and softly kissed the top of her head. “Next to you.”

“Thanks, Buck,” Sass managed to choke out. “You don’t look half-bad yourself.”

“Sass?”

“Yeah?”

“Would you do me a favor?”

“Sure?”

He looked away and then met her gaze again. “I’d sure like it if you called me Dad sometimes.”

Sass bit her lip. “Okay,” she whispered and then tucked her head next to Buck’s shoulder so that he wouldn’t see her quivering chin. “Congratulations on getting hitched…Dad.”

When the dance ended, Sass gave her dad a fierce hug and then rushed blindly between the tables of the reception area toward the clubhouse and a bathroom where she could straighten out her smeared mascara. However, with her head down and her eyes bleary, she didn’t see the brick wall until she ran into him.

Air flew out of her lungs, partly from the shock of running into the big body of the man who blocked her exit, and partly from the sound of the deep voice that rumbled from low in his chest when he said, “Sass Hogan. I’ve been looking all over for you.”

Her head snapped up and when she saw Jordan’s grin, her already mushy innards melted. “You’re late!” she snapped and then stood up on tiptoe to kiss him as indecently as she could.

He returned her kiss with equal abandon. Then he broke away and said breathlessly, “Come on. There’s something I need to show you.”

Kissing him again, while sliding her hand down the front of him, Sass whispered, “I know, I can’t wait either.”

Jordan grabbed her hand and said through clenched teeth, “Not that. Though, it’s not a bad idea.” He grinned and kissed her. “I need to show you something else.”

Sass tripped after him, her head in an emotional wedding fog, her body tingling with the nearness of the man she loved. By the time he stopped, Sass was on the verge of hyperventilation. This day, a miasma of frenzied emotions, was more than she could bear.

“What do you think?”

What did she think? Was he kidding? She couldn’t think. She was a mess. A mess. But, if she could think, she’d definitely be trying to figure out a way to get some alone time with City-boy right now. She hadn’t seen him in nearly a week and she felt like an addict with serious withdrawal.

“Sass you’re not even looking.”

“Looking at what?”

Jordan grinned at her and stepped out of the way. Behind him was parked the most amazing car she’d ever seen. It was her car.
Their
car. The one she’d wanted to build for Buck’s wedding but had never managed to finish.

Sass gasped. “How did you do this?”

“Everyone helped—at both shops.”

With reverence she walked around the car, letting her fingers trail along the sweetly crafted metal, the Model A trunk, the F1 truck top, the wickedly polished bare engine—looking as cool as Sass hoped it would. There were the fenders that Jordan had insisted on. They were perfect, just like he’d said they would be. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered.

“It’s just the first of many.” He gave her hand a squeeze and she squeezed back, having a difficult time containing her excitement over the idea of the new shop,
Hogan’s and Carlyle’s Custom Cars
. And, of course, spending every day with Jordan by her side.

“I guess you didn’t have time to paint it, huh?”

“Nope.”

She jabbed him lightly in the arm. “So you’re not perfect. Phew.”

“I thought Buck would want to do it.”

She beamed up at Jordan and threw her arms around him. He picked her up and wheeled her around. “I’ve missed you,” he said into her hair.

She planted a firm wet kiss on his lips. “I’ve missed you, too.”

He grinned that wicked grin of his, the one that made her insides all jiggly. Never,
never
had a man made her feel the way Jordan did. She smiled and lifted her face for another kiss. He obliged her and then opened the car door, pushing her playfully inside before crawling in after her.

Once inside, he pulled her to him, cupping the back of her head, kissing the side of her mouth, her jaw and her ear. His other hand slipped one tiny strap of her dress down off her shoulder and he kissed her there once and then moved lower, stopping just before he bared her breast.

“I’ve never done this before,” Sass whispered.

Jordan glanced up at her with one brow raised. “I seem to recall only last week, christening that ridiculous single bed of yours…” He trailed off as his lips found her nipple through the material of her dress.

“That’s not what I mean.” She groaned and then motioned feebly to the car around them. “This.”

“Somehow I find that even harder to believe. A woman who’s spent her life around cars has never done
this
in a car?”

She arched into him and sighed. How was it possible for something to feel both so good and so…? “No,” she gasped. “I mean been in a relationship. I’ve never been in lov—in a relationship before.”

“Mmm.” Jordan slipped his strong arms around her, splaying his hands across her bare back as he kissed her collarbone and the hollow at the base of her neck.

“Oh, God!” She moaned. But then she took a deep, shuddering breath and said, “I don’t know. I’m kind of scared, I mean, I’m not sure how…”

But Jordan kissed away the rest of her sentence until she stopped him. Holding his face in her hands, she said, “How can we be sure we want the same thing? I mean what if—” She chewed on her lip. “What if something happens?” She couldn’t help thinking of her mother and father’s relationship, of the way it ended so tragically, affecting lives for so many years afterward.

“Stuff is always going to happen. But there is only one thing that matters.”

“What?”

“Do you love me?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Maybe?”

“Maybe…yes?”

Chuckling, Jordan said, “That’s not much of an answer.” He leaned in close again and placed soft, tender kisses on her cheek and forehead. “I’m scared, too, you know. I think love is supposed to be scary. Kind of like driving fast.”

“Huh?” She was having a hard time focusing on his words when his lips were doing such incredible things to her, there and there and—oh!—there.

“When you drive fast, so fast you’re on the verge of losing control,” Jordan kept talking and kissing. He touched her lips with just the tip of his tongue, but before she could lean to meet him for a deeper kiss, he whispered, “There’s nothing like it…” He cupped her chin and worked his thumb between her parted lips. “It’s exhilarating—” He moved her hand to that rigid spot between his legs, encouraging her to squeeze. “Yet dangerous.”

Sass gasped, wishing the little car had more space because the steering wheel was kind of getting in the way of what she wanted to do.

“That’s love, Sass.”

“Is that how you feel?”

“You better believe it.” Jordan lifted her hand and kissed the callus on her palm. Then he leaned forward and kissed her lips, trying to convince her in that unspoken, passionate way just how much she meant to him. Sass wondered what she’d ever done to deserve him.

“That’s how I feel, too,” she whispered.

“Dammit, Sass,” Jordan whispered, his breath sounding as ragged as hers felt. “I suspect loving you will be the best ride of my life.”

“Yeah, well, it’s been quite a ride so far.”

He laughed. Then he stared deep into her eyes and said, “I can’t wait to tell our kids how we met.”

She smacked his shoulder. “That’s getting a little ahead of yourself, don’t you think?”

Jordan grinned. “Nope. Not if you love me. Do you, Sass? Do you love me?”

Sass smiled the lopsided, crooked-tooth smile that she’d inherited from her
m
other. “I do.”

Acknowledgments

An enormous thank you goes out to Lauren Hawkeye for being one of the first to read this and for her unfailing support of my career. Also, thanks to Sue Garner, for believing in this story.

About the Author

Daire St. Denis is an adventure seeker, an ancient history addict, a seasonal hermit and a wine lover. She writes smoking hot, contemporary romance where the pages are steeped in sensuality and there’s always a dash of the unexpected.

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www.dairestdenis.com

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