Chapter Twenty-four

Weston

Fuck. Me. I’m in trouble.

It’s Friday night, and while I’m still not at one hundred percent, I agreed to go out with everyone to Getaway tonight. And I mean everyone. Logan and Owen are there already, of course. Dean and Kara are going, as well as Quinn and Archer. Quinn invited Scarlet to hang out with her and her friend Jamie, and I can tell Scarlet’s looking forward to it.

“Ready?” Scarlet asks, coming down the stairs as if she has no idea she looks like a temptress. Swallowing hard, I shift my weight to hide my hardening cock. It’s going to be one hell of a night. She curled her hair and is wearing a simple, curve-hugging black dress and heels. My mind jumps ahead, and I imagine myself pushing her up against the wall. I can almost feel her legs around me as I inch the hem of her black dress up and over her ass.

Dammit. Now I have an erection.

“Just a second,” I mumble and go into the kitchen, clenching the muscles in my thighs to try and get rid of this thing. I open the fridge, pretending to dig around for something to eat until my cock goes down.

“Are you seriously eating again?” Scarlet asks, voice coming from behind me.

“I’m always hungry.”

She laughs. “We literally just ate.”

And we did. I put the food away while Scarlet brushed her teeth upstairs. I waste some more time before grabbing an apple and closing the fridge. Feeling like a teenage boy at the risk of popping a boner just from looking at a hot girl, I grab my coat and hold it in front of me as we walk to my Jeep.

“It was nice of your parents to watch Jackson tonight,” she comments.

“Yeah. I think my mom misses having him around even though it made it hard for her to do her job.”

“I can see that. He’s a great kid.”

We get in, and we both reach for the radio at the same time. The slight feeling of Scarlet’s skin against mine sends a jolt right to the tip of my cock. She took such good care of me when I was sick, balancing helping me out but not being overbearing. Every minute I’m around her puts me more and more at risk for spilling my guts. Or maybe I’ll cut through all the verbal nonsense and kiss her.

Again.

But this time I won’t stop.

*

“Strike out already?” I ask Logan, taking a drink of my beer.

“Not as bad as you,” he fires back, pulling out a chair and joining me at the table. “Though we think you’re holding out for your new nanny.”

I shake my head, flicking my eyes to Scarlet. She’s sitting at the bar with Quinn, Kara, and Jamie, sipping a vodka tonic and laughing at something Quinn just said. “She’s Jackson’s nanny. I’m not getting involved with her.”

“I’ll get involved with her,” Owen says, coming up behind us. He’s on his third—maybe fourth—beer already.

“No,” I say a little too sternly. Dammit. “Besides…you seemed to be getting involved with the chick in the leopard skirt.”

Owen grins. “Yeah, I am.” He motions for Logan to follow him. “Her friend thinks I’m hot, which translates into thinking you’re hot. Kind of. We might look alike, but I have the winning personality.”

Logan brings his beer to his lips and doesn’t say anything. Owen stands there, looking at Logan as if there’s something seriously wrong with him. I lean back, always amused by these two.

“Nah, I’m staying here.” Logan rests his arms on the table, taking another swig of beer.

“What the fuck?” Owen’s eyes widen.

Logan shrugs. “I’m not feeling a one-night stand tonight.” He flicks his eyes to mine, knowing I understand where he’s coming from. With Dean married and Quinn engaged and planning her wedding, thoughts of settling down are hanging heavy above him too.

“Are you sick?” Owen sinks into the chair next to Logan. “Should I get Archer?”

Logan rolls his eyes. “Fuck you. Don’t you want something more?”

“As long as I’m getting laid, I’m happy,” Owen says, and I believe him. Sometimes I wish I could be as carefree as him, but having a kid changed all that. Jackson is my world, and I won’t even think about bringing anyone new into our lives unless it’s the real deal.

Logan shifts his gaze to the girls Owen was talking to. “Don’t you want someone a little more…uh…cultured?”

“She’s cultured, all right,” Owen says and holds up his hand. “Pop-cultured. I bet she knows everything there is to know about the Kardashians.”

“Go get em’, tiger,” Logan says, making a shooing gesture with his hands. Owen mumbles something incoherent and wanders off. Dean and Archer, who’ve been playing pool since we got here, come over and join us at the table.

“You’re not out there on the prowl?” Dean asks Logan, grabbing his beer from the table and taking a swig.

“Nope. It’s more fun sitting here giving Wes shit about his hot nanny. He says there’s nothing going on between them.”

“Her name is Scarlet, and there’s nothing going on between us.”

“Don’t lie to us, man.” Dean raises his eyebrows. “We’ve seen you two flirting and giving each other fuck-me eyes. You’re sleeping with her, aren’t you?”

“Nope.”

“Why not? You two obviously want each other.”

I shake my head. “Just because I want her doesn’t mean I should go for it.” Everyone looks at me like I’m crazy. With a sigh, I pick at the label on my beer. “What if things don’t work out? I wouldn’t just be losing a friend, I’d be losing a nanny, one Jackson really likes and one I actually trust.”

“But what if they don’t?” Archer says, and all eyes fall on him. “Trust me, I understand where you’re coming from. I waited years to tell Quinn how I felt because I was afraid of what would happen when I finally did.” He looks across the bar at her and smiles without meaning to. “I’ll spare you the details since she’s your sister, and you guys know how happy we are. But I do regret the time I lost every now and then.” He looks back at me. “If you like her, tell her. At least you’ll know one way or another.”

“She’s into you,” Dean goes on. “I can tell. And she already lives with you and knows what a tyrant you can be.”

“I’m not a tyrant,” I say, and both my brothers give me dubious looks. “It’s not the right time.”

“Weston,” Logan starts, and I know whatever he has to say is going to be seriously simply by the fact that he called me by my whole name. “You can date again. You can hook up again. You can have no-strings sex with anyone who wants to participate. And you should. Daisy is gone, and if she comes back, she’s going to know she’s not welcome.”

I peel the label down the bottle and nod. “You’re right.”

“What?” Logan asks, blinking. “Did I hear you correctly?”

“Yeah,” I say with a laugh. I look across the bar at Scarlet again, and my heart lurches in my chest. “You’re right. Daisy is gone, and it’s time to move on.” I look my brother in the eye. “And this time, I want to.”

*

“That was fun,” Scarlet says, looping her arm through mine. We’re leaving the bar, and I think she’s a little drunk. I swallow hard, soaking in the warmth of her skin. I’m carrying a take-out bag full of burgers and fries for us to eat once we get back to the house.

“It was,” I agree, aware of the way my heart speeds up as soon as she’s near. “I haven’t gone out like that in a while.”

“I know. Quinn told me. She’s really talkative when she drinks.”

I laugh. “She drank tonight?”

“She had one glass of wine and it was more than enough to make her loopy.” Scarlet tightens her hold on my arm, having a bit of difficulty walking through the uneven gravel in her tall heels. “This was her first time going out and having a drink since before she got pregnant, but something tells me she’s always a lightweight.”

“She is, but Dean’s worse. Don’t tell him I told you.”

Scarlet laughs, clinging to me after her ankle almost twists. We get to the Jeep and she lets go of my arm, walking around to the edge of the parking lot. It butts up to a cornfield, and a big half-moon hangs high above it. Stars dot the black sky, and the night is quiet.

“What are you looking at?” I ask her, setting the food down on the hood of my Jeep and unzipping my jacket. She has a black sweater over her dress but no coat. I take mine off and drape it around her shoulders.

“Thanks,” she says quietly and pulls the coat tightly around herself. “And nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“I’m looking at nothing. And I like it.” She tips her head back and reaches for me. My heart pounds, and I think back to what was said in the bar. I like her—more than like her. I step forward and wrap her in my arms.

“I never thought I’d end up in a place like this,” she says quietly. I’m behind her, with my arms wrapped tightly around her waist. She leans back against me.

“Like this?”

“Quiet. Safe. A place I’d like to call home.”

“You can call it home,” I say without thinking. “I mean, you’re here for a job, I know, but once Jackson is too old for a nan—or if you want to leave or…or—”

“You’re cute when you get flustered.” She smiles as she turns around to look at me. “And maybe I will.” She takes a few steps out in the dirt that leads to the cornfield and holds out her hands. “Look at this. I’m behind a bar and don’t feel threatened for my life. Partly because you’re with me.”

“Was it really that bad where you lived in Chicago?”

She turns around and nods. “Yeah, but you learn how to deal. Don’t go out at night alone…carry something that either is a weapon or looks like a weapon…avoid certain streets and places after dark.” She shakes her head and puts on her mask again, pretending everything is okay. Looking up at the sky again, she becomes completely still for a moment. “I think I saw a shooting—wait, it’s an airplane.”

I laugh. “We do get a lot of flyover traffic to the Chicago airports.”

She takes a few steps back, and I find myself moving toward her. My arms fold around her slender waist and my cock jumps. I turn my head to the side, fighting with myself. I want to kiss her and tell her how I feel…but she’s more than a little tipsy.

I’ll wait.

“The food is probably getting cold,” she says, eyeing the bag. “And those fries smell amazing.”

I unlock the Jeep and open the passenger door for her, then quickly go around and get in. Scarlet turns up the heat and plays with the radio as I drive us home, stopping on a classic rock station. “Living on a Prayer” is playing, and she looks at me with a smile before cranking the volume. We belt it out together, laughing and dancing in our seats. I don’t realize it until a car comes up behind me, but I’ve slowed down, going less than half the speed limit on this country road.

Speeding up, I glance over at Scarlet, watching her move her seatbelt to the side so she can take off my coat. Her dress gets caught when she pulls it off, and the low-cut neckline of the dress moves to the side, exposing part of her lacy black bra. Fuck, she’s gorgeous.

I clench my jaw and grip the steering wheel, keeping my eyes on the road the rest of the way home. Parking in front of the house, Scarlet and I walk up the sidewalk together. She stops a foot before the porch and looks up at the sky again.

“It’s so beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Is it making you believe in aliens?”

She laughs, and the way her face lights up is even more beautiful than the sky above us. “It’s starting to convince me.”

I pull my keys from my pocket to unlock the front door.

“Can we eat on the porch?” Scarlet asks. “So I can look for shooting stars?”

“I can do you one better.”

*

“Careful.” I hold out my hand, planting my foot down on the shingles of the roof. Scarlet steps through the open window, gripping my hand tight.

“I’m not really scared of heights,” she starts, holding onto the window frame. “But I’m afraid of falling from heights.”

“I won’t let you fall.”

She looks me right in the eye. “You sure about that?”

“I’ll catch you.”

Her lips curve into a smile. “You better.”

“You can trust me.”

“I know.”

She steps onto the roof, and I help her down a few feet. We’re on top of the covered back porch, and while the roof still angles down a bit, it’s level enough to sit. Once she’s settled, I reach back inside and grab a blanket and the food. I take a seat close to Scarlet, draping the blanket around both of us.

Scarlet opens the take-out bag, and we eat together in a silence that’s anything but awkward. Once we’re done with our food, I gather up the wrappers and toss them along with our empty water bottles into the house through the open window.

“You know Jackson is going to come out here once he’s older, right?” Scarlet says, resting her head on my shoulder.

“I’ll nail the windows shut before then.” I slip my arm around her.

She laughs. “I’d be out here every night if I were a kid.”

“Just wait until winter.”

“I can tough it out.”

She could, and she would just to see the stars. “Have you been to the Alder Planetarium?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “I’ve always wanted to go, but I haven’t been. I used to take my brother and sister to the Field Museum, though. It was within walking distance of our house. Well, a long walk. We’d make a day out of it. Then when my dad came back into the picture, he’d meet us there.” She closes her eyes and rests her head on my shoulder. “I haven’t been in a while. A long while. I haven’t even thought about it but now I really miss it.”

“Do you want to go? We can take Jackson and drive up next week.”

She lifts her head up and looks at me. “Really?”

Her smile is making me smile. “Yeah. I haven’t been since probably high school, and Jackson’s never been. You could invite your dad and sister, if you want.”

She stiffens, and the smile is gone from her face. “They…they won’t be able to come.”

“Shit, right. Your dad is sick. How’s he doing?”

With furrowed brows, she turns to me. “I need to tell you something.”