Everybody's After Love (20 page)

My body, already on edge from his soapy foreplay, is now about to burst at his declaration. As much as I dreaded this day seven months ago, now I want it to be over for a totally different reason than I had originally. Ready to get this day started so I can get back in bed with Bentley in less than fifteen hours, I give him a quick kiss and jump out, leaving him alone and chuckling.

Barely five minutes later, Bentley appears in my room looking sexy as ever with a towel wrapped low on his waist, highlighting his Adonis belt. My fingers pause as I get dressed. I bite my bottom lip as my eyes lock on his happy trail and I have to stop myself from yanking his towel off to find the end. Bentley’s eyes travel up and down my body as well and he quirks his eyebrow.

“Is that my shirt?”

Glancing down at the red plaid button down shirt I’m wearing, I slowly nod, a grin taking over my face. “I have to wear a shirt with buttons so I don’t pull it over my head and ruin my hair after it’s done. I hope you don’t mind, ” I explain and bat my eyes.

Bentley reaches out and grabs me by the waist. “I’ll make a deal with you. As long as you’re wearing that shirt, and only that shirt after the wedding then you can keep it.”

Giggling, I nod. “Deal,” I agree and my phone beeps with a text. Without looking, I sigh and know that our private time for the day is over until late tonight.

Bentley kisses me softly and drops his towel. “Guess that means we need to get going,” he comments, turning his back to me so I see his perfectly toned buttocks.

Leaning over and picking up the towel, I snap it in his direction barely missing him. “You don’t play fair!” I whine with a laugh. He grins as he walks back in the bathroom closing the door. Falling back on the bed, I let out a long sigh. Who knew country boy Bentley Ladner was the man I never knew I was looking for?

***

Driving to the salon to drop Jules off, a smile hangs on my lips, not willing to go away. She looks damn sexy in my shirt and I’d be happy if she wore that, and only that for the rest of our lives. Forget the dress I bought her that she finally wore last night to the rehearsal dinner, my old shirt that I’ve worn too many times to count is sexier than it’ll ever be. I pull in front of Walgreens and turn off the engine. Jules looks at me with a raised eyebrow.

“I don’t want time to get away from me and not be prepared for tonight,” I say with a wink as I slide out of the car. I don’t look behind me to see her reaction because judging from this morning’s festivities, I already know that she’s fully on board with the plans to do nothing but please each other for the next twenty-four hours after our siblings get hitched.

CHAPTER 23

Why in the world does Bri have five different pairs of heels? I’m carrying her bag into the church and I’m completely perplexed as to why she has so many shoe options when she’s only wearing one dress. Once inside the bridal room, I drop the bag filled with not only her shoes, but about twenty pounds of make-up despite the fact that she just had it done at the salon. I, myself, feel like a clown with the amount they painted on me, but then again I’m usually a mascara and blush kind of girl.

“Can you believe she’s his rebound girl? I thought Bentley had better taste, but then again look at Bri’s. Bad judgement must run in the family,” Nikki quips as she walks into the room with the other bridesmaids.

It doesn’t take a genius to know who she’s talking about and I know she said it purposefully so that I could hear her. The old Jules would’ve flipped out, gone off on the idiot, but both Bentley and Bri’s laid back demeanor has rubbed off on me so I pretend to have not heard her. Instead, I go for the subtle approach.

“Hey Nikki, nice zit on your chin,” I say in a drippingly sweet tone.

The color drains from her face as she grabs the closest bridesmaid and runs to the bathroom. I can hear Nikki screaming in the ladies’ room and the other girls running around as she barks orders at them. Satisfied, I smile as I start to sort through my bag, looking for my jewelry. I pull out my mother’s pearl necklace Paulie gave me and the matching bracelet he gifted me for high school graduation.

Melancholy washes over me as I realize for the first time that Paulie’s side of the church will be familyless. Ever since he told me he was engaged, I was too consumed with hating Bri and then later loving Bentley, that I never stopped to think about Paulie.

When our parents died and none of our family stepped up to help Paulie and I, we eventually lost touch with all of them. Both sets of our grandparents were already gone, but we had a few aunts and uncles. All of them were too scared to check on us, afraid they’d be feeding us along with their own kids. We get the occasional Christmas cards and Facebook updates, but I highly doubt Paulie included any of them on the invite list. I have to be the world’s worst sister to not even know who Paulie invited or how hard it must’ve been to tell the Ladners that he doesn’t have any family to share in the celebration.

Tears fill my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. I paid fifty bucks for this make-up and I’m not about to ruin it. I drop the jewelry in the bag and head into the hallway to find my brother. It’s always me that’s dumping on him about my bad days, break-ups, and botched relationships. Never has he ever complained to me about anything nor have I ever offered the option. For once in my life, I need to put Paulie ahead of myself.

Walking blindly down the hall, unable to see anything ahead of me due to the tears, I feel strong hands on my arms stopping me before I run smack into whoever it is. Lips brush across mine and his woodsy scent meets my nose letting me know I’m safely in the arms of Bentley. Blinking quickly, I push the tears away and instantly see the worry in his creased ‘brows. Always assuming the worse, my pulse races and I can barely mutter what’s wrong.

“Is Bri in there?” he asks nodding toward the door behind me.

Shaking my head, I tell him, “No, she was at the salon and asked me to bring her stuff over. She said she had to run home for something she forgot. I offered to go, but she insisted that she do it herself.”

Bentley grabs my hand and pulls me toward the parking lot. My foam flip flops slip on the linoleum floor as I try to keep up, asking repeatedly what’s going on, but he ignores me until we’re in the truck and I can tell he’s headed to their parents’ house.

“Bentley, what the hell is going on?”

His eyes don’t leave the road and he presses harder on the gas. “Bri texted me. All it said was she couldn’t do this. She has to be at our parents’ house, she wouldn’t go to her and J.P’s place.”

My heart drops. This will kill my brother if he gets stood up at the altar. The fear I felt is replaced with anger. My hands shake and when Bentley parks the truck, I don’t wait for him to help me out. I notice her car is parked in the driveway as I jump out of passenger side and take the front steps two at a time only to have to wait for Bentley to unlock the door.

I follow him up the stairs to a room I’ve never been in. The room looks like the Disney princesses puked in here as its decorated in pink, purple, and glitter… everywhere. It must’ve been Bri’s childhood room that she never re-decorated and I’m slightly shocked Mrs. Ladner allowed it to stay this way. Curled up and crying, Bri lies on the bed and I shake my head. I may want to kill her but come hell or high water, she will get down that aisle to my brother even if I have to drag her.

Bentley takes a few steps toward the bed and sits down, pulling her into his lap. She sobs into his chest, words that I can’t make out and I doubt Bentley can either. He gently rubs her back, reassuring her that she’s okay and suddenly, my anger subsides briefly. Instead of the Ladner siblings, I picture Paulie and myself. We’re not so different after all. Parents or no parents, Bri and I both lean on our big brothers. They are the rocks that hold us together and support us no matter what.

“I’m not good enough for him, Benny,” Bri finally speaks so that we can understand her.

I smile at the irony. I’ve never heard Bentley called that before, but then again, I’m the only one that calls James Paul Paulie. It must be a little sister thing. And she’s not good enough? Stifling the laughter on that one is tough as she sits in her parents’ lavish home, but I manage.

I move to the pair and rest my hand on Bentley’s shoulder. He glances up at me uneasy and I know he’s wondering what I’m about to say. Hesitating, trying to protect his sister, he finally releases her and stands up, letting me take his place.

Bri looks at me as she hiccups, tears and mascara streaking down her cheeks. She gulps and starts to speak quickly. “I’m not good enough for him,” she repeats. “I can barely boil water, I’ve never ironed a shirt, and I don’t even have a real job yet.”

My hands cup both her cheeks and my thumbs swipe under her eyes, trying to clean up the mess she’s created on her face. Taking a deep breath, I speak slowly and quietly. “Bri, if you burn every dinner you ever cook or leave an iron print on all of his shirts, he won’t care. As long as you are by his side in the good times and the bad, and greet him with a kiss every day after work, he’d probably appreciate if you did that in that nightie Aunt Clea got you, then that’s what being a good wife is all about,” I say as though I have any experience in wifely duties at all.

Her shoulders move up and down as though she’s not sure whether to believe me or not. Behind me, Bentley agrees. “She’s right. J.P. loves you, you love him and that’s all that matters.”

Her eyes fill with tears again and I squeeze her cheeks. “Brianna,” I say softly and get her attention right away. “James Paul loves you more than anyone else in the world,” I swallow hard at the words I’m implying, “In just a couple hours, you’re going to be his family. You and me, that’s all he has and it’s more than he’s had in a long time. Brianna, I know you’ll be an amazing wife and the perfect one for my brother.”

Her eyes light up behind the tears and she wraps her arms around me. Reciprocating the gesture, I’m slowly getting used to this female attention and being that she’s about to officially be my sister, I have no other choice. She holds me close and I whisper in her ear, “Now, are you ready to go marry my brother?”

Giggling nervously, she pulls away and nods. Before she can change her mind, I grab her hand and pull her downstairs and out the door to Bentley’s truck. Pushing her into the middle of the cab, Bentley grabs me by the waist and spins me around to face him. His lips are immediately on mine, but only for a brief second before he pulls away mumbling thank you and setting me inside the truck beside Bri. Pedal to the metal, he speeds back downtown as I do my best to clean up Bri’s botched make-up and fluff her flattened hair. 

Back at the church, Mrs. Ladner greets us and pulls Bri into the bridal room to finish getting ready, not asking any questions. Still wanting to check on Paulie, I grab my dress and shoes, running down the hallway to where he’s supposed to be getting ready himself, but once I open the door, he’s already gone.

Bentley turns around, shirt half-buttoned. He nods toward the stairwell. “They just headed upstairs. Come here, let me help you.”

I hand him my dress and shimmy out of my jean shorts. His hand grasps my right butt cheek and he squeezes. I turn to him with a grin and laugh. “We’re in church!”

Slowly unbuttoning my shirt, his fingertips graze my skin, sending electric currents through my body. He shrugs. “I told you, church isn’t really my place.”

Shaking my head with a smile, I lean up on my tippy toes and kiss him softly. I shrug the shirt off my shoulders and let it drop to the floor. The church bells ring indicating it’s almost show time. Quickly breaking the kiss, he spins me around so I’m no longer facing him and I reach for my dress, stepping into it and Bentley pulls it over my hips until it covers my chest. His fingers unclasp my bra and I slip it off my shoulders, tossing it on the floor with the shirt. The dress is a navy halter cut. I’d planned on wearing a strapless bra but it’s in the other room and I don’t have time to retrieve it before the ceremony starts.

In the rush of the moment, time stills as Bentley softly kisses my shoulder and moves his lips slowly to my neck until he nips my ear. “Tonight can’t come soon enough,” he mumbles as he lifts the zipper on my dress and heat erupts on my spine where his fingers touch.

Turning my head slightly, our lips meet and we forget about the nuptials waiting for us upstairs until the door bursts open, flinging into the wall and I hear my brother’s voice.

“Get your hands off my sister!” he shouts. Both Bentley and I freeze, but don’t move away from each other. Paulie repeats himself. “I said to get your hands off my sister, asshole.”

Holding up my hands, I take a step toward Paulie. “Whoa, we’re in church.”

“Tell that to him,” my brother mutters, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward him.

We both look at Bentley who stands before us. He looks crushed, his face wears a deer caught in headlights look. My head swivels between to the two men until I finally ask, “What are you talking about, Paulie?”