Half Empty (First Wives #2)

Wade stood there for a solid five minutes, trying to keep things nice, and when he turned around, Trina was out of his sight.

It took thirty minutes and a dozen conversations before he found her. At that point, he beelined in her direction to find her sitting on a straw bale, talking to Jeb.

He waved off a distant cousin and sat on the straw beside her.

“Hey,” she said with a genuine smile.

“Do you have any idea how hard it is to walk across this yard with this many people?” he asked.

Trina shook her head. “Wasn’t hard for me . . . Jeb?”

“Never an issue.”

Wade reached over and took the beer Trina was holding and tilted it back.

She smiled but didn’t comment.

He realized two things at the same time. First, he liked that they had the comfort of sharing a coffee, or a beer, and second . . . the beer was nearly full and kinda warm. Trina had grabbed the beer to blend but had no intention of actually drinking it.

Somehow, that made him grin even more.

He scooted closer and didn’t bother handing the beer back.

“How did that go?” Jeb nodded toward the direction of Jordyn and his mother.

“Fine . . . it went fine.”

Trina lowered her chin and didn’t blink.

Wade coughed up the truth. “She’s having a hard time letting go.”

“Not surprising,” Jeb offered.

“Why is that?” Trina asked.

“She’s a singer wanting a record deal. Wade has a reputation with plenty of influence. There’s a lot of people wanting something out of him.”

“Like Jerry?”

Wade turned toward Trina.

“Sorry,” she retracted.

He sat up taller, narrowed his attention.

“He’s my agent, he’s invested.”

“Of course.”

Yeah, there was something in her eyes that told him there was more to her statement.

From the other side of the yard, the amplifier on the small stage let the crowd know that the music was about to begin. Up until that moment, a mix track of popular country music had been playing. Everything except Wade’s music, which was always his request when his mother planned events like this one.

“Welcome, everybody.” Vicki stepped to the microphone and grabbed the guests’ attention. “I just wanted to give a big thank y’all for joining us. It’s seldom my famous son is home and even more rare to have his attention when he is. Where are you, Wade?”

“Oh, geez.”

Trina took her beer back and pushed him off the straw.

People around them parted so that he could have a direct route to the stage.

He stood and reached out his hand to Trina.

She started to shake her head but he didn’t give her a chance. He took her hand and helped her to her feet. “C’mon. They won’t bite.”

“There you are,” his mother said.

He started up the stairs to the stage, and Trina dug her heels in. Instead of forcing her up with him, he lifted a finger, asking her to stay close, and let her go. He kissed his mother’s cheek and took the mic. “Howdy.”

A chorus of similar greetings were shouted back at him. “It sure is nice to be home, did y’all miss me?”

Familiar faces laughed and a couple of his older friends shouted out no.

“I heard that, Ike.”

Two of Wade’s stage crew patted Ike on the back.

“I have such a blessed life to have the opportunity to go on tour and see so many places in this big, beautiful world, but coming home is always the best. Especially when I know everyone here is going to let me be myself and not try and get something out of me.”

“Except the free beer,” someone shouted.

Lots of hands went up, waving bottles in agreement.

Wade laughed.

He caught Trina smiling up from the steps of the stage.

“I’d like y’all to say hi to my friend Trina.”

She offered a timid wave to the crowd.

“She looks a little fancy for you,” someone yelled.

“Oh, she is. Trust me. I’m the lucky one.”

Trina’s face turned bright red. Her eyes pleaded with him to stop. His mother wasn’t as subtle. “We should probably let the band play, don’t you think?”

Wade turned his head toward his mother. “Thank you for coming. Eat, drink, and have a good time.”

He hopped off the stage and didn’t let anyone stop him until he was back at Trina’s side. His lips moved close to her ear again. “Now everyone will know not to hit on you.”

“That wasn’t a problem.”

Behind him, his mother introduced Jordyn and her band. There were several sets of eyes that moved between Jordyn and Wade expectantly. He even saw his mother holding her breath when Jordyn took the mic.

She smiled sweetly in his direction, her gaze never drifting to Trina.

“Let’s all welcome Wade home once again, where he belongs, with the people that know and love him.” Jordyn blew him a kiss that would have been innocent enough a year earlier.

Used to the attention of a crowd, Wade waved and smiled and hoped that was the end of being onstage for a while.

“C’mon, let’s find you something you actually want to drink and me something cold.”



Wade kept to his word and stayed by her side as much as he could throughout the party. He laughed at the amount of food she managed to put away, even though he ate twice as much. When she was ready to find a rocking chair, or a bed to let the meal put her into a food coma, Wade pulled her out on the dance floor.

“Just follow my lead,” he said in her ear. “Two fast steps, two short steps.”

Trina felt judgmental eyes watching them. “I’m going to embarrass you.”

“Not possible, little lady.”

She doubted that.

One arm wrapped around her waist as the other one took possession of her shoulder.

Trina started to sweat.

He shook her arm. “Relax. This is easy.”

He started to move her on the dance floor.

Two fast, two slow, two fast, two slow.

Around them couples were doing the same dance, only they were pushing forward and backward, and men were dipping the women and spinning them around.

She miscounted, and Wade corrected his step and spun her around.

“Oh, lord.”

“See, not hard at all.”

Trina sucked in the beat of the music and tried not to think.

“There ya go. You’re a natural.”

“Yeah, right!”

He pulled both of her hands up to his shoulders and used his hands to guide her hips.

The smile on his face lit up the yard. “We just need to get you some boots.” He spun her around.

She giggled like a schoolgirl. “So I can dress the part?”

“Yup.” He winked and took one hand away, while keeping the beat, and placed his hat on her head. “Much better.”

Trina tilted it back. “I might not give this back.”

He looked at the hat, looked in her eyes. “I might not take it back.”

The last time she’d worn a man’s anything had been at her high school prom. Every date after that, she’d brought her own sweater to keep warm, and using a man’s jacket hadn’t been necessary. Wade’s hat on her head took her back to a simpler time, when hand holding, dancing, and kissing were the cause of butterflies in her stomach.

They laughed as he spun her around, and never once did he mention the times she stepped on his feet. He just kept dancing like he was born to it.

When the music switched pace, he maneuvered them toward the back of the dance floor and paused. His finger grazed the side of her jaw, and she shivered, despite the fact it wasn’t cold.

“You are so damn beautiful when you smile.”

She bit her lip.

“C’mere.” He swept in and placed his lips on hers.

Trina tilted her head back, holding on to the hat to keep it from sliding to the ground.

He was smooth, pressed her frame flush against his, from knees to chest. He tasted like hops and barbeque. Just when she thought he would deepen their kiss, he pulled back enough to talk against her lips. “You’re killin’ me.”

“You started it,” she said with her lips a breath away from his.

He kissed her again, short, meaningful.

Wade hummed something under his breath. She wasn’t sure if it was a song or a mating call. Either way, it made her smile. Then he broke away and grasped her hand.