“I’m going to need you to direct me. I don’t know where I’m going.”
I nodded, knowing he saw. I should have thought ahead and just called a cab. I didn’t like that Turner would know where I lived. I’m sure he wouldn’t just show up uninvited, but it still was an uncomfortable feeling.
“Go past the hospital and take your first right.”
The girls in the back were all giggling and talking about their night. I was glad they all had a good time, but I knew come morning, I’d be passing out aspirin like it was candy and bottles of water. One of the many reasons I didn’t care to go out and party. Clearly my buzz was gone.
I’d given Turner a couple more instructions before he pulled up in front of my house. He parked the SUV, and got out. I went ahead of him and unlocked the door, turning on all the lights and doing a quick check to make sure that everything was picked up. I was a fairly tidy person, but you never knew if I’d dropped a pair of underwear walking from the laundry room to the bedroom. As the girls all filed in, Turner came in last, escorting Keegan and sitting her down on the couch.
“You might want to make sure they drink plenty of fluids tonight so they feel halfway decent in the morning.”
“They’ll be taken care of.” I followed him back toward the door. The sooner he got out of my house, the sooner I could put my pajamas on and get out of this ridiculous dress I should have never worn. Plus he was making me nervous. Turner stopped just shy of the door and turned around, scanning my home.
“Nice place. How many acres is it?”
I tugged the hem of my dress, not hiding my unease. “Ummm, 4 acres.”
The corner of his mouth raised in a beautiful smirk. “Damn, the hospital must be paying the nurses well.”
“Oh.” I shifted. “This was actually my parents place. I inherited it after they passed. I wanted to live more in the city a couple years ago, but the house was paid off so I figured I’d stay.”
Way more information than he was asking for. When I saw the inquisition on his face, I knew the correct response should have been, “mhmm” and shoved him out the door. Clearly, I was a dumbass.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know you’d lost both your parents.” He look genuinely sorry. But now wasn’t the time or the place.
“Thanks.” I was more snippy than I should have been but I was hoping he’d get the hint.
He did. “Bye, ladies. Have a good night,” Turner called over my shoulder.
I walked him the rest of the way out the door. I expected him to keep going ‘til he got to his Escalade, but for whatever reason he paused.
“Annabelle?”
I stood there waiting for him to say more.
“I apologize for my rude comment tonight. Call it foot in mouth disease.” He tried to laugh it off. “But you’re nothing like those girls back at that bar. I said the words before even realizing how they may have come across and that’s not what I meant at all.”
I crossed my arms over my chest protectively. “Then what did you mean?”
He looked down at his feet. Was I making him nervous? I bet he wasn’t grilled by many women. “It was just me being overconfident is all. Truly, I didn’t mean anything by it.”
I squinted my eyes at him, not sure how to respond. He was being sincere, but I didn’t really want to let him off that easy. I was having a good time. I’d allowed myself to relax a little, I’d let my guard down and accepted a drink from a man I hardly knew. That was so out of character. How quickly I let him have that little bit, and he had to blow it by saying something stupid. But I wasn’t going to make him suffer any longer. I understood what he was saying, and I just wanted him to go.
“Apology accepted.”
For what seemed like the millionth time tonight, Turner did something unexpected. He came towards me, pulled one of my hands away from my body, and lifted it to his lips. It was as soft as a brush of air, but I felt the warmth of the kiss all the way to my toes. No doubt my cheeks were red.
When he release my hand, he seared me with his blue eyes. “Goodnight, Annabelle.”
I swallowed, hard. “Night.”
I stood there unmoving as he hopped off the porch, and got into his vehicle. Even after his tail lights were out of sight, I still wasn’t heading into the house. Turner Brooks was shocking me left and right. The top of my hand was still tingling from his touch, and my mind was in a state of distress. When the motion sensor light that acted as my porch light shut off, I was blanketed in darkness. Letting it wrap around me, I closed my eyes and exhaled.
Indifference, Annabelle, indifference.
There was nothing special about that man besides his looks. He was not God’s gift to women, like every woman in a hundred mile radius made these Brooks boys believe. At least they weren’t anything that I found worth more of my time. Giving myself a couple more minutes, I shook off the edginess that was building inside me, and went back in the house. I sought the comfort of my friends, my surroundings, and of course my cat. Time to forget about my crazy night and be the babysitter I promised I’d be.
“Who needs Tylenol?” I said, stepping inside and wondering who was going to be up first to take me to get my car.
“WHERE THE FUCK DID he put the ring?” I grumbled as I patted down Camden’s tuxedo jacket. I swear that kid would have lost his brain had it not been encased in his skull.
“What are you doing, man?” Camden stepped up beside me. “I said it was in my pant’s pocket. They’re over there.” He pointed at a pair of jeans strung haphazardly over the side of a chair. I walked over to them and plucked out the dainty, diamond wedding band that I was supposed to hold until the preacher asked me for it.
“Really, Cam? This could have fallen out. Ever heard of a ring box?”
“Relax, I’ve got this.” My little brother tipped his head back and took a shot of straight Jack from a flask. I could see the nerves settling in.
Instead of giving him a hard time on his day, I gripped his shoulder and asked, “You good?”
Despite the whiskey on his breath, the smile he gave me let me know he was good. “Yeah. I get to marry my girl today. I don’t think life gets much better than this.”
I gave him a slight squeeze and let go. I wouldn’t know. Truthfully, I’d never felt the way that he was feeling right now. Unless being in love felt the same as driving a race car, sky diving, or resetting a bone that has popped out of place, I had no clue what it felt like. Not sure I ever cared to feel that way either. But I did care that Cam seemed ridiculously happy, and for today, that’s all that mattered.
“Hey, asshole, you sure you want to do this?” Wrigley asked as he tried to snatch the flask out of Camden’s hand.