“That’s right, Ryder. No one here is going to know what hit them,” Paisley said as she swept in for a massive hug. He picked her up and shook her around. “Good to see you, Paisley-Cakes.”
But it was who cut in behind them that stole his breath and sent his stupid heart pounding, what had him setting Paisley onto her feet because he didn’t think he could physically hold her up any longer.
Dakota looked like she’d aged a decade, and not in a bad way, either. She was all woman now, the angles of her face growing more defined, her waist cinching down, her hips fuller. There was a confidence to her that she hadn’t worn before, and she wore it well in this babydoll dress that was long-sleeved but short as fuck, exposing her thighs.
She was still soft, though, delicate in every way, that sweetness radiating around her as she gave Ezra and Cody hugs. Ryder tried not to tremble as she slowly inched his way, and he wondered if he was the only one who felt the air cloud and grow dense.
She bit down on her plump bottom lip as she approached, and she seemed almost careful as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He stalled for only a second before he curled his around her waist and tugged her close, a fool who was breathing out in some kind of twisted relief.
The scent he could never erase from his mind inundated him.
Sugar and vanilla and all things sweet.
“I’m so glad you came.” She whispered it like it was their secret.
He forced himself to untangle himself from her body and sent her a gentle grin. “Like I was going to miss your party? This has been four years in the making. I wouldn’t be anywhere else. Congrats, Dakota.”
Redness splashed her cheeks. It was a bitch resisting the urge to reach out to trace the color with his fingertips.
“It was a great experience,” she said, like she was purposefully taking them back to the night when they’d shared their last real conversation. When their connection had been so powerful that it’d struck a chord inside him, a resonation that had shifted his insides around, made him sure he was going to earn the right for her to be looking at him the way she had then.
“And now she’s back!” Paisley slipped her arm around Dakota’s waist and leaned her head on her shoulder.
It seemed to yank Dakota out of the trance that had fallen over them.
“Now that you’re leaving. I can’t believe that you’re moving to Scottsdale. Gross.” Dakota sent Paisley a pout and a curl of her nose.
Paisley laughed an uneasy sound. “You make it sound like I’m taking a trip to Hell.”
“Do you know how hot it gets there? I’d say that’s exactly where you’re going,” Dakota teased.
Paisley squeezed her. “Jeremy thinks we can really make it happen there. It’s a great opportunity. I think we have to take the chance.”
Yeah, and Ryder was pretty sure she was actually making a deal with the devil. The dude was a prick.
“I’m just going to miss you now that I’m back,” Dakota told her.
“Don’t worry. You know I’ll be back a ton to visit my grandma and grandpa.”
“I’m going to hold you to that.”
“All right, enough of the sappy stuff.” Beth snapped her fingers between them. “This is supposed to be a celebration, not some kind of boo-fest.”
“Oh, you know you’re going to be crying over me leaving, too,” Paisley told her.
“Tears of joy,” Beth deadpanned, her razzing sly.
Chuckling low, Ryder looked between the four friends. “Why don’t I hit the bar. First round’s on me.” Ryder needed the excuse to get out of there. Gain some of that distance.
Paisley asked for a Moscow Mule, Beth one of those trendy beers, and Chloe a margarita.
“I’ll have a cosmo,” Dakota said, swaying in that fucking dress that was going to make him lose his mind. His mind that had traveled to places he couldn’t let it go.
Still, a grin was kicking at the edge of his mouth, loving that Dakota ordered something sweet.
“On it. I’ll be right back,” he promised.
Ezra went with him to help carry their drinks, and by the time they returned, the girls were already on the dance floor, stealing the attention of every eye in the place.
He and Ezra set their drinks down and Ryder reclaimed his stool.
For the longest time, he sat there, taking it in, happy that Dakota was having a blast.
Her eyes shined and her skin was slick with a sheen of sweat when they came racing back to the table, all of them laughing, giggling under their breaths, at what, he wasn’t sure. All he knew was he couldn’t look away as Dakota hopped onto the stool next to him and took a big gulp of her drink.
“Mmm,” she hummed into the glass like it was the best thing she’d ever tasted. “Thank you.”
He couldn’t help but lean into her, his shoulder touching hers, his voice just loud enough that only she could hear over the din. “That drink is the same color as your cheeks.”
That flush only heated more, and she dipped her head, that old shyness winding with something bold as she smiled back at him.
And fuck, he wanted to reach out again.
Touch it.
See if what he’d kept suppressed for the last four years was real, only he was tripping up when Amelia suddenly showed up at their table.
All sly grins, her black hair curled in fat waves, dressed like she was on the hunt.
Unease skittered through Ryder. He knew what she was hunting was him. He knew Dare used her to keep tabs on him. Another fucking trap he’d been a fool to fall into.
She sauntered up, all hips, her fingertips going to his chest as he sat back in his stool. She angled down to his ear. “I’ve been looking for you.”
A scowl took to his brow and that hatred that’d been simmering for years bubbled up from the depths. “I’m busy.”
“Too busy for me?” she purred.
“It’s a family celebration.” He let an edge of warning slip into his tone.
Her gaze bounced around the table. No one else was paying them any mind or found it out of character. It wasn’t like he didn’t have women crawling all over him half the time. He’d gained that reputation.
The only one who seemed to notice was Dakota who he could feel shifting in discomfort on her stool.
Amelia immediately zeroed in on her before she cut a wicked smirk back at him. “Call me later, then. I’ll be waiting.”
She touched her fingertips to his lips.
Disgust pumped through his system, this shame as Dakota peeked at them before she jerked away, turned her attention to Beth, and jumped into a conversation with her.
It was for the best.
He needed to maintain those boundaries.
Keep up the walls.
He and Dakota were friends. They’d always been. She was like a sister to him and that was the only thing she could ever be. It was already reckless that he came around this way.
Creeping too close.
An outsider drawn to this normalcy.
Wanting to be a part of it, dipping his fingers into something good when his feet were solidly cemented in immorality.
Except something inside him clutched when a cowboy who worked one of the local ranches strolled up and asked Dakota to dance.
She didn’t hesitate.
She slipped off her stool, her hand in his as he led her to the floor. The song that was playing was fast, and the guy led her in a quick two-step, and Dakota’s face was lighting up again as he spun her round and round.
All while Ryder sat there feeling like he was going to suffocate. This feeling snaking over him that he just couldn’t shake.
The night went on like that. Different guys asking Dakota to dance, which she was all too eager to oblige. The girl having the best time.
It was growing late when he finally found the balls to cut in.
Surprise rolled through Dakota’s expression when she found him standing there, and she warily let him pull her into his arms as the guy she’d been dancing with disappeared into the fray.
“What are you doing, Ryder?” She said it like she couldn’t believe he was standing there. Like maybe she’d felt him physically trying to push her away.
But when it came to Dakota, he found those walls didn’t stand.