Wright Rival (Wright)

I strode inside and was immediately greeted.

“Aye, Abbey,” the burly, tatted man at the entrance said.

“Good to see you, man,” I said, clapping hands with my buddy Zach, who sometimes worked security for the vineyard.

He nodded at me, and I continued through the barn, shaking hands and offering hellos to everyone. The Wrights might have their name on the place, but I was the heart of the operation.

Lubbock, Texas was a dusty, windy small town, five hours away from the rest of civilization, but it was home. I’d grown up here with my two siblings, Campbell and Nora. I’d gone to college at Texas Tech. I’d stuck around when most of my friends had ditched, including my brother.

Finally, I shoved through the last of the crowd to where my cousins were seated. Piper glanced up at me and then hastily away, returning her attention to her boyfriend. An irritated scowl crossed her face. I barely suppressed laughing at it.

“You made it!” Julian said. He hopped out of his seat. We slapped hands, and then he pulled me into a hug. “How’d it go?”

Jordan held his hand out, and we shook. “Give him some room, Julian.”

Julian laughed. “Just excited.”

I liked that about my cousin. Julian was enthusiastic. Jordan wasn’t quite solemn, but he was serious. He’d had to grow up fast to protect Julian from their father. That was a sentiment that I understood. Even if I hadn’t gone down the same route. I always found it hard to subdue my larger-than-life personality. When my cousins had first moved to Lubbock about five years ago, I’d thought that it would put them off, but they hadn’t missed a beat. It was as if they had always been in my life. I couldn’t imagine Lubbock without them now.

I sank into a spare seat next to Blaire.

“Hey, Hollin.”

I nodded my head at her.

She looked good tonight. Normally, she hid behind baseball caps and oversize T-shirts, but now, she was in some tight dress. She was some high-profile influencer on social media, but I so rarely saw her like this that I sometimes forgot. She was just Blaire, the striker on our soccer team, the girl who ate more pizza than me and who could drink more beer than should have been humanly possible for someone her size. She was practically one of the guys.

“Piper was just saying you were nice enough to let her borrow your shirt,” Blaire said with mirth on her lips.

My eyes flicked to Piper’s. “Is that what she said?”

“No,” Piper said flatly.

Blaire arched an eyebrow. “She might not have said it that way.”

“What can I say?” I said with a shit-eating grin. “I’m a giver.”

Blaire practically choked on her drink. Piper bristled but said nothing. Bradley, the poor guy, looked flummoxed. His gaze shifted between us, as if he were trying to decipher the meaning of life.

“So,” Julian prompted, “how’d it go in Austin?”

Piper was still looking at me. She thought I’d gone to Austin for a date. Julian had told her that. It was our cover story, of sorts. We didn’t need one, but we weren’t sure that our plan would work. We didn’t want to tell anyone other than Jordan before we were ready. And they’d both agreed not to tell their girlfriends, which was the biggest bet that it would get out. But Piper had sounded jealous at the prospect of me going out of town for a date. I should disabuse her of the notion, but what fun would that be?

My grin doubled in size. “It went excellent. I’m definitely in.”

“Yeah?” Julian asked. “No complications?”

“None at all. It was even easier than I’d thought it would be.”

Piper rolled her eyes but said nothing. That wouldn’t do. I wanted a reaction from her.

“That’s good,” Jordan said. “You were worried for nothing.”

“I wouldn’t say I was worried. I always get what I want.”

Piper snorted this time. “Classy.”

Blaire scrunched up her face. Jennifer looked to Annie, and Annie shrugged. Well, at least the guys had held up to their word.

“You got something to say, Medina?” I asked with an arched eyebrow.

“No,” she said.

Jordan picked up on what was happening first. He shot me a look. “We should tell them.”

“Ah, Jor, let me have my fun,” I said with a laugh.

Julian glanced around and then made a comical O with his lips. “Ohhh.” He cleared his throat. “I guess I should do the honors.”

All the girls looked even more confused. I winked at Piper, and she glared back at me. She could look at me that way all she wanted. But I remembered the one second when her guard had come down and she gazed under those thick lashes without any bullshit between us.

“I’ll do it,” I said, coming to my feet.

“No one cares about your date, Hollin,” Piper said. “Keep it in your pants.”