HE STOOD ACROSS the room and talked to Angie Reynolds like he had no idea he had shaken my entire world this past weekend. Maybe he did know. The truth was, he’d never know the real reason behind my leaving without saying a word to him. I gave him nothing. Not even, “Hey, thanks for the most incredible weekend of my life.”
The only thing I did leave him was a letter because I didn’t have the guts to be honest with him.
When his eyes drifted over the room, I looked away before he could see me watching him. I swore my lips still tingled from his kisses. Closing my eyes, I tried like hell to push the feelings away.
I cannot fall for Tucker Middleton.
Who was I kidding? I’d already fallen for him a long time ago.
Peeking toward him again, my breath caught while watching his hand run through his brown hair. My stomach tugged with that familiar desire that Tucker always pulled out of me.
I was struck by Tucker the first moment I ever laid my eyes on him. I turned into a complete mess. He made me feel things I’d never felt before, and that rattled me even more.
My father’s voice played in the back of my head over and over. A constant reminder of why I couldn’t give in to my feelings for Tucker.
“Charleston, do not be bothered with these boys in college. Focus on your future. Your future is with CMI. You can fall in love later.”
When Tucker invited two friends of ours and me to his parents’ lake house in Marble Falls, I was foolish enough to think I could resist him.
Yeah, I couldn’t have been more wrong. I spent more time in his bed than on the lake.
My eyes closed. I could feel his scourging touch even now. Those magical fingers lightly running over my body. Deliciously soft lips against mine. His hands exploring every inch of my body.
Stop. This. Now. Charlie.
Drawing in a deep breath, I exhaled and glanced around the room. I pressed the beer bottle to my lips and finished it off. It didn’t matter how much I drank; I’d never be able to forget the way his body felt. The way he pulled out my first ever orgasm and forever rocked my world.
Ugh, think of something else!
Taking another look around, I found him again. This time he was talking to Lily, my best friend and his sister. My gaze dropped to his soft plump lips. The things he whispered into my ear would replay in my mind for the rest of my life … making me feel a high like I’d never felt before.
And therein lies the problem.
I need to stay focused. With Tucker, I cannot focus for shit.
Someday I would be taking over my father’s billion-dollar global consulting firm. The last thing I could afford was a distraction. And boy howdy, was Tucker Middleton a distraction.
Feeling someone bump my shoulder, I glanced to my right to see Lily standing there.
Geesh. I was so lost in thought I hadn’t even seen her walk over here.
Note to self: Don’t daydream about Tucker.
“So, what happened between you and Tucker last weekend?”
My heart stopped. With Lily being Tucker’s sister, I had no clue what all he told her.
“Why?”
Looking between me and Tucker, who stood across the room, she focused back in on me. “Because he’s been pissed ever since he got back. He said something to Nash about you being the biggest bitch he’d ever met. Then he told him if he never talked to you again, he wouldn’t lose any sleep over it.”
Ouch. I deserved that.
Snapping my head back over to Tucker, I saw he was now talking to a group of guys. I would never admit I was happy to see Angie had moved on and left Tucker alone.
“So … are you going to tell me what happened?”
My cheeks heated as I looked at her.
“Oh. My. God. Did y’all sleep together?”
When I didn’t answer, she yanked at my arm. “Charlie, wait. I’ve never seen that look in your eyes before.” She gasped then slapped her hand up to her mouth before dropping it again and saying, “You like him!”
With a curt laugh, I rolled my eyes and said, “Please. I do not like Tucker.”
Lie. I think I’m in love with him.
She lifted her brow. “But y’all slept together?”
I shrugged. “Maybe.”
Grabbing me, she pulled me down the hall and into the bathroom. “Okay, I’m so confused. I know Tucker has the hots for you, but I didn’t think you liked him. I mean, you get all weird around him and all but …” She gasped again. “Oh no.”
My eyes filled with tears, and I quickly looked away. “C
harlie, what happened? He acts like he can’t stand you now.”
I instantly felt sick. “What did he say?”
“Pretty much the same thing he told Nash. That you were cold hearted and didn’t care about anyone but yourself. He just told me he didn’t care if you ever hung out with us again.”
Squaring off my shoulders, I took in a deep breath as I tried to bury the sting of his words. I deserved them, though. “Well then, that’s for the best. Takes the awkwardness away from the situation.”
Narrowing her deadpan stare, she asked, “What … situation?”
How did I tell my best friend I was in love with her brother, had the most amazing weekend of my life with sex that was mind blowing, and then snuck out Sunday morning without so much as a word? Well. There was the note I left, which is probably why he hates me.
“Um … well … we, ah … things got a little … you know …”
Shaking her head, she responded. “No. I don’t know, and you’re babbling.” Her brows pulled in. “You never babble.”