Love Drunk (Love Me Duet 1)

Gunner speaks first. “You remember?”

“Why didn’t you tell me who you were?” I ask him.

“He’s good at that, telling half-truths,” Alec chimes in.

Gunner’s hard stare goes back to Alec.

“You can come with me, squirt. Just say the word.”

“Over my dead body,” Gunner says as he stands taller.

“That can be arranged,” Alec chimes back.

“How about tomorrow, Alec, you and I go and have some breakfast. We can talk then?”

Alec nods to me.

“No,” Gunner says.

“Tomorrow then?” I smile to Alec, ignoring Gunner, and go to hug Alec when I’m pulled straight back into a hard body.

“It’s best you leave before I make my fiancée very unhappy,” Gunner says to Alec.

I smile at Alec, but it’s forced, and he knows me well enough to know it isn’t genuine.

When he turns to walk away, Gunner steps back with me still in his grasp and shuts the door with a loud bang. When his hand slides from my waist, freeing me from his hold, I turn around to look at him. I wait, not speaking. He looks at me waiting for me to say something.

“You knew,” he finally says.

“I know,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Do you remember much?” he asks.

“I was five. All I remember is you and Alec playing with me. But I should have been told by you, not by someone else.”

“Who told you?”

“My mother.” He shakes his head. “So now’s your opportunity, is there any other secrets you want to fill me in on?”

“No,” he states, turning and walking away from me.

“I don’t know if this is the right thing to do,” I say the words I’m thinking because they simply spill from my mouth. Doubt has crept in, and I don’t think this doubt wants to go away.

Gunner stops in his tracks and speaks to me, his back still to me. “It probably isn’t, but it is happening.” Then he continues to walk away.

I turn to face the door, realizing how easy it would be for me to take off right now. I bet Alec is still out front. Before I know it, I’m opening the front door and there Alec is standing at the bottom near his car, leaning on it waiting.

“Squirt,” he says, offering me his hand.

I look behind me, but Gunner isn’t there. I take one step out, followed by another, and soon my hand is in Alec’s. He smiles when he opens the door, ushers me in, then gets in the driver’s seat and we pull away. My heart’s beating so hard I’m afraid it’s going to burst from my chest.

What am I doing?

Yesterday I was picking a wedding dress.

A month ago, I realized I loved him.

Three months ago, I met a man who took all my expectations and ate them alive as they became his.

I love Gunner Reid. I do. But I’m afraid he will never love me the same way I love him.

To him, I’m simply a contract he must fulfill, one that was signed many years ago.

“Squirt,” Alec says breaking our silence.

I don’t have my phone on me, or anything else for that matter. I’ve left with nothing but the clothes I’m wearing.

“I didn’t bring my shoes.”

“Squirt.”

“Not even my phone,” I say staring out at the night sky. “No house. No home,” I mutter.

“Squirt, you can come to mine.”

I turn to him. “My father will kill you.”

He nods his head and keeps on driving.

“You have to get out of the car, squirt. It’s cold and you can’t sit in here all night. Come inside.”

I nod my head but still don’t move. I think I might be in shock. What have I done? I left the man I’m meant to marry—the man my family had chosen for me before I was even born. And the man, well, the man I love.

“I have to go back.”

Alec reaches for me, but I push him away and get out myself. The ground is cold beneath my bare feet.

“Come inside even if just for a few minutes. We can talk in there where it’s warmer and safe.”

I do as he says, almost robotically following him inside. I look up at the large house. It’s in the same gated community as my family home. It’s not as big, but it is just as beautiful. It’s been such a long time since I’ve been here, that when I walk in, I almost forget which way to go.

Alec directs me to the sitting area and places a soft plush blanket over me. He walks away then comes back and hands me a glass of wine. “Drink, you need it.”

Taking the glass from him, I do just that. My mind is running everywhere, and I don’t know what’s right and what’s wrong at this moment.

Looking up to Alec, I say, “I remember you and him. Not much. But I do remember.”