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“Damn,” he said and smirked.
“I was supposed to meet up with Strings, but my hookup was harder to shake than faith in a cult. When I left her she followed me. I hadn’t wanted to go to Strings’ place or she’d have known where he lived.
Anyway, it began pouring from the heavens, and I mean torrential sheet rain, so I used the storm to slip inside a wine bar in the hope of drying off and giving her the slip.”
“Did you lose her?” he asked, sinking farther into his chair and resting an ankle on his other knee.
“Yeah, but I was dripping wet and as soon as I’d gotten inside the wine bar I realized half of New York was in there as well. Billie’s table had the only chair left, and I quickly shrugged off my jacket and slid into the seat across from her.”
“I bet she thought you were hitting on her.”
I chuckled. “From the look she gave me it was obvious she had no idea what to make of me, but I explained about the stalker and fortunately the heavy rain outside kept us seated and talking. There was just … something about her, you know?”
“Maybe.” He shrugged and I wondered if he’d ever had a connection like the one I’d had with Billie. Somehow, I’d doubted this.
“So within a few minutes we’d exchanged names and I flirted unashamedly with her. I thought she was stunning and loved her gentle aura, and although she was a little older than me, I had this … buzz from our connection. I could tell straightaway she was quiet and naturally shy, and fuck if I hadn’t teased her to see her blush.”
“That could have been the wine.” He grinned. “I was surprised when Tammy said Billie’s around my age, she looks much younger.”
“You know me, I’ve never been caught up with prejudice of any kind, but even if I had been, it wouldn’t have mattered with her. I felt something special about Billie from the moment I met her. She’s mature, yet innocent, full of genuine coy smiles and blushes when I pay her compliments and she made me feel high just being with her.”
“Insta-love?” He chuckled.
“No, that wasn’t it. It had been a long time since I’d talked to a woman who was open and honest. It was refreshing after all the groupies I’d met over the years. As she spoke, I found myself watching her lips and I fantasized how it would feel to kiss her.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Not at all.” I grinned, wickedly. “Once I knew her cheating husband was in the same bar I felt protective of her. Crazy, right? I had no real clue about her, yet this became important to me. Then, when I saw her face, I knew instinctively her husband was approaching us. Leaning toward her I asked her to trust me—me a total stranger—and I asked her to dare me to kiss her. And fuck me, she went right ahead and dared me to do it.”
“Was that kiss for her or for you?”
“At that point it was about revenge, I had wanted to send him a real fuck you on her behalf, but it definitely became about something else entirely for the both of us.”
“Wow, that really was a rock star move, I mean in a nightclub, sure, we’ve all done that, but an older divorcée in a wine bar, when you’re not even with her and her estranged husband is looking on? Dude, that takes some balls.”
“I didn’t think about the consequences at all, it was pure animal instinct and I wanted payback for her toward her fuckwit husband and his new partner … who incidentally was my age. Thing is, you said it yourself, Billie’s a shy person. I think if she hadn’t been drinking wine it would never have happened, because I didn’t take the kiss, I asked her permission. She had the choice, but I was banking on her wanting to get even and she did.”
“And here we are,” he said, throwing his arms wide and smiling a toothy grin, like he was genuinely pleased for me.
I didn’t bother to explain what happened next, all everyone had to know was we were together, and the thought that it was forever gave me the kind of excited feeling I’d only had a few times in my life.
Most people would think I was crazy I’d allowed James anywhere near me after what had happened, but I couldn’t describe how good it felt to have a brother to talk to. I may not have trusted him fully, but there was a connection there that hadn’t previously existed before. Perhaps this was because we’d never managed a civil conversation until now.
As we continued to talk, James expressed his concerns about trusting other women in the future, which was an aspect of what he’d been through I hadn’t considered either. It had been four full months since he’d split with Charlotte and it dawned on me my brother had made no attempt to date again. In that sense, I felt quite sad for him when he told me this.
Eventually we went to bed at 2:45 a.m. and although I was buzzed about the events scheduled for later that day, I was sufficiently tired to finally fall asleep.
A knock on the door stirred me from sleep at 7:00 a.m. that same the morning. “Breakfast is here. Should I wake up James?” Hammer asked from the other side of the door.
“Sure,” I croaked, sitting up. I felt groggy until I saw the time and remembered that in four short hours, I’d be standing in the family ballroom marrying the love of my life. My heart filled with anticipation.
Throwing back the covers I wandered over to the jeans I’d discarded and pulled them on before I padded out to the pool house living room. Seconds later my brother came wandering out in his boxer briefs, scratching his head and yawning.
“Morning,” I muttered, as I grabbed some bacon, toast and cheese and made a sandwich of it all. I sat down next to Hammer and James pulled the chair out opposite me. Spinning it around, he sat back to front and I noted this had been one of the things that had irked our mother about him.
“All ready for the big day?” James asked and clapped his hands together.
“The ball and chain?” Hammer teased.
