Wrapped in Lace Read online

  He ran his hand up my leg, lifting my dress slightly, his fingers gently stroking the bare flesh of my thigh. “This bad?”

  “Eh, huh.”

  “Bad enough to let me. . . .”

  I felt my stomach lurch and pushed his arm aside. Some bad girl I was. I couldn’t even hold my liquor. His fingers grazed my neck as he held my hair away from my face. I wanted to thank him, but I doubled over as more came up. His other arm slid around my waist like he was expecting me to fall off the truck next. I just looked at the ground, unsure about the state of my stomach, but also out of complete and utter embarrassment. I had just blown the only shot I’d had with a decent guy in over a year. “I’m so sorry.” I tried to hop down, but he wouldn’t let me. Instead, he pulled me down into the bed of his truck. I lifted my hand to my head. “Everything is spinning. The stars all look like disco lights.”

  He laid my head on his chest, gently stroking my hair. “Close your eyes and take deep breaths. I’ve got you.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  DECEMBER 22

  DREW

  I squeezed my eyes closed as the morning sun peeked through the leaves that winter hadn’t yet taken. I groaned, feeling like I’d slept on cement, and realizing the bed of my old truck wasn’t much better. Reaching out, I hoped to find someone soft to curl into, but I only felt the crunching of some dried leaves in my fingertips. Did I dream the whole damn thing?

  I slapped my forehead and sat up—being back in my hometown was seriously messing with my head. But then the stench hit me, the unmistakable smell of vomit. My nose wrinkled up, but I knew I had a huge grin. The crazy, beautiful, wannabe bad girl was real. The only problem was, I had no idea who she was or where she’d gone.

  I hopped out of the back of my pickup, suddenly feeling limber, and slammed the tailgate. I looked back at the bar, hoping she’d come back tonight, because I’d be waiting. I had to find her. Climbing into my truck, I felt for the first time like maybe this trip home wasn’t a total mistake. Maybe something good could come of it. But the moment was fleeting.

  I rolled down the window as my truck crawled through town. Part of me missed McAdenville, and it hadn’t changed much since I left. I never dreamed I’d live anywhere else, until that last time I’d come home—Christmas of my freshman year in college. That trip home had changed everything—my whole life.

  I felt my throat closing up as I passed the old pizza parlor that used to be my hangout. My family’s bar was just up the street. It seemed like yesterday when I wanted nothing more than to run the bar, buy a little house, and raise a family. She’d taken it all away—all my good memories, all my dreams, my hometown. She’d taken it all, and I’d never gotten it back, just like my class ring and letterman jacket. The only thing I had left from that time in my life was this old pickup.

  I passed the dirt road that I’d driven more times than I cared to remember. I’d go park my truck, and we’d steam up the windows before she stopped me—the little tease. I couldn’t help but flash to the girl from last night. Her teasing was entirely welcomed, the feel of her breath against my lips. I needed to find her if I had any hope of making it through the week.

  I turned down the street to my grandmother’s house, passing my parents’ house along the way. That’s the way McAdenville is. Family lives within blocks of each other. I’d agreed to come back home for my grandmother, so I was staying with her. It would be easier that way. Slowing my truck, I stopped in front of her two-story Acadian house, its white siding adorned with lights and every window holding a wreath. It’s been decorated the same way since I was a little boy; even the mailbox was covered in holly. And Nana still had the coolest car of any grandmother ever—a red 1962 FERRARI 250 GTE that she and Pop bought and fixed up together before he passed away. I couldn’t believe she was still cruising around town in that car.

  I stared at the house as I got out of my truck. It was like time had stood still here. The front door flew open, and I took a deep breath, thinking it might be the last relaxing one I’d have for a while. My mother’s blue eyes landed on my face, and I could see the tears flowing down her cheeks already. She ran down the porch, her hand over her mouth. She cried every time she visited me in Raleigh, but this was different. These tears were for the return of the prodigal son. Before I could form a single word, she was pinching my cheek.

  She threw her arms around me. “My baby!”

  “Hi, Mom. Missed you, too.”

  “We expected you last night.”

  She was a tiny woman, but she was squeezing me like a lumberjack. I couldn’t help but smile down into her brown hair. No matter how long I’d been gone, she always was home to me. “Got a late start. Pulled over and slept in my truck.”

  “Gwennie, let the boy breathe.” My dad came down the front steps rubbing his bald head. He and my mom had gotten married right after high school. If anyone else in the free world had called her Gwennie, she’d rip them a new one. She was Gwyneth to everyone else.

  “You let me have a minute with my baby, Carl.”

  She squeezed me again, and I swear I felt a rib crack. My dad got the other side of me, and they sandwiched me in their hug. I wasn’t going to deny them this moment. They’d waited a long time for it. Besides, I’d missed them, too.

  “It’s good to have you home,” my dad said, wiping a tear from his cheek.

  I hated seeing my parents cry, especially my dad. It didn’t happen often, thank God, and I wanted it to stop now. “How’s retirement?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Someone needs to remind your brother I’m retired. He calls me in to cover so much, I’m working now more than I ever did.”

  I forced out a smile. As far as I was concerned, I didn’t have a brother anymore. “So, the bar is doing well? Business is good?”

  “Nothing compared to my little brother’s.”

  I looked up, seeing my brother, Rob, on the porch, nervously stroking the stubble on his face. I could tell he wasn’t sure if I was going to pummel him right then and there. The years I’d been gone hadn’t changed him much. Being two years older, he was always taller, stronger, and broader, but it seemed running the bar had added a few pounds to his stomach. He wasn’t as fit as he used to be, and at only twenty-seven, his brown hair was already thinning. My hair was just as thick as it always was. It was a small victory, but I’d take it. I didn’t have anything to say to Rob. In fact, I’d planned on not uttering a word to him for the entire trip home.

  I turned back to my mom. “Where’s Nana?” Nana is what we all called our grandmother, and grandfather had been Pop. He passed away a few years ago. I needed to distract myself and focus on the people that really mattered, my older brother not being one of them.

  “She’s inside. Let’s have a nice holiday,” my mother said, gently rubbing my arm.

  “Sure thing.” The whole reason I made the trip was because Nana asked, so I wasn’t going to make her wait a second longer. I climbed the few steps up the porch and tried to step around my tree trunk-sized brother.

  “Come on, Drew,” Rob said.

  “Move, Rob,” I snapped. Two minutes into the trip, and I’d already gone off plan.

  The door opened, and I felt myself stagger back. I don’t know why it hadn’t occurred to me that she’d be there, too. I felt my head and chest both start to pound, my fight or flight response kicking in. But I couldn’t flee this time. Her brown eyes smiled at me, just like they used to. Her brown hair was pulled into a braid just like she used to wear it. She hadn’t changed a bit.

  Rob placed his hand on her very pregnant belly, but her eyes never left mine. “You and the baby feeling alright, Ellie?”

  Ellie nodded then stepped towards me, slightly opening up her arms. I stepped back again, causing her to stop. “It’s good to see you, Drew. You look well.”

  I wanted to yell at her, but you can’t yell at a pregnant lady, no matter what she did. “You look the same,” I said, glancing down at her pregnant belly. “Same as last
time I saw you.” Then I stepped around Ellie and Rob and entered the house, my fists clenched, my breath shallow. I took a few deep breaths.

  I’d done it. I’d finally faced my brother and ex-girlfriend after six years. The hard part had to be over, right? I walked into the foyer and rested my hands on an old wooden console table. Smiling, I ran my fingers across the top and down the legs. I couldn’t believe Nana still had it.

  “It’s held up well,” a cheery voice full of wisdom said.

  “Nana!” She wrapped her arms around me, her head barely up to my chest. I swear she shrunk since I last saw her, but her hold on me was still strong, her blue eyes still vibrant.

  “I remember the summer you built that with Pop. Must have been only about ten.”

  I put an arm around her, and she leaned into me. This was the reason I’d come home—for her. “Those were the best times—in the shed with Pop, building stuff.”

  “For him, too,” Nana said, reaching up and messing with my brown hair. “You look like him when he was your age—handsome devils, both of you.”

  The front door opened and my parents, Ellie, and Rob walked in. I don’t know why they couldn’t let me have this moment, but for Nana and my parents’ sake, I didn’t want to engage. “Do I smell your famous sugar cookies?” I asked, trying to ignore the elephant in the room.

  Nana reached up and held my cheeks in her hands. “Of course, I’ve got all your favorites. I’m going to spoil you rotten.”

  “We’ve been cooking for days,” my mom said, stepping to my side and rubbing my back tenderly. “It’s so exciting to have you home.”

  “Come see, Daddy, come see.” A little ginger haired boy came running into the foyer. “Nana let me cut out the cookies.”

  Rob scooped him up and asked, “How many cookies did you eat, Jack?”

  Ellie reached over and wiped some flour off his cheek. “Mommy, I made a whole bunch of star cookies. I made one for the baby, too.”

  Nana rubbed my back gently but firmly, as if trying to give me strength, but I didn’t need it. I’d never actually met my nephew, but I wasn’t going to take out my anger on the little boy. It wasn’t Jack’s fault his parents were total assholes.

  Rob turned the little boy around in his arms. “Look who’s here, Jack. This is your Uncle Drew.”

  The little boy wiggled down, walked over, and stuck out his hand like he was a grownup. I couldn’t help but smile as I bent down and shook his little hand. “My daddy says you make the best furniture in all of North Carolina, maybe even the whole wide world.”

  Your daddy’s right, but he’s still a douchebag, I thought to myself. I couldn’t understand why Rob would be singing my praises to his son, considering we hadn’t spoken in six years. I tried not to look up at my big brother, instead focusing on the little boy’s big brown eyes, the same eyes his mother had. “I try.”

  “My daddy says that you always had good hands. That you were a quarterback in high school. He said you had great aim.”

  “I guess I did, but your daddy was a quarterback, too.”

  “I know. My daddy won the high school championship.”

  “That’s true. When your daddy wants something, he gets it.” I liked the taste of the sarcasm dripping off my tongue. My dad cleared his throat, and I stood back up as silence hung in the air, but it didn’t bother me. I wanted Rob and Ellie to be uncomfortable. I wanted them to squirm.

  “I hear there’s a front coming through. It might snow later. Could have a white Christmas,” Ellie said, smoothing her son’s hair.

  “Snow!” the little boy screamed. Ellie placed her hands on her son’s shoulders then whispered in his ear. “Mommy says I should thank you for always sending me good gifts.”

  “You’re welcome,” I said, keeping my eyes on his.

  “Did you bring me something for Christmas?”

  “Jack!” Rob scolded his son. “I’m sorry. He’s only five.”

  I held my brother’s eyes. “At least he’s honest. I can appreciate that.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ellie wipe her eyes quickly, but I had no sympathy for her. She could keep any tears to herself. I held out my hand. “Come on, buddy. Let’s go out to my truck and find that present.”

  *

  I gripped the side of my truck and leaned my head down, trying to stretch out the tension in my back. There was no way I was making it through the week, no way to even make it through the afternoon, or family dinner tonight. I needed a new plan—tomorrow was the day before Christmas Eve. If I could just make it through Christmas day, I could make up some emergency, some reason I’d need to leave. I just needed to stay the hell away from Rob and Ellie.

  “You’ve got to do better, son,” my dad said from behind me. “This has gone on long enough. It breaks your mother’s heart not being able to have her sons in the same room together.”

  “I’m sorry it’s hard on Mom, but she should talk to Rob.”

  “He made a mistake, and he’s paid for it. You have to forgive him. He’s your brother.”

  “Not anymore.”

  “Someday your mom and I will be gone. You two will only have each other.”

  I knew my dad wanted me to mend fences, but guilt wasn’t going to work. “No, he’ll have Ellie and their happy little family.”

  “Only you can fix this.”

  “Why is it my responsibility to fix what he broke?” My dad placed a hand on my shoulder, giving me a look of sympathy. I hated that look. I didn’t need or want him or anyone feeling sorry for me.

  “I don’t know. It’s not fair, but that’s the way it is.”

  I was done talking about this. I couldn’t make myself forgive my brother or Ellie, even if I wanted to—which I didn’t.

  My dad released a deep breath. “Want to help me at the bar today? Told you, I’m not really retired.”

  “Sure, what about Rob?”

  He huffed. “Rob’s watching Jack because Ellie’s going to the doctor. Supposed to find out the sex of the baby today, and she wants it to be a surprise for Rob and Jack. Big announcement tonight at dinner.”

  Oh, holy hell, I couldn’t catch a fucking break to save my life. Not only did I have to sit around the dinner table with those two backstabbing assholes, but I had to pretend I was happy for them. This couldn’t get any worse.

  *

  PIPER

  Someone was honking their horn continuously outside my bedroom window, causing my head to throb even harder. Why did I think I could drink like that? I’d never been able to drink like that. My entire bedroom was spinning, and I was still dressed in my clothes from the night before. I’d managed to brush my teeth when I got home but felt like I could barf again any second. I threw my white down pillow over my face. I couldn’t get up. I had to go back to sleep. Please God, let me fall asleep and wake up when this pain is over. Suddenly, my bedroom door flew open.

  “You still in bed? Get up, girl,” a way too perky voice called out.

  I groaned and moved the pillow off my face. I totally forgot I was supposed to finish working on the town’s Christmas program sets today. “Sabrina, I just need a minute.”

  She narrowed her eyes at me. I was convinced Sabrina rolled out of bed beautiful. Her mocha skin always looked fresh and clean, like she was the morning dew itself. Her hazel eyes never dulled and don’t even get me started on her hair. “I got your email.”

  Crap, I’d forgotten I sent that little gem out to everyone. “I can’t take any more set-ups from hell.”

  She flicked my dress. “Looks like you had a good night.” I tried not to smile, but a huge grin popped out anyway. “Oh my God, you totally got laid. That’s why you’re still dressed! You did the ‘got laid parade’ back home last night, didn’t you?”

  “No such luck.”

  “Well, it looks like you had a better night than I had. Matt and I binge watched some prison show. I’ve got serious Netflix neck.” She rubbed her neck a little.

  Matt and Sabrina were newlyw
eds. They’d met while Matt was playing Triple-A baseball, and somehow he’d convinced her to move to McAdenville, which was a stretch for the New York City girl. But I was so glad he did. Sabrina taught at the same school I did, and she was one of my closest friends. Matt now sold real estate in McAdenville, and they were the cutest couple I’d ever seen. They actually made me believe love still existed.

  “Give me the goods,” she ordered, settling into my fluffy bed. “Why are you still dressed and looking like something the cat sucked on if there was no pre-dawn walk of shame?”

  “There was this guy.”

  “OOH, a guy.”

  “Shut up,” I said, laughing. “We flirted and drank all night, and he was so hot and sweet and. . . .”

  “You are totally gushing over a boy. I can’t believe it.”

  “I am not,” I protested, but I knew I was. “I don’t even know his name.”

  “Why not?”

  “I threw up before we got that far.”

  Sabrina fell back on my bed laughing. “You did not.”

  I hid my head back under my pillow. “I did.”

  “Girl, you are hopeless,” she said, still laughing. “How hot was he?”

  I came out from hiding. “Pretty damn hot.”

  “As in you’d shave for him? That hot?”

  “As in I’d wax for him.”

  Sabrina started to fan herself, and I got up and headed to my bathroom, looking for some aspirin. “We’ve got to find this wax-worthy gentleman,” Sabrina called out.

  “That would be a miracle.” I popped two aspirin and blindly reached for my birth control pill. Maybe one day soon I’d be in a committed, monogamous, STD-free relationship, and it would finally be useful for something other than regulating my stupid cycle?

  “Well, it is Christmas. You could go sit on Santa’s lap and ask him to bring you the wax-worthy hunk.”

  “Very funny,” I said, sticking my head out the bathroom door.

  “Still, how ridiculously amazing would it be if you ran into him again?”