CHAPTER FIVE

Catch you any day.

Vale

“Come on! We can use all the help we can get. Unless you would like to get changed first?” Lakelyn looks at my outfit, including the heels.

I realize I should’ve dressed more appropriately. This is the farm, not brunch in LA.

“I’ve run around the barn barefoot before,” I remind her. With one more look at the house, where Carter just disappeared with my father, I let her lead me back to the barn.

“I can’t believe you are here and engaged to Carter Crawford. Why didn’t you tell me that last night when I called you, crying about AJ and the draft?”

“I wanted to surprise you all with the engagement.”

“You still could have told me you knew him. He represents Danny Diamond, and he’s the GOAT.”

“Goat?” I ask.

“Greatest Of All Time,” she says with a grin. “Why didn’t you tell me that’s who you’ve been seeing? Who you got engaged to?” She grabs my arm again and looks at the ring on my finger.

Because I didn’t think he would actually come.

“I hope it’s not awkward, him being here. Just because he’s going to be family doesn’t mean you or AJ have to discuss business with Carter. He won’t even bring it up.”

“I wish he would bring it up,” she says with a frown.

“Carter did tell me that he reached out to AJ at some point but was told he had representation.”

“Yeah, his uncle. Which is a huge mistake, if you ask me. He needs a good, experienced agent in his corner. It worries me to think of what might happen if he gets steered in the wrong direction.”

“Do you think that will happen?”

She’s always had a good head on her shoulders. AJ is lucky to have her.

She shrugs. “I hope not. But I doubt he’ll get as good of a deal without a skilled agent telling him what to look out for. I respect whatever decision he comes to, but it affects me too. It’s our future.”

I take a look at her. She’s so grown-up now, so smart and wise. Her dress is bright and cheerful, flowing around her thighs with each step she takes. Her hair is fashioned into a long braid.

“When did you get so grown-up?” I ask before we enter the barn.

“Oh, it happened gradually.” She winks before handing me a mimosa from a table set up near the doors. “Drink up, sis. It’s going to be a long weekend.”

No kidding. Especially because I am probably going to have to sleep in the same room as Carter and try to keep my hands—and the numerous other body parts he knows how to make feel good—to myself.

“I can’t help but feel bad for Carter,” I confess to Brooke and Raine as we hang crepe paper in Lakelyn’s wedding colors of pink and cream. “I can only imagine what Daddy’s saying to him up there.”

“I was afraid Seth might wet his pants when he got the big talk,” Raine whispers, giggling. “And he had known Daddy for years.”

“Your guy is a big-shot agent though,” Brooke reminds me. “I’m sure he’s probably used to intense negotiations.”

“Neither of you are helping.”

But I can’t help laughing a little. It’s like no time has passed at all. We’ve fallen right back into our roles. Maybe that’s what being siblings is all about.

“You have to tell us all about how he popped the question!” Mom says, interrupting us. She is beside herself with excitement.

“This weekend is all about Lakelyn,” I insist, eyeing the bride-to-be.

I also can’t help but take note of Trent standing on the other side of the barn, taking a sudden interest in what I have to say.

“I want to hear it!” Lakelyn claps her hands, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

I’m standing on a ladder, which doesn’t help since I’m now the center of attention. “So, uh, we were at a charity golf event at a hotel on a cliff overlooking the ocean.”

“Ooh,” Brooke sighs.

She’s already swept away, and I haven’t gotten into the story yet.

“We went out to watch the sunset. And I should’ve probably known something was up when he suggested we leave our phones in the room, so we wouldn’t have any distractions.”

I have total command of the room now. If a pin dropped, we’d hear it.

“He took me down a walking path that goes around the property and had views of the ocean …” I pause for a second. “And there were rose petals leading up to a wooden bridge.”

Note to self: make sure to tell him about the rose petals.

“And there were lanterns floating on the water under the bridge.”

And about the lanterns.

“It was magical.” I sigh, knowing I’m getting way too caught up in this fantasy. But I can’t seem to stop myself. “And as the sun was about to set, it was all low in the sky, and it gave the trees surrounding us this golden glow. It was like being in an enchanted forest. Just the two of us.”

“I can hardly breathe,” Raine whispers while my mother fans herself.

“And a string quartet was playing on the other side of the bridge.” Because why not? “And as they played, Carter dropped to one knee and …” I can’t bear to say the actual words, the words I wish he would say to me for real. “Well, I don’t want to tell you exactly what he said. Um, because it’s personal.”

I have to turn my face away a little because I almost convinced myself it’d all actually happened. I can practically see it in front of me—and the weight of the ring on my finger isn’t helping me keep my fantasy separate from reality.

“I’m crying. I can’t believe it.” My mother laughs, wiping a hand under her eyes.

I am such a terrible person for lying like this.

“Anyway, that’s how it happened.” I shrug with a way-too-sunny smile.

Which is when Sophie runs into the ladder I’m standing on and it tips to the side. The next thing I know, I’m falling.

And then landing in a pair of strong, familiar arms.

“Hey there.” Trent laughs, holding on to me. “We can’t have the maid of honor breaking an arm right before the wedding.”

“Thank you,” I can hardly breathe. My heart’s racing so fast. And it’s not because I am this close to Trent again. I’m still wrapped up in my engagement fantasy.

Trent pulls me in a little closer. “I’d catch you any day, Vale.”

“Hey!” Blake strolls into the barn with Carter beside him. “I freed your boy, sis!”

Carter’s expression changes from amusement to anything but when he sees me in Trent’s arms, and for a moment, he actually looks jealous.

But he isn’t, and he never will be, and I need to remember that.

So romantic.

Carter

I’m not sure how I feel about this.

No. Wait. I am sure.

I hate it.

This Trent—BTO—guy makes a big show of putting Vale down on her feet. “There you go. Safe and sound,” he says, yet he still holds her by the waist, and it’s a little too close for my comfort.

For the first time since we started this charade, I’m glad we’re supposed to be engaged. It gives me a legitimate reason to do what I’m about to do.

I take a few long strides toward her and possessively wrap my arm around her, pulling her close to me. “Can’t leave you alone for a second, can I?”

Fortunately, she places her arms around my neck. “No, you can’t, and you shouldn’t,” she says sexily.

But I see right through it. Both of us are not-so-subtly letting old Trent know he needs to back the fuck off, just for different reasons.

He doesn’t seem to get the hint though. He kisses the back of her hand and says, “I’ll always be here to rescue you.” Then, he tips his hat at her and goes back to whatever the hell he was doing before.

“I guess I missed out on all the excitement.”

Her smile goes wide. “You did actually. Before I fell off the ladder, I was telling everyone about the proposal.”

“Oh, Carter,” Mrs. Martin says, her hands folded and a smile on her face. “I love how there were rose petals and lanterns and the string quartet. So incredibly romantic.”

Of course, I’m thrilled she’s happy about whatever Vale told her, but none of that was in our prepared proposal story.

“It was all so romantic and spontaneous,” Vale gushes toward her mom as she grabs my hand, squeezing it tightly, letting me know to just roll with it.

“Romantic, yes. Spontaneous, no. I knew I wanted to marry you the first time I met you,” slides out of my mouth. It’s the God’s honest truth but not something I ever dared to tell her.

She looks at me, her head tilted in question. “Really?”

“Hey! Look who’s back!” Lakelyn says, causing Vale to turn her attention toward the barn’s entrance.

Lakelyn runs out of the barn and launches herself at her six-foot-five, three-hundred-pound fiancé, AJ Barnett.

“I hope this will be enough chairs, Mrs. Martin.” AJ gestures to the bed of his pickup truck. “I couldn’t fit any more.”

“That should be perfect, sweetheart. Thank you.” Vale’s mother strikes me as the polar opposite of her husband. She’s sweet, soft, and kind, and she has the sort of friendly, open smile that puts you at ease.

Vale takes my hand and leads me over to AJ—I’m sure to introduce us.

Just as she starts to open her mouth, AJ turns toward us, looks at me, and says, “You’re Carter Crawford, aren’t you?”

“Guilty.” I shake his hand.

“Carter is Vale’s fiancé!” Lakelyn says. “Isn’t that cool?”

“It is,” he says, but the smile doesn’t quite reach his dark eyes, and he quickly turns and starts unloading his truck.

And I guess I can’t blame him. I know what a guy like him goes through before the draft. I was going through it myself before I got hurt.

Vale pulls me aside as everyone else starts focusing on getting the chairs set up. “AJ acted a little cold toward you. Sorry.”

“I’m sure he’s just surprised that you are engaged. Like everyone else has been.”

“And I’m sorry about embellishing all the proposal stuff,” she whispers into my ear. I have to ignore the way her breath tickles my skin.

“So long as you made me look good.”

She giggles, leaning against me. When I stiffen, her eyes meet mine. “What?”

“Nothing. Just …” I glance around. We’re generally being ignored in favor of last-minute shower prep. “This is hard. Your family is nice. I feel bad, lying to them. And it’s hell, being this close to you.”

She stiffens before standing up straight and bolting backward. “Well, I’m sorry that I’m so unattractive.”

“I didn’t mean that—”

“Whatever. You agreed to this, and that means you have to at least pretend.”

“I know that—”

“But, hey, if it bothers you too much, I guess I could go hang out with Trent instead.”

I can feel my blood starting to boil over as Mrs. Martin calls out to us, “I nearly forgot my manners. We dragged you into setting up before you even had a chance to get settled. Vale, you’ll be staying in your old room. It’s all ready and waiting for you both.”

“You’re going to let us share a room?” she asks.

Her mom laughs, waving a hand. “Well, you are engaged after all.”

Drowning in lust.

Vale

“This is our bed?”

“Yes,” I tell him.

“It looks small.”

“What, are you afraid we might brush against each other in our sleep?”

He just sighs and starts unpacking.

I should let it go, but he pissed me off in the barn. And I can’t. “What’s the big deal? It’s not like we’ve never shared a bed.”

He mutters something with his back turned.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

“It sounded like you said something about Trent.”

His shoulders rise and fall when he sighs. “I said, maybe you should share a bed with good old BTO since he’s obviously still lusting after you.”

“Please. That was over years ago.”

Is he jealous? I don’t want to let myself believe it, but what other reason would there be for him to act this way?

“I don’t think it’s so over for him.”

“Please.”

“Whatever,” he says, taking his clothes out of his suitcase and hanging them in the closet. “It’s obvious he still has a thing for you.”

“Well, unfortunately for Trent, we are engaged. And I’m crazy about you.”

“You didn’t look too crazy about me when you were in his arms.”

“Are you jealous?”

“No, actually, I am not,” he says. “But you wanted this whole charade. The least you could do is show some respect for our fake relationship and not flirt with him in front of me.”

“How am I supposed to do that?” I say, moving toward him and invading his personal space. We’re so close that I can practically feel his chest rise and fall. “When my being this close to you is hell?”

He shakes his head at me. “It’s not really a conversation we needed to have in front of your family. But now that you’ve brought it back up and we are alone, it is hell, being this close to you.” He slides his hands up my back. “Because we were good together.”

“Were,” I emphasize the past tense at the same time I feel my body heating up.

“And not being able to have you puts me in hell.”

“Who says you can’t have me?” I blurt out. Because right now, that’s all I want. Us tangled up in the sheets of my little bed. Naked. For days.

That’s how it was whenever I was with him. Sure, we’d go out for dinner with friends sometimes. But for the most part, our time was spent alone. Usually in bed. Or somewhere. Having the most amazing, sensual sex.

I close my eyes and can practically feel his lips gliding across my neck.

“I say I can’t have you,” he answers, pulling back.

“I’m still not over you,” I tell him.

“And I think you’re just saying that because you need me to be your fake fiancé. I think we need to set a few ground rules. When we’re with your family, we will flirt and act like we are in love, but the second we cross this threshold, we go back to what we are in real life.”

“And what’s that?” I ask.

“Nothing,” he says.

And that breaks my heart. Again.

He doesn’t say anything else, just strips his shirt off and tosses it onto the bed.

I have to look away from the chest I love. The washboard stomach I know so well. How many times did I allow my tongue to dance across those abs? And then there are his shoulders. The ones I clung to, dragged my nails over—

“I think we should both get a little more casual, don’t you?” He drops his pants next.

I don’t know what to do anymore. My skin’s on fire along with a sudden warmth in certain other parts of my body.

“So, what? We strip for each other? That’s your idea of casual?”

“I meant for the shower.”

“You want to take a shower with me? Now? But I thought—”

An amused look forms on his face. “I was referring to the couple’s shower. Tonight.”