Inviting Trouble (Happy Endings Book Club, Book 2) Read online

  He pulled out his cell. “We’ll keep in touch. Email, text, whatever.” He held up his cell. “Say cheese.”

  “Cheese,” she said and smiled with all the love in her heart.

  He looked at the picture, grunted, and shoved the cell in his pocket.

  She studied his profile, the surge of love overwhelming in its intensity. “Park, I—”

  “Hey!” Ty boomed, coming into the kitchen. “Time for volleyball. Move it on out.” He snagged a beer for himself and headed out the back door. The guys followed close behind, already divvying up the teams. Her dad went with them.

  She started to follow when Park grabbed her by the back of the collar.

  “You’re gonna sweat like a pig in this,” he said. “What’re you wearing my shirt for anyway?”

  She peeled off the flannel shirt and handed it to him. Then she pulled the V in her concert shirt down lower. “My shirt ripped. See?”

  He looked and then his eyes snapped to hers. “Did you rip it?”

  She lifted her chin. “Yeah. It’s the style.”

  “Who’s the guy?”

  “No guy, moron,” she said and stalked out the door before he could see her blush.

  He caught up with her, grabbed her collar in the back and pulled, this time to cover her up. The shirt shifted so the gap hung loose in back. Before she could say some smartass remark, he jogged past her and over to the other side of the net.

  Mad bided her time at the party, playing volleyball, shooting hoops, sneaking sips of her brothers’ beer, until it was late and her dad wanted to make a toast before he shut down the party. He’d be driving Park early the next morning to the airport where he’d catch a flight to basic training in Texas.

  Her dad raised his beer. “To Park, we’re proud of you and glad to call you family.”

  Park raised his bottle of beer and took them all in. “I’m grateful to have you as my family.” His voice was gruff with emotion, which made her eyes hot and her throat tight.

  “Hear, hear,” Ty said and they all drank.

  Finally the party broke up and the guys scattered. Some to their beds, some to their apartments. She went to her room, lying in bed for a long time, until the house got quiet and she was sure Logan was sleeping. Then she snuck downstairs, wearing only the long T-shirt she slept in. She’d stashed a condom in the back of the coffee table drawer for just this moment, stolen from Logan’s sock drawer. It was dark, but she had plenty of practice sneaking around.

  She made her way to the sofa, where Park was sprawled under a blue comforter. “Park,” she whispered.

  No response.

  She jabbed him in the arm. “Park.”

  Still nothing. She sat on the sofa next to him and jabbed him in the ribs. “Park, it’s Mad. Wake up.”

  He groaned and shifted. She jabbed him again. His eyes opened. “What?”

  She leaned close, so close their lips nearly touched. “I’m going to miss you,” she said softly.

  He closed his eyes. “Oh, man, the room’s spinning. I drank too much.”

  She leaned back. “How much did you drink?”

  He waved his hand around. “I dunno. Eight beers. Me and Ty had one last party. So-oo wasted.”

  She hadn’t noticed him drinking a lot. That wasn’t like Park. In fact, she could count on one hand the number of times he’d had too much to drink. Maybe twice, both times with Ty.

  She turned on the lamp on the end table and peered at him. He squinted. She got close and stared into his eyes. “Your eyes don’t look drunk.”

  “I’m feeling it, believe me.” He turned off the light and flopped back down on his side. “Go to bed, mini.”

  She got brave and stroked a hand through his hair, the rough short ends tickling her palm. “Your hair feels different.” He used to have shaggy soft hair. She liked to mess it up sometimes. He didn’t push her away, so she let her fingers trail to the warm skin of his neck. “I’m not mini anymore,” she told him. “I’m all grown up.”

  He rolled to his back and threw an arm over his eyes. “Let me sleep this off,” he said, his words slurring. “Seriously. Wa-a-ay too much to drink.”

  Maybe he was drunk. She sat there for a few minutes, soaking in the heat of him, the scent of fresh soap and sexy man. His breathing deepened into sleep. She wanted to lie next to him, just to sleep since he was wasted, but he unexpectedly shifted, bumping her off the sofa. She stood and looked down at him, trying to memorize his features in the dim light from the streetlights through the front window. The thick lashes resting on his cheeks, the high cheekbones, the square jaw. He was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen.

  She knelt next to the sofa, leaned over and brushed her lips across his, stealing a kiss. A tingle went through her. She did it again, fitting her lips more firmly against his, and gasped when he was suddenly kissing her back. His lips moved expertly over hers and heat surged through her body. His tongue touched the seam of her lips, she opened for him, and his tongue thrust inside. She couldn’t help the moan that escaped as her body urged her to get closer.

  And then it was over. He groaned and rolled to his side, giving her his back.

  “Park,” she whispered, “I want you to be my first.”

  He was quiet.

  She stood and leaned over him. He seemed to be asleep. Maybe all that beer made him extra sleepy. She’d only ever had one beer and it had made her feel stupid-happy and then tired. She watched him for long minutes and finally stroked his hair one last time. “Come back in one piece, okay?”

  Her eyes stung with tears and she rushed upstairs. Sleep was impossible. She tossed and turned all night and got out of bed the moment she heard movement downstairs. She wouldn’t miss saying goodbye. She quickly dressed, brushed her teeth and hair, and hurried downstairs. Park was neatly folding his blanket and tucking it away in the coat closet. It was early and everyone was still sleeping.

  “Is Dad up?” she asked.

  “Yeah. He went to get bagels for everyone.” He shoved a hand through his hair. “Man, I’ve got a killer hangover. I barely remember the party.”

  She studied him, unsure if he was being serious or not. Did he really not remember anything? “How drunk were you?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t even know how I got to the sofa. One minute I’m chugging beer with Ty, next minute I’m out cold.”

  She swallowed hard. He really didn’t remember. He hadn’t meant to kiss her back. It was a reflex. Probably any guy would do that if someone kissed them. Her first kiss was a joke. What if she’d slept with him and he didn’t remember it? That would’ve been horrible.

  “Yeah, you were totally wasted,” she said.

  The front door opened and her dad appeared with a bag of bagels and a to-go coffee. “Park and I gotta run.” He jerked his chin at Park. “Five minutes,” he said before heading to the kitchen.

  Park went upstairs for a few minutes and returned with a duffel bag. “The guys are sleeping. I said bye to them last night.”

  Mad waited. Her last chance for a goodbye. Her last chance with the love of her life.

  Her dad took the duffel bag and headed to the car.

  Park looked at her for a long moment, his hazel eyes direct. “Study hard, okay? Keep your grades up.”

  Her lower lip wobbled. “You’re not my dad.”

  He wrapped her in a big bear hug and kissed the top of her head. Her eyes welled. He pulled back and ruffled her hair. “Bye, little bit.”

  He left, the door shutting quietly behind him.

  Chapter Two

  Present day…

  “What do you think about a sex-toy party?” Mad asked casually, then waited for the fireworks. Her friends from the Happy Endings Book Club, a romance book club that Mad had somehow gotten roped into two years ago, were at her house, helping her decorate for Park’s homecoming party.

  Hailey Adams, leader of their book club and Clover Park’s one and only wedding planner, slammed her hands on her hi
ps and glared. “How did we get from what do you think about a paranormal romance selection to sex toys?”

  Mad jerked her chin. “I thought we were playing the what do you think about game.”

  Charlotte Vega, a personal trainer with brassy confidence, bumped Mad with her hip. “You’re as bad as your brother.” She meant her older brother Josh, who razzed Hailey all the time because Hailey was just that much fun to rile up.

  Hailey tossed a pack of balloons at Mad. “Use your hot air for a good cause.”

  Mad caught them and looked around the living room of the house she’d grown up in, trying to decide where to put balloons. The other women—Hailey, Charlotte, Lauren, Carrie, and Ally—were hanging red, white, and blue streamers around the edges of the room, the windows, and the front door. Park was coming home for good after ten years away in the Air Force. He’d only visited a few times over the years because he’d volunteered for a lot of year-long deployments to classified locations that paid extra for the high risk. Her worry over him was never ending. Every time she saw him, her heart ached something fierce at the way he kept his distance. She told herself it was better that way, easier to say goodbye, but deep down she feared he knew how much she cared about him and just didn’t feel the same way. It was embarrassing to admit, but he’d always been the gold standard for her and no man had ever measured up. Now that he was coming home for good, she was determined to breach that distance, to put up or shut up once and for all so she could freaking move on if that was what she had to do.

  She still thought all the decorations were too much. Just give a guy a brewski and some cake. Done deal.

  Hailey shot her a sweet smile and gestured for her to get moving with the balloons. Mad still didn’t know how she ended up with Hailey for a friend. The woman was a former beauty queen with long strawberry blonde hair, pale blue eyes, and a perfect curvy body always tastefully displayed in designer dresses. The kind of girl that would’ve been homecoming queen and looked down at Mad with her skinny, boyish athletic body in hand-me-down shirts, ripped jeans, and black combat boots. She glared at the balloons, pissed at how emotional she’d been all day today. The decorations were beside the point. The women, the first women friends she’d ever had, were here for moral support. That was all Hailey’s doing, who somehow read between the lines with all Mad couldn’t express.

  “Guys,” Mad croaked.

  The women looked over at her. No words could get through the emotion clogging her throat. She’d hardly slept last night she was so nervous about seeing Park and finally letting him know just how much she felt for him. It meant so damn much that her friends were here for her.

  “We should start the party early with some beer,” Mad finally said, completely inadequately. She never did get the hang of girl talk. All she knew was the gruff bluster and joking around she was raised with. She tossed the balloons on the coffee table and headed for the kitchen.

  Hailey intercepted her and gave her a warm hug. Mad let her. They were the same size, five foot four, so Mad had to blow Hailey’s long hair out of her face. The woman was her best friend, though Mad could never find the words to say so.

  Hailey pulled back, her pale blue eyes bright. “I know you’re nervous, but you’ll do great. You’ve got this. Hanging with the guys is your thing!”

  Mad swallowed hard and gave a quick nod before heading to the kitchen. Hanging with the guys was not the same thing as being with Park. Especially now that she’d decided to put it all on the line. She just couldn’t live with herself if she didn’t try to see what might be there between them. No man had ever gotten close to her heart the way Park did. It was like her heart closed when Park left and only now when it was possible for something between them did it creak open again. Painful fact. Hell, she was strong and fierce and unafraid to face anything or anyone.

  So why was she trembling at the thought?

  She opened the refrigerator door and stared in shock at the bottle of champagne chilling there. “Hailey?” she called.

  “It’s for the party!” Hailey caroled back. “In honor of Park’s service to our country.”

  Mad shoved a hand in her dyed red hair, which was at that awkward growing-out stage after being short for so long. Hailey didn’t even know Park. This was so damn thoughtful. She should’ve thought of doing something special like this. She didn’t know how to do this guy thing with someone she actually cared about. Her boyfriends were temporary whenever she had the itch for sex, which wasn’t that often.

  She grabbed a six-pack of lite beer, something her brothers would turn their nose up at, which was the only reason they were still untouched. She snagged the bottle opener and brought them out to the living room. “Six beers for six women. Works out perfectly.” She set them on the coffee table and started popping the tops.

  Hailey took a sip and wrinkled her nose. “Next time I’ll bring wine. So what’re you wearing tonight?” She took in Mad’s usual outfit—T-shirt, baggy cargo shorts, and black work boots.

  Mad glanced down at herself. Okay, so she’d never gotten the hang of women’s fashion, and she liked being comfortable, but everything was clean and this was her favorite T-shirt. It read Try Me. She liked it because of the double meaning. Try Me could be a challenge to a fight or seduction as in you want some of this? She enjoyed a good fight most of all, especially in the dojo with a well-matched opponent. She was a fourth-degree black belt and skilled with weapons.

  “I’m not wearing a dress,” Mad said, cutting off Hailey’s go-to wardrobe. Hailey was her size but with bigger boobs and frequently offered to lend her an outfit for special occasions. If forced to wear something for a formal occasion, Mad had a black pants suit.

  The women studied her and then exchanged looks with each other. Mad squirmed, knowing she wasn’t passing the girl test, yet not confident she could pull off the dress thing. She always felt so stiff and uncomfortable in dresses. She flopped on the sofa and propped her feet up on the coffee table.

  Charlotte joined her on the sofa, pulling her long brown hair with auburn highlights over one shoulder and twirling it around her hand. “So how hot is he, like panty melting?”

  Heat crept up Mad’s neck. She jerked her chin and took a long swallow of cold beer.

  “Is he nice?” sweet Lauren asked. She was an elementary school teacher.

  Mad snorted. “Of course he’s nice. He’s my blood brother, isn’t he?” Blood brother was what they called their honorary brothers, the guys her dad mentored as kids in the Police Athletic League. All of them had become like family.

  “Tall, dark, and broody?” Charlotte asked.

  Mad picked at the label on the beer bottle, unwilling to admit that was how she remembered Park best. Dark hair, intense hazel eyes that were mostly brown with some lighter green and gold, definitely broody, but also sweet. He’d become more serious after the Air Force, or maybe that was just how it seemed those few times she’d seen him because he’d been so distant.

  Hailey sat on Mad’s other side. “He’s the only guy you ever blush over.”

  She felt her cheeks heat. “I do not blush. You’re delusional.”

  Carrie, Ally, and Lauren sat cross-legged on the floor around the coffee table and the women all looked to her, waiting for details. She knew what that meant—girl talk. The sharing had begun around books, but now included times like this, just hanging out. Mad liked listening to the talk, but still found it difficult to talk about herself. She was more used to hanging with guys, who were not big into “sharing and caring,” as Hailey called it.

  Hailey put a hand on Mad’s arm. “It doesn’t leave this room. You can tell us anything.”

  She tensed. It was just them, she told herself. Probably another hour before Ty got here with Park. Her dad was upstairs in the shower. The guys wouldn’t be here for a few more hours for the party.

  “Spill, girl,” Charlotte said, elbowing her.

  Mad took a deep breath, on the verge of confessing everything because it
was eating her up inside. But the words died in her throat when the front door swung open. They never bothered to lock it until everyone was in for the night. She caught a glimpse of a tall man with dark short-cropped hair and leapt off the sofa, banging into the coffee table and spilling her beer in the process. The women rescued their own drinks before they spilled. Her heart raced, her mind a whirl before she realized it was just Alex, her older brother by four years.

  “Hello, ladies,” Alex said warmly in his smooth voice.

  The women sighed as one, except Mad, who rolled her eyes and headed to the kitchen for paper towels. She hated that she was so jittery.

  “Dad home?” Alex called.

  “Upstairs,” she hollered back.

  She heard the front door open and close. She’d just returned to the living room when the front door opened again. The women let out a collective, “Awww.”

  Alex held his sleeping daughter, twenty-month-old Vivian, and went upstairs where her dad kept a crib for her. Alex was a single dad from the very beginning. His fiancée, Tammy, died during the C-section. It hadn’t been easy for Alex to balance work and parenting, but her dad was retired from a long career as a cop and able to help out.

  “She looks like an angel,” Lauren said. “Those sweet curls and chubby cheeks.”

  “Only when she’s sleeping,” Mad replied. Her niece had a bit of the hell-on-wheels Campbell genes.

  Alex left, saying he’d be back in an hour. Her dad would look after Viv if she woke.

  Hailey went right back to where they’d left off. “Tell us about Park.”

  Her mind immediately flashed to his going-away party, her last best memory of him, the last time she’d felt close to him. He’d been so drunk, he didn’t even remember it. She should focus on that fact, not the fact that she’d completely screwed up the transformation from mouthy twerp to sexy woman. Not the fact that he didn’t remember the first kiss of her entire life. And definitely not the fact that she’d offered him her virginity. Too late now! Adrenaline shot through her. She needed a run or a sparring match. Something. Unfortunately it was December, the sidewalks were too icy for a run, and none of these women could match her in sparring. She needed Ty, also a black belt.