Beautiful Redemption (The Maddox Brothers, #2)(71)

The more she talked, the angrier she became.

“Absolutely,” I said.

“If I did save him, it was because I loved him. There is no other reason to do that for someone, is there?”

“I don’t know of any,” I said.

“But I wasn’t saving him from the fire. We weren’t even there. That’s what pisses me off the most.”

“No, I totally get it. Don’t let them ruin your night. If they want to hate on everything, let them. You get to determine how this plays out. This isn’t their story to tell.”

She offered a smile, shifting nervously in her seat. “Thank you. I’m glad you came. It’s nice to see Thomas happy again. It’s nice to see Thomas at all.” She smiled and sighed, content. “Promise me you’ll have your wedding here, so I have an excuse to come back.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s still new with Thomas and you, right? And he brought you to a wedding. That’s a very non-Maddox thing for him to do if he’s not head over heels, which I’m willing to bet that he is.” She turned to watch the dance floor, satisfied. “And I never lose a bet.”

“He didn’t want to be the only one without a date.”

“Bullshit. You two are as thick as thieves. You’ve got it bad. I can tell,” she said with a mischievous grin. She was trying to make me squirm and enjoying the hell out of it.

“Is this your version of an initiation?” I asked.

She laughed and leaned over, touching her bare shoulder to mine. “You caught me.”

“What are you doing, bitches?” America said, shimmying over to us. “This is a f*cking party! We’re dancing!”

She tugged on Abby’s hand and then mine. We joined the mob on the dance floor. Thomas grabbed my hand, twirled me around, pulled me until my back was against him, and then folded his arms across my middle.

We danced until my feet hurt, and then I noticed Abby and America hugging America’s parents good night. Then, Jack and Deana left, and we all hugged Jim before he left for his room.

Travis and Abby were eager to be alone, so they thanked us all for coming, and Travis carried her away into the night.

We said our good-byes, and then Thomas pulled me along the dimly lit curved sidewalk until we were at the beach.

“Hammock,” he said, pointing to a dark form twenty yards from the water.

I pulled off my shoes, and Thomas did the same before we strolled through the white sand. Thomas sat down on the woven ropes first, and then I joined him. It rocked as we struggled to navigate the hammock without falling out.

“This should be easier for us,” Thomas teased.

“You should probably—”

The hammock jerked. We held on to each other and froze, our eyes wide. Then, we both burst into laughter.

As soon as we were settled, a drop of rain hit my cheek.

More drops fell, and Thomas wiped his eye. “You have got to be kidding me.”

The rain began to fall in big warm drops, tapping at the sand and the water.

“I’m not moving,” he said, squeezing me in his thick arms.

“Then, neither am I,” I said, nuzzling my cheek against his chest. “Why did Toto’s babysitter and Camille both call you T.J.?”

“It was how they talked about me without letting anyone know it was me.”

“Thomas James,” I said. “Clever. Is the other girl an ex, too?”

He chuckled. “No. She was Camille’s roommate.”

“Oh.”

Thomas anchored his foot on the sand and then pushed off, rocking us a bit.

“This is incredible. I could definitely retire here. It feels so…I can’t even describe it.”

He kissed my temple. “This feels a lot like falling in love.”

The rain clouds had snuffed out the moon, making the sky pitch-black. The muffled music still playing at Sails sounded a mile away, and hotel guests were running to get out of the rain. We might as well have been on a secluded island, away from everyone else, lying together in our small but quiet section of the beach.

“Splat?” I asked.

“Obliteration,” he said.

I squeezed him, and he took in a deep breath through his nose.

“I hate myself for saying this, but we should probably turn in. We’ve got an early morning.”

I looked up at him. “It’s going to be okay, you know. Travis will be fine. We’ll get rid of Grove. It’s all going to work out.”

“I just want to think about you tonight. Tomorrow is going to be tough.”

“I’ll do my best to keep your attention.” I wiggled out of the hammock and got to my feet. I helped him out, and I pulled his lips down to meet mine, sucking his bottom lip as I drew back.

He hummed. “I have no doubt. You’ve been an impeccable distraction.”

My heart sank.

“What?” he asked, seeing the hurt in my eyes.

“Why don’t you just admit it? Just say it out loud. You’re using me to stop thinking about her. That’s not closure. It’s stalling.”

His face fell. “That’s not what I meant.”

“This isn’t falling in love, Thomas. You said it perfectly. I’m running interference.”