One Lucky Deal (9 page)

Tad had to pull away, or she was going to know something was up.

“Can we give it one more good toss?” Candace asked, catching Tad’s wrist.

“All right.” If he didn’t know any better he would have thought she was being this sexually infuriating on purpose.

So he sidled up behind her one last time and helped her toss the dough. She turned and smiled at him, and he wanted to kiss her so bad. He had even inched a little closer, seriously considering the idea.

Their front door opened. The dogs hadn’t even alerted them that someone was here. Candace jumped out of his arms, and Tad backed away. He couldn’t help but think that they were acting like they’d just been caught red-handed at something.

“Hey, guys.” Reagan came in, petting all the dogs on the head and then dropping her purse on the poker table. “Mmm. What are we making?” She came into the kitchen to find Tad handling the dough.

“Pizza. Want to stay for some?” Candace politely asked.

“No thanks.” Reagan shrugged. “Reed’s got some stuff marinating that we’re going to be throwing on the grill. What? Is this your cook-together night?” Reagan grinned.

“Yup,” Tad answered as he smothered the dough in sauce. “Cheese me,” he told Candace.

“So what do we owe the honor of this visit?” Candace asked her sister over her shoulder as she coated their pizza with shredded mozzarella.

“Ah.” Reagan plopped down in a chair, putting her feet up on another chair. “I just wanted to talk wedding.”

“I’m sure going to be glad when it’s over,” Candace said, obviously before she could censor herself. Tad had to hold back a laugh.

Reagan just let out a surprised one herself. “You and me both, kid. Ronnie’s driving me to drink.”

“Anyways, what about the wedding?” Candace asked, moving expertly around Tad, taking turns putting toppings on the pizza, working about each other like a well-oiled machine.

“Just that—well, we’ve been talking, all of us, and…” Reagan sighed. “How do you two feel about each other?”

Tad’s hands slowed to a near stall.

*

“What do you mean?” Candace took just a quick peek at Tad to see how he was taking the question. As always he looked just fine, completely unperturbed. She wanted him just a little disturbed every once in awhile. She wanted to ruffle him, turn things around, and shake up his world a little. She couldn’t ever get to him, not even with the little hip-shaking helpless girl act she’d just pulled before Reagan showed up. It was discouraging.

“Oh, ya know we figured you might have developed a little bit of feelings for each other since we’ve forced the two of you into a relationship.” Reagan stood, walked into the kitchen, and stole a bite of pepperoni.

Tad and Candace were quiet. Tad moved to set the timer as Candace slid the pizza and the stone into the oven.

“So?” Reagan asked again. “Tad, do you have newfound feelings for my sister?”

Tad took a deep breath and looked at Candace for a long, intense, breathless moment, where Candace couldn’t believe she was hoping he’d say, “Shit, yes I do.” Instead, he just shook his head. She deflated and prayed that it wasn’t noticeable from the outside.

“Candace? You have feelings for Tad?”

“I guess not,” Candace replied and started putting the leftover toppings in baggies and then tossing them back into the fridge.

“Okay, we’re granting you a freebie two nights from now. On our wedding. Take the night off from this challenge. We want to make sure you’re having as great of a time as we are. I want you to look back on the night fondly, so please, please, please enjoy yourselves, even if that means with somebody else.”

Chapter 7

The banquet room at Alphonso’s had been rented out for the evening of the dress rehearsal. The walls were draped in pink fabrics, and candles were glowing, throwing beautiful lighting against everyone’s skin. The smell of garlic, tomatoes, and freshly baked bread permeated the air.

Tad was about as dressed up as he got. Dark jeans miraculously stayed loosely hung on his lean hips. A dress shirt was thrown on over his Ramones black concert T-shirt and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. It should have looked shabby. It didn’t.

“I’d like to say something real quick.” Tad’s smile was fractured, and Candace sat up straight and took immediate notice of him. Her heart raced for him, she could see his composure was only a thin veil for the nerves. “I’m not very good with speeches. They’re not really my thing, but I figured if I said one tonight, maybe everyone would let me off the hook tomorrow night.”

There was a quiet little chatter of a laugh that swirled around the table from the mouths of the other diners. Candace knew, though, that he wasn’t kidding. She crossed her legs and tucked her purple boyfriend-style shirtdress around her bare legs.

“I’ve known Reed my whole life.” Candace sought out Reed’s gaze and she smiled and relaxed a little for Tad once she caught the grin on Reed’s face. “He was my older brother Ricky’s best friend. They were inseparable, causing trouble everywhere they went.”

Reed and Tad’s eyes clouded over with grief at the same time. Candace’s heart ached for him. She wanted him to just sit down and stop talking. She didn’t want him to open up a wound. She found herself rubbing her own chest as if she could rub away Tad’s pain like that.

“Including the night of Ricky’s crash. I was young. I’d already lost my parents, and I was giving my poor sister one hell of a time. I was lost, aimless, reckless, and Reed did something he didn’t have to do.” Tad paused and cleared the emotion that had sneaked into his voice and washed it down with a sip of water. “He stood up. He filled Ricky’s boots, so to speak. He didn’t have to do that. He didn’t have to look after me. I’m sure, though, that Gail appreciated it. I know I did.”

Tad raised his glass. “Reagan, you came into Reed’s life and started taking care of him. Since he’s been taking care of everyone, including me for so long, I didn’t know how much he needed that. You’ve got a good one here.” Tad looked to Reed. “Both of you. Take care of each other.” At that, Tad tipped back his champagne flute and swallowed it all down.

Everyone else clinked their glasses together before sipping. Reed and Reagan shared a kiss and that resulted in cheers. Candace’s dad stood to say something as well, but Candace wasn’t paying attention. Tad had just slinked out the back door.

When everyone was turned to look at Greg, who was toasting them now, Candace stood and slipped out the back as well. She was just going to check and make sure that he was all right. He’d said a lot of really personal stuff. The room had been full of mostly friends, but Candace imagined it had still been difficult.

When she finally made it outside the sky was misting tiny little droplets of rain down on them. The cement beneath their feet had already been saturated. The smell of the rain on the dry earth permeated the air. Candace filled her lungs with it. Tad turned when the door closed behind her.

“What are you doing out here?” His voice was gruff.

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“Come out here to check on me?” She could only guess why he felt the need to push her away.

*

“No, I came out here to smoke a cigarette.”

“You don’t smoke cigarettes.” He turned his head just in time to catch Candace packing a fake pack against her palm. She pretended to pull one out and light it and then pantomimed smoking it.

Tad couldn’t help himself. He knew what she was doing. It worked, damn it. She knew him too well. He let out a wry laugh and allowed one corner of his mouth to turn up into a smile. “Can I get a hit?”

“I don’t know.” Candace puffed on her fingers. “You going to talk to me?”

“No.” Tad went to reach for the fake cigarette, but Candace took a step back, coming right up against the yellow handrail. Her hand was above her head as she leaned away from him. Tad laughed at her. “Give it here.”

She stretched herself way back. “Talk.”

“Candace…” He reached out and pulled her up against him so that he could just easily reach up to her outstretched hand and pluck the invisible cigarette from her fingers. Then once he had her so close to him, pressed up against his chest, he didn’t want to let her go. So he didn’t.

He could feel how much her breathing had changed. Shallow breaths—sharp and quick. They mimicked the tapping of her heart against his palm at her back. He could feel the strands of her hair brush against his knuckles. Like even those mindless tiniest pieces of her were teasing him.

Her gaze searched his face. She had questions in her eyes he didn’t readily have answers for. Tad pulled the fake cigarette from her fingers and brought it to his mouth to breathe from.

*

Candace’s heart raced. The way he was holding her had her back draped over his arm. Her breasts were still pressed up against his chest. His eyes were dark and cloudy and he stared down at her with intent.

Tad reached behind her and pretended to stub out the cigarette before tucking what was left of the bogus cigarette behind her ear. She shivered. She couldn’t stop what she did next even if she had tried. She closed her eyes for just a second and leaned into the caress of his fingertips along the ridge of her ear.

The door opened behind Tad with a slow creak. Tad slowly let her go. Good thing there was a handrail at her back. The paint was chipping and she could feel that against her damp palm as she caught herself from tumbling on wobbly knees. The raindrops had gotten marginally larger. Raining just enough for her thin dress to want to cling to her skin.

“Hey, we’re headed to Lucky’s. Are you guys coming?” Reagan stuck her head out into the night.

“Yeah.” Candace cleared her throat and peeled her gaze from Tad. “I just have to grab my bag.”

“Okay.” Reagan slid back inside. She hadn’t even questioned them about standing out in the drizzle. Candace went to follow her inside when Tad caught her by the wrists and tugged her back to him.

“Thanks.”

The rain had picked up again. His eyes looked greener than she’d ever seen them. His lashes were dark and clumped together, and color was high in his cheeks. He looked beautiful, all wet from the rain. It nearly stopped her heart. It was squeezing so hard, especially when he broke out that smile. She finally admitted to herself his smile made her knees knock too.

“For the smoke,” he joked.

“Yeah, anytime.” The sky thundered and the rain came pounding down. “We’d better get inside.”

He didn’t move, and for a second she thought he was going to kiss her. Then lightning struck too close for comfort and Tad nodded. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” He reached around her, pulled open the door, and pushed them both into where it was dry.

* * * *

Lucky’s was packed. Candace simultaneously wanted to be with Tad and as far away from him as possible. She didn’t understand what was going on with them. She didn’t know where these feelings had come from or why they had decided to rear their ugly heads at this stage in their friendship.

She just knew that she couldn’t stop thinking about what would have happened if they’d been alone in the rain for one more minute. She also couldn’t stop thinking about tomorrow and how she was free to bring a date. And so was Tad.

For most of the night she left him to himself. She didn’t want to, but it beat being asked to wingman for him for the night. So when they finally bumped into each other at the bar she was surprised to see him just hanging out with Joe and Reed instead of hitting on the blonde right beside him who was waiting for a drink.

“Hey.” Tad nodded at Candace.

“Hey.”

“Where’ve you been?” Tad leaned in and spoke into her ear over the noise of the bar.

“Around.” Candace tried to make it seem like it wasn’t a big deal. She didn’t want him to know that she was trying to avoid him a little bit.

Tad leaned back and looked at her. She felt the scrutiny in his gaze. “Right.” He raised his eyebrows and with tight lips he gave her a slow nod.

“Are you having fun?” Candace changed the subject.

Tad just lifted his beer bottle up as proof. “You?”

Candace shrugged. “I lost my sisters somewhere.”

“You can hang out with us,” Tad suggested.

“Yeah?” Candace smiled at him for the offer. “I think I’m just going to cut out and head home. Big day tomorrow.”

“You’re going home?” Tad asked in her ear this time. Candace nodded. “Want me to come with you?” Her heart kicked. She knew, though, that he didn’t mean it like she wished he did.

“No. Hang with your boys. Have a good time.”

“Stay?”

Candace just wrinkled her nose as answer.

She couldn’t make out what he said next but it sounded like, “I’d have more fun if you stayed.”

“What?” Candace asked over the raucous noise bubbling up around her.

Tad shook his head. “Nothing. I’m coming with you.” Before she could argue Tad clapped Reed on the back. It was his last night of singledom and he was by far the most sober. “We’re going to cut out.”

*

Reed and Tad shared a bro hug before Tad shoved Candace through the throngs of people and then out the side door into the parking lot. The rain had stopped, and the fog had settled over the earth.

“You didn’t have to leave.” Candace yanked open the door of the truck and climbed up into it. Tad shut the door behind her and climbed into the other side. “You didn’t have to leave,” she said to him again as if he hadn’t heard her the first eight times.

“I know, but I’m tired. Is that all right?”

Candace just shrugged. They drove on in silence until they turned down their street.

“Did you get a date for tomorrow?” Tad asked Candace. She sighed heavily and hopped out of the truck when Tad parked in the driveway.

“I don’t want to talk about this.” She led him up to the house.

“I’ll take that as a no, then?” Tad smirked. Candace responded by shutting the front door in his face. Tad grinned, and with a shake of his head opened the door to let himself inside. “Aren’t you going to ask me if
I
have one?”

“Ugh, no.” Candace shut herself in the bathroom. Tad laughed and hoped that it was he who was getting to her.