His hand shot out and he wrapped those long fingers around her upper arm. It wasn’t painful, but his hold on her was firm. “Wendy,” he whispered.
Wendy stared at him expectantly.
One side of his mouth quirked upward and for a solid minute, she forgot that he was Tripp Gilley and that she was Wendy Scott. They were just a boy and a girl getting ready to go to a dance.
“You’re making it incredibly hard not to want to throw you over my shoulder fireman style and whisk you away from here.”
Her eyes widened and a flutter exploded in her chest.
Tripp tugged her closer to him and used his free hand to trace a finger along her jaw. “You look…” he sighed and shook his head. “There’s nothing in this world quite like you.” Then he released her, the phantom feeling of his touch searing into her skin. She watched him stride toward the door, her breath still attempting to catch up. Then she followed after him.
In his truck, he remained quiet. It was kind of adorable the way he kept stealing glances at her. It really shouldn’t have pleased her as much as it did. He thrummed his fingers on the steering wheel and every so often she noticed him open his mouth only to snap it shut and shake his head.
She knew that look. He was arguing with himself. She’d done that plenty since the start of this whole mess. Wendy bit back a grin and turned her attention out the window. Soon enough, they’d be arriving at the party and she’d slip away from him.
This might be her only chance to apologize for what she’d said to him at the bridal shop. But what words would be enough to convince him that she’d only been trying to protect herself. He wouldn’t believe her anyway, but she had to try.
With what little courage she had left, she turned toward him only for the truck to come to a stop. Tripp didn’t waste any time in exiting the vehicle, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Tripp bitdown hard on his fist as he walked around the back of the truck. He really should just head toward the party and leave the vixen to find her own way there. But he couldn’t. Tonight, he’d fully planned on putting her in her place—a plan that was guaranteed when Serenity came to him with her own ideas.
She’d insisted Wendy was going to back out.
Tripp wouldn’t have believed if he hadn’t seen Wendy with his own eyes clad in the most adorable pair of kitten pajamas.
He’d been contemplating if he could go through with humiliating her when she’d shown up in that dress.
A groan slipped past his throat as he turned on his heel and went back toward the passenger side of the truck.
That dress was enough to make an angel himself sell his soul to a devil.
Tripp yanked open the passenger door with a little too much force. It wasn’t hard to miss the way Wendy stiffened at his arrival. She even made that cute gasping sound. Her eyes foundhis in the dark, full of suspicion like she just knew he wasn’t going to let her get away with what she’d done at the bridal shop.
She would have been right, too. But he’d absolutely lost his mind.
How could he look at her in that dress and not want to win her over? It was impossible.
Maybe his soul was already gone, because he offered the crook of his arm to her. “Shall we?”
Her eyes narrowed further as she glanced down at it. Then she sighed as if she finally understood she didn’t have a chance at slipping past him. Her gentle fingers wrapped around his arm like a caress. They were warm and soft, and they sent sparks of electricity humming along every nerve in his body.
Tripp reached over her head and shut the door behind her. The movement brought them closer together and her sharp intake of breath brought him more pleasure than it really should have. He didn’t even bother hiding his grin.
Together they walked around the side of the main house. In the back the Reese family had strung up lights on poles surrounding the property. In the middle there was a white gazebo lit up with similar twinkling lights but also white flowers. Tables, chairs, and a banquet waited for them. Music played and several people were already dancing.
“This is the bachelor party?” Wendy murmured, clear awe in her voice. “What happened to Vegas and getting wild?”
Tripp chuckled. “Seeing as Serenity has been married before and she’s on the more reserved side, she just wanted everything to be more… upscale.”
“Apparently,” Wendy mused.
“There are some games over on that side of the yard, though. You ever play cornhole?”
Her eyes followed where he gestured to where the inclined wooden boards had been set up. Bean bags were scattered around the contraptions already. The bean bag toss game had become popular with Serenity’s kids, but the adults got quite competitive as well.
“I’ve heard of it, but I haven’t played.”
