“The governor goin’ to be a problem? You know if he approves the big box store coming into Montgomery County?—”
“Griz, I told you, I’m handling this. Solet mehandle it,” I say firmly.
Foxx Bourbon has always been the metronome that kept time and tempo in Fiasco. Fiasco turned into a destination instead of another statistic or sad story from economic downturn or mishandled property. Small businesses thrivedhere. Handshakes bound agreements. And gossip ran wild about how that was all made possible. I’ve always felt a responsibility for the place I grew up, even if that means getting blood on my hands because of it. Griz instilled those values in me.
“You know, you’re a damn idiot. You keep staring at her and she might finally notice,” he says, shaking his head. I should have known he wouldn’t let it go. “I don’t understand for the life of me why—” he cuts himself off. If he really thought about why, he’d have his answer. The reason why I would never act on the vibrating impulse to take exactly who I want and the way I want her.
I sip my bourbon and try to ignore him. Glancing around the room toward the bar, I’m careful not to let my attention flicker back to the wildly drunken brunette rolling her hips in the middle of the room. He’s right; I have been staring, and I didn’t even realize it.
“Being married and in love looks good on your brothers.” He glances back to the dance floor, just as Lincoln lifts Faye into his arms and Grant twirls Laney before pulling her close. “You’re up next.”
He hasn’t said anything like that in years.
“Find something to ground you.”They should have been forgotten words Griz said on an unforgettable night ten years ago. A few years later, my brothers started losing the people they loved. Griz had loved and lost again as well. I know a part of him believes in the bullshit curse that any woman who falls for a Foxx ends up dying. I don’t believe in curses, but the reality of loving someone and losing them seems more like a punishment than something beautiful.
Brow pinched, I watch him closely as he gets up from his chair. He starts laughing as he hits the edge of the dance floor, like his statement won’t needle and burrow under my skin. There have been plenty of people, especially in Fiasco, who arevocal about the oldest Foxx brother still being a bachelor. I never saw the negative. Let them talk. People are unpredictable and that makes things complicated.
The most unpredictable of them all sways her hips in the center of that dance floor. I can’t help but lick my lips and swallow at how, despite not wanting it to be the case, she makes my mouth water. Her long dark hair flows wildly behind her as her smile lights up the whole damn room. She wears a tux better than any man has, the way it grips every feminine part of her.
Last night, with her hands on me...I stifle the memory for probably the hundredth time today and rub my hand over my mouth. The willpower it took to walk away from her only existed because people were watching.
It can’t happen again. I’m not up next; I’m doing just fine without.
Chapter 6
Hadley
Still on the dance floor,I look to my right and find Linc with his arms wrapped around his beautiful wife. The smile that’s been plastered across his face today is one I’ll never forget. He’s always been one of the best people I’ve ever known, hence the best friend status. The kicker is, seeing him fall in love with Faye over the last year has made me feel grateful. I don’t know if I’ll ever experience a love like that, but if anyone could have a shot at seeing it through, then it would be Linc.
I glance toward the crowd, my eyes finding a set of light gray whirling with hues of blue staring back at me. I can’t help but make sure he knows that I caught him looking once again. Crooking my finger in a come-hither motion, I whisper, “Come here,Daddy.”
I’ve been trying for the better of the past decade to get under his skin. And somehow, I finally unlocked it. One word that I’d merely stumbled into saying for some reason was what had done it:Daddy.
Cleary not entertained by me, his face flushes and lips pull into a straight line, even though he keeps watching. He’s always so good at that—being unreadable. Ace is so often an impenetrable force that I can’t help myself from wanting to crack him open.
But then, he stands, draining his drink with his eyes still locked on me.Well, fuck me, is he going to actually come out here?
A vibration of excitement sweeps across my skin, leaving the briefest tingle of nervous energy in its wake. My hips continue moving to the sounds of Hozier crooning through the speakers as I let my eyes blink languidly, appreciating the build and stature of AcemotherfuckingFoxx.
I’m not a tiny person, but Ace takes up space. His broad shoulders and height are just a part of it. Beyond his eloquently masculine posture, the thighs that fill his pants, along with a nicely rounded ass, it’s the spark of authority. There’s power in the uncertainty of what he’s capable of doing. Danger licks his skin the way I’m always itching to.
The man doles out big dick energy like he's dealing cards. And every person who comes close to him knows it. Ace draws people’s attention. It isn’t just me. He’s magnetic. There’s never a room he enters where at least half a dozen eyes don’t stop what they were doing to watch.
I smirk as I study him. Oh, how I love to see him bite back whatever emotion I’m able to stir.
And like almost every other time, when I poke or prod, he moves. Just never in the direction that I crave. And that’s what Ace was to me, a craving. Instead of coming to join me and his brothers on the dance floor, he heads toward the double doors.
“Hadley Jean, get your ass over here and dance with me,” Lincoln shouts over the music, dancing over to me as Faye takes a dessert break with Lark and Lily. My smile takes over, leavingany inkling of feelings for his older brother to float away in the breeze.
“You alright?” he asks as he swings me around to some cover of "Addicted to Love.”
“Linc, I’m always alright,” I say with dramatic flair.
When he spins me, and I come back toward him, he prods again. “You didn’t bring Hawk. I take it that’s over then?”
I sigh. “We’re only ever going to be a bit of fun.”
He leaves it alone at that, and after just a couple more songs, Faye’s being brought out onto the dance floor by Griz. As they come closer, Linc leans over to kiss his bride. “You want to swap?”