Page 23 of Falling For His Badass

I can see her smiling when she says, “Oh, don’t worry, you did push that button. Every time I screamed, ‘Yes, Yes, OH. MY. GOD! Yes!’”

When I arriveat John’s house, I park next to the red corvette.Great.I sigh.John’s brother is still here. Before I get out, I text B. A. *I’m here. I’m safe. I’m missing you bad!*

He answers immediately. *Good. Call you in a few.*

*K.*

I take a deep breath and prepare to meet Tara’s eyes. She knows me better than anyone, and she’ll know as soon as she lays eyes on me that I’ve found someone. I open the car door, step out, and text Tara as I walk up to the house. *I’m here.*

As soon as I step onto the front porch, the door swings open. Tara stands in the doorway, so excited she is literally twitching. As I walk up, I try to look natural as I lean in for a hug. She ignores my embrace, grabs my hand, and pulls me inside. Then she shuts the door quietly. She puts her finger over her mouth, telling me to shush. She steers me to the bathroom down the hall, pushes me inside, then shuts the door just as quietly as she did the front door. When she turns around, she whispers, as she inspects my clothes, then examines my face for makeup smears. “Holy fuck, Lizzy.” Her eyes twinkle. “John’s little brother is a fucking stud! I mean, like seriously. The man is hotter than John, if you can believe that. Like woozier hot!”

I whisper back to her as she fluffs my curls. “I don’t care.”

“Well, you should care!” She blows my comment off. “He’s tall, built like a brick wall, has beautiful eyes, a handsome face, a great smile.” She shakes her head. “He’s the whole damn package!”

I gently take her hands to stop her primping actions and hold them in front of me. I have to let her know I’m off the market before we walk out of the bathroom. But I’m not sure how to break the news to her. She’s not going to want to hear me. She’s got her mind made up that this dude and I will be great together. If I follow her out of here before she knows, she’ll prance my big ass around, showing me off like an auctioneer. No doubt she’s primed the poor dude by singing my praises all weekend. “Tara. Look at me.” I squeeze her fidgety hands. “See how happy I am?” I put my face in front of hers. She stops and looks hard at my expression, then she narrows her eyes. I tell her. “I met someone this weekend and I’ve fallen head over heels in love with him!” I smile at her. “And I know it’s love because my heart was all over the place.”

She presses her lips together and looks at me. “Lizzy, you know I love you, right? And you know you can trust me, right?”

I nod.

“Then believe me when I tell you, whoever that dude is, can’t hold a candle to who this dude is! I’m telling you flat out, girlfriend. He fucking rocked my world, and I’m in love with his brother!” She pulls the bathroom door open. “Now, come on. You promised you would meet him before you left on Friday night. He’s been waiting for you to come back.”

I shake my head. “I didn’t say, I wouldn’t meet him. I’m saying don’t try to hook me up with him. I’ll be polite, but there is no way anything is going to happen.”

She whispers as she drags me out by my arm. “Lizzy, this dude is so fucking hot! You’re going to change your mind."

I shake my head harder, following her into the hall. “No. I’m. not.”

When we reach the kitchen, she whispers out of the corner of her mouth, nodding toward the patio. "I’m telling you the truth, Lizzy! Prepare yourself. He’s a fucking stud. I nearly fainted when he walked in. “She turns her confident eyes on me.

I grab her by the shoulders and shake her gently. My voice rises above a whisper, demanding her attention. "Tara, you aren’t hearing me. I met a man! He’s a fucking badass. I spent the entire weekend with his badass. I’ve fallen in love with his badass.”

John yells from the back. “Tara, is that Lizzy?”

I give her a look that says, ‘Zip it!’

She grins wickedly at me. “Yes, John, she’s made it back.”

“Excellent,” He yells. “We’re on the patio.”

When we round the counter, I can see John talking to a man in a baseball cap. He looks up, gives me a head nod, then stands and says to the dude. “There she is.” Then he looks back at me and adds, “Come on out here, Lizzy. There is someone I want you to meet.”

Reluctantly, I follow Tara onto the patio. The man in the baseball cap stands up as we approach. He and John smile at me, and he holds his hand out. After all Tara said, I expected more. The dude is handsome, but he’s not a fucking stud. I smile politely and shake his hand as John introduces us. “Lizzy, I’d like you to meet Riley Register. Riley, this is Lizzy Mayer, Tara’s best friend.”

Riley Register? I shake his hand and say at the same time he does, “It’s nice to meet you.”

He sits back down, and I look at John. He smiles at me. “Did you have a good weekend?”

“Yes, I did.” I grin.

“Better than you expected?”

“Much better than I expected!” I grin at him.

I glance over at Tara, and she explains, “Riley is going to be joining John’s pharmaceutical”

“Oh, well, that’s great news. Congratulations.”

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