Page 54 of When You're Home
Fuck.
He closed his eyes and lowered his head back against the cement. He had been so wrapped up in watching and worrying about Tori that he had forgotten Chandler was even there.
“We’re still out here,” he called back to her reluctantly, not bothering to lift his head.
He heard her heels click against the patio bricks as she approached.Here we go. Rhett felt utterly helpless as he opened his eyes. Chandler was squatting above him. She leaned down and greeted him with a surprise upside-down kiss.
“Hey, you,” she murmured, running her nails through his semi-wet hair. “I think I’m going to get ready for bed. Care to join me?”
“Tempting,” he whispered back to her, acutely aware of Tori’s gaze boring into him from across the hot tub. “But I don’t think I can abandon ship this early after inviting everyone over.” There was no way he could go inside and leave Tori out here now. He was desperate to buy himself more time.
“Okay,” Chandler conceded before rising to her feet. “Oh!” he heard her surprise once she stood up. This was the moment he had been dreading: the love of his life coming face-to-face with the girlfriend he had only started dating at her insistence.
“Uh, Chandler,” Rhett fumbled, “you met most of the guys earlier, but Tori just got here.” He pointed to Tori like she wasn’t the only woman in the hot tub.
“Well, well, well,” Chandler clucked, “if it isn’t the infamous best friend. It’s sooo nice to finally meet you, Tori. I’ve heard so much about you!” Her voice was sticky-sweet. He noticed she was standing tall with her shoulders back and one hand on her hip. She didn’t look tired anymore.
“It’s nice to meet you, too, Chandler,” Tori replied coolly. She lifted Rhett’s water bottle toward the other woman in a pseudo-toast before taking a long pull from it.
“Honestly I wasn’t sure if we were ever going to meet. It’s like Rhett keeps you hidden away whenever I’m in town! I’ve tried to get him to introduce us for ages, but it just never works out. But that’s okay. You’re here now. I’m thrilled! Honestly, Maddie tells me all the time how great you are. I can’t believe it’s taken us…”
“I need a refill,” Tori interrupted the other woman mid-sentence as she moved through the water.
Chandler barely let the disruption register before shifting gears.
“Oh, perfect! Let’s have a drink together! Just nothing with vodka. Jake made me the most amazing Bloody Marys earlier today, and I guess they were buy one, get one free or something at Clint’s. I think I drank enough vodka to last a lifetime.”
“Clinton's,” Tori corrected her sharply.
“Oh, right. Clint’s, Clinton’s… whatever it’s called.”
Rhett knew Tori’s anger was rising. Chandler’s dismissal wasn’t going to land well. He needed to intervene.
He gazed up at Chandler and forced a smile. “Babe, would you mind grabbing us some waters from the mini fridge behind the bar? I think everyone could use an alternate right now.”
“Yes! Of course!” she chirped in response to his request before scurrying back into the sunroom.
“I need a real refill,” Tori deadpanned, shooting a sharp glare in Rhett’s direction. She stood up when she got to the first step. Water cascaded down her body in rivulets. Rhett was certain all eyes were on her: her shapely legs and tight ass were on near-full display in her navy bikini as she climbed the stairs.
He didn’t have time to glance around at the other guys and confirm his suspicions. Tori misstepped and slipped on the second to last stair. Rhett’s reaction was immediate; he was up and out of the water in an instant, steadying her body against his before anyone else even registered that she had tripped.
Their contact was electric. His body tingled with recognition and desire. It took all his willpower not to nuzzle into her neck, audience be damned. He inhaled sharply as she regained her footing.
“Tori,” he growl-whispered into her ear. It was a warning and a plea. He could hear the pain in his own voice. She had to know what she was doing to him—to them—right now.
“I’m fine, Wheeler,” she huffed, spinning her head around to shoot daggers with her eyes. “I don’t need you,” she added sharply as she tried to brush him off.
Rhett dropped his hands at her dismissal and sank back into the water. He knew better than to push her. He watched her stumble twice more as she made her way across the patio to the sunroom.
He reached for the Gatorade bottle she had dropped and turned it over, confirming what he already knew: It was empty. She had just slammed back at least four shots of Jameson mixed with very little ice. Rhett pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes again, debating whether he should follow Tori into the house or play it cool and try to keep Fielding in the hot tub, away from his girl.
“I’ve got her,” Jake muttered as he got up to follow Tori inside. He clasped his hand on Rhett’s shoulder as he hoisted himself out of the water. Rhett cast a somber glance in his best friend’s direction, wishing more than anything that they could trade places and it could be him to go after her instead.
Chapter 31
Tori
Babe. He calls her babe. Of course he calls her babe. She’s gorgeous. She’s everything he could possibly want in a girlfriend, in a wife, in a mother for his children. She’s everything he could want for his future.
