“You two bicker like brother and sister.” Ky laughed, slapping Josh on the back and shooting me a glimpse of his million-dollar smile.
No! No! No! Ky did not just refer to Josh and me as brother and sister? Jesus! That was wrong on so many levels. Now, I was very open to a lot of things, and I’d try everything once, maybe even twice, but kissing and being finger fucked by my brother was not one of them. That was horrendous and nightmare inducing. My cheeks flushed, or did I go pale in disgust? God, what was happening? I avoided making eye contact with anyone. Thankfully, Josh and Ky started talking amongst themselves, and I focused on the illuminated numbers displaying the time on the microwave.
“How about we go and mingle? Colby and Blake want to say hi to you, and Tori should be arriving any minute,” Eden suggested, breaking my stare.
“Yes!” I said a little too eagerly. I had been here for less than twenty minutes, and I was already losing it. Colby and Blake would be a perfect distraction, although I was sure Tori’s attention would be squarely locked onto Josh.
Ky’s words circled in my head, and the inappropriate nature of them was too much to ignore. I pushed away from the bench that I’d been leaning on and headed to the back door.
“Let’s go, little sister,” Josh said softly from behind me. He placed a hand at the small of my back and didn’t remove it as I descended the steps.
I shot him a glare over my shoulder when we hit flat ground, but he didn’t remove his hand. “You did not just say that,” I spat incredulously. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Oh, I said it alright.”
I tried but failed holding in my chuckle. “You disgust me.”
“I didn’t disgust you when I had my tongue in your mouth and my fingers deep inside your pussy the other night. How many times did I make you come?” His breath was hot on my ear as he leaned in, and I felt his chest brushing my back. “Fuck, you are beautiful when you come undone. I cannot wait to see it again.”
It was official. I was about to have a spontaneous orgasm in front of the Crawford family. I was going to be that girl who lifted her dress, pushed her panties to the side, and begged a man to take her without any thoughts of the consequences. How can he make me completely come undone just by talking? I had absolutely no hope in the world.
“Leave her alone, Josh.” Eden laughed casually, as if I was dealing with his usual teasing and not his suggestion of touching me again or sharing his lavished memories of our recent tryst. She slipped her hand into mine and pulled me across the yard away from Josh. My heart thundered in my chest. I hoped Eden couldn’t feel how clammy my hands were, but good lord, I couldn’t ignore the wetness pooling between my legs from his dirty words.
“Ky and I have a surprise for you tonight,” Eden announced in a singsong voice that was bubbling with excitement. She was glowing with delight, and her eyes shone with eagerness at whatever the surprise was. I couldn’t think of anything they could surprise me with besides . . .
“Are you pregnant?” I screeched, causing the people in close vicinity to direct their attention to us.
“Jesus, Ashlyn. No, I am not pregnant!” Eden shot back. Her hands swung wildly around as she twisted to the crowd that gawked at us. “Nothing to look at here, people. No baby on board.”
I laughed at her response, and grabbed her hand to gain her attention. “Well, if you aren’t pregnant, then what could you possibly do that will surprise me?”
“Give it time, my friend. It’s going to completely rock your world. We have been planning it for a while now.”
I was about to push for more info, but was halted by the arrival of Tori. She rushed across the yard and pulled Eden in for a hug, before offering me air kisses. All I could think about was her admission of giving Josh a blow job, and how it had been all a lie.
“Sorry I’m late. My flight was delayed, and then the driver got lost. But I’m here now, and I’m so ready for tonight. Where’s that handsome fiancé of yours and his gorgeous brother?” Tori asked and started looking around the backyard for Josh and Ky. “There they are. If you’ll excuse me, I just have to go and speak to Josh about a text he sent me today.”
Tori rushed away, and I watched as she walked straight up to Josh and wrapped her arms around him. Immediately, his eyes flashed to mine and I looked away. I would ignore the feeling of my stomach sinking, and I would certainly not get lost of thoughts of why Josh was texting her. I turned my back to them and got lost in a mindless conversation with Ky and Eden. Colby soon joined us, and rested his arm around my shoulders. Tori and Josh were soon forgotten, as Colby told stories of life on the road and his latest run in with a groupie called Shannon, who had decided that she was destined to have his children.
“Looks like Tori has found her guy for the night.” Colby laughed beside me, and I inwardly groaned.
“Those two have history,” Eden declared. “She definitely has her claws into him, and won’t stop until she has him.”
I couldn’t stop myself from looking back to Josh and Tori. They were standing close to each other, though Josh had his hands jammed into his pockets. She rose on her tiptoes and dropped her mouth to his ear, and I could only imagine what she was saying to him. Josh, like he knew I was watching, looked over at me, and our eyes locked fiercely onto each other. I never had a problem with Tori before, but now I felt myself wanting to pull him away from her and tell her that I knew all about her fake admission of blowing him.
“I’m going to chat with Aunt Carole,” I muttered and removed myself from Colby’s embrace. Crossing the backyard, I felt myself being watched. I knew who it would be, but I ignored the pull of looking back at him for now.
The engagement party was in full swing. Drinks flowed, people danced, and everyone was celebrating Ky and Eden. The beginnings of a slight champagne buzz started hitting me as I sat by the pool with Aunt Carole. Her infectious laugh and stories soon made me forget all about Josh and Tori, and it was welcomed. I lost control when I was around him, and control was something I couldn’t lose again. To everyone else I was still in a relationship with Lachlan. No one other than Josh knew that we had broken up weeks ago, and certainly no one knew that I had lost control with Josh.
“Oh, would you look at that,” Aunt Carole gushed beside me as she looked at the dance floor. My ovaries made themselves known, and felt like they exploded within me at the sight before me. There was no way I could stop myself from watching Josh dance with his grandmother. The love that they shared for each other was radiating from them as they laughed after he slightly dipped her. I couldn’t take my eyes off him, and I watched in silence as they moved around the impromptu dance floor as if they were the only two people dancing. Josh’s eyes flashed to mine, and a smile tweaked on his lips. I watched with interest as he leaned down and whispered something into Grandma Crawford’s ear. Her face erupted into a full blown smile, and she looked straight to where I was standing. I watched as Josh gently linked his arm with his Gran before they crossed the yard and made their way to me. My nerves shot to life, and I couldn’t help but smile at the look of happiness spreading across her face. She was one of those elderly people that seemed to shrink as she aged. She was seriously the cutest grandma ever. She had curly white hair that almost looked purple, and she always wore her favorite brightly-colored eye shadow. She was a rocking grandma.
“I hope my boys have told you how gorgeous you look tonight, baby doll,” she said when she reached me. I leaned down and kissed both her cheeks, as warmth hit me at the sound of the nickname she had given me the very first day we met.
“And I hope they have told you how beautiful you look, Grandma Crawford. I love that dress. Very stylish and very hip.”
She beamed with pride and ran her hands over her dress, before focusing her attention squarely on Josh. “Joshua, why haven’t you snapped up this beautiful girl yet? I want to see you with a girl who is good enough for my grandson, and Ashlyn is the one. I don’t want to be too old to enjoy it, so hurry up,” she stated matter-of-factly with a stern look and a snap of her fingers.