“I’m so undeserving of him,” I moan to Casey.
“Oh, shut the fuck up,” she growls at me, never taking her eyes off the television. “You’ll get a new phone, and you’ll call and apologize to him.”
“I can’t afford a new phone,” I whine.
“I’ll buy you one,” she says before finishing the dregs of wine in her glass.
“It won’t matter,” I say despondently. “By the time I get one, he’ll have already found someone else. He’s too good of a man, you know? He won’t stay single for long.”
Gabby gives me a tremendously vicious eye roll but when her eyes come to rest, they aren’t on the movie but rather on me. “Casey… baby… I love you like I love Will Ferrell. But you are really starting to irritate the crap out of me. Where in the hell is the self-assured, take-no-prisoners woman that I grew up with?”
“She got whipped by love,” I tell her with a drunken smile. “My poor heart has been battered by love and I’m not sure it will ever recover. In fact, I’m pretty sure even my ovaries shriveled up and died tonight. I’m a loser.”
She mutters something… I think confirming my loser status, but then reaches over to the nightstand to open up another bottle of wine. Silently, she unscrews the cap—because that’s the way Gabby rolls—and fills her glass up again. She then tops mine off and puts the bottle back.
Reaching out, she clinks the lip of her glass against mine and then takes a sip. I, in turn, take a huge gulp and after I swallow, I lay my head on Gabby’s shoulder.
I’m drunk, I’m sad, and that’s a recipe for tears. They pool in my eyes and with the first blink, start sliding down my face. “I just want the same chance,” I say quietly and maybe a bit slurred.
“Same chance at what?” Gabby asks as she grabs the remote control and pauses the movie. She can tell I’m in a mood for some serious talk.
“Love,” I tell her tremulously. “I want what you and Hunter have. I want what Brody and Alyssa have. Gavin and Savannah, Wyatt and Andrea. I want what you all have, and I want it now. I want it with Tenn and no one else, and Gabby… I swear to God… if I lose him, I’ll never smile again.”
She pats my hand briefly then wraps her fingers around mine, giving them a reassuring squeeze. “Casey… trust me on this, please. You are going to have what all of us have. And I’m just optimistic enough for the both of us to know you’re going to have it with Tenn. Right now… you both are going through some tough times, but I know one thing… that man is crazy about you. He is not going to give you up, no matter what the fuck is going on back in Wyoming. No matter how big of a brat you were to him. I guarantee you that he is doing everything humanly possible to make his way back to you, and you know what? If he isn’t able to get out from underneath those obligations, he’s going to bring you to Wyoming. I don’t want to lose you, but I’ll gladly pack you up and send you off to him, because I know that this is what you are destined for. You and Tenn are meant for each other. You’re going to get married, have the most beautiful babies in the world, and you are going to become a full-fledged member in our Club of Love.”
“Club of Love?” I ask with a true smile on my face for the first time since I broke my phone. “Is that what it’s called?”
“Well, we haven’t officially voted on the charter name yet, but I think it sounds great,” she says with another squeeze to my hand. And then in a voice that sounds so confident, I actually feel a tiny kernel of hope start to take root, she says, “I swear to you Casey. You are going to get your happily ever after with Tenn. You deserve it more than anyone else I know.”
I push up off her shoulder and turn my despairing eyes her way. “You really believe that? That I deserve something that good?”
“You more than deserve it,” she says confidently and then levels a stern gaze my way. “Now drink your wine, get a bit more hammered, and start watching this movie with me. It’s our favorite.”
I grin at her as I swipe the back of my hand across my cheeks to dry them. “You’re my favorite, Gabby.”
“Aww,” she says with her eyes going soft and round. “You’re my favorite too.”
Chapter 28
Tenn
I can’t decide if I’m going to spank Casey first when I see her, or fuck her first. Maybe spank her while I fuck her and kill two birds with one stone.
But truth be told, I feel so terrible that she’s clearly hurting and confused, I’m probably just going to hug the shit out of her until she forgives me for being so distant the past few days. I was a dumbass for even thinking a text would suffice after we hadn’t talked in three days.
My shame turned into panic when Casey wouldn’t respond to my “brat” statement. Then I called her and got her voice mail. Four calls and four messages later without a peep from her, and I went apeshit.
Despite Woolf pitching a fit, I booked the next flight out of Jackson.
“We got shit to iron out,” Woolf yelled at me as I packed a small bag.
“I’ll be back in two days,” I assured him. “Our shit won’t be any more wrinkled in that time frame.”
Jackson to Detroit, Detroit to Raleigh, and the longest fucking three-hour drive of my life from Raleigh to Nags Head.
I stopped at The Last Call, because I came upon it first. Although I didn’t see Casey’s Jeep, I still went inside and thank fuck… Hunter was there. It only took one look at my face and about twenty seconds, and he had me filled in on what was now called the infamous Casey Shattered Phone incident.
He assured me that she was at her house, having gotten gloriously drunk with Gabby last night, and was refusing to come in to work today because and he quoted, “I don’t fucking feel like working with a broken heart.”
I couldn’t help the grin I leveled at Hunter before I sprinted out of the bar and jumped back in my rental to make the short drive to Casey’s house.
It’s fully dark by the time I get there and I’m on the brink of absolute exhaustion, but something about the warm lights winking from her living room windows invigorates me.
Because this is truly my home.
Because Casey is inside.
I leave my bag in the car, almost too tired to carry it, but grab the envelope that I stuffed down into the outer pocket before I left. I put it my back jeans pocket, eager to show it to Casey.
Despite my fatigue, I end up trotting the staircase and bang firmly on her door as soon as I hit the top. Her soft footsteps pad closer and then the door opens.
And my heart leaps in absolute recognition of its other half.
Her eyes go wide when she sees me but that’s all I see because then I have her in my arms, pulling her against me tightly. “I’m going to spank you, then fuck you, but I’m going to kiss you hello first,” I say to her just before slamming my mouth on hers.
I expect a fight.
I expect angry and jilted Casey.
Instead, she throws her arms around my neck, and she’s the one that proceeds to kiss the fuck out of me. She kisses me so damn good my knees almost buckle, so I lock them hard and, just for good measure, drop my hands to grip hard onto her ass.
She gives me a tiny taste of tongue, but then it’s gone all too fast as she pulls back. “I’m so sorry,” she blurts out, and then she starts to ramble. “I was pissed. But then I threw my phone, and your number… I didn’t know what it was, so it turned into a night of wine and Will Ferrell, and I felt even shittier today, and…”
She stops… seems to be at a loss of words. Her gaze drifts away from me, and she nibbles on her lower lip.
“Casey?” I say softly to get those beautiful eyes back on me.
They slide back and they look a bit clearer… more confident. She smiles and says, “I’m just really glad you’re here.”
“Me too, Goldie,” I assure her. “And I’m sorry I was such a lousy communicator. I should have never ignored you for three days. I don’t have any excuse other than to tell you things started happening really fast and my head was just fucking spinning with it all.”