Unexpected Trouble by Lauren Wood

1

Jude

The crisp night air was filled with the sounds of laughter, clinking glasses, and ocean waves. A beach wedding at sunset with perfect weather. What could be any more romantic?

A Gentlemen’s Club. Now that sounded way more appealing to me, and I wondered if anyone would notice if I snuck away to find such a thing. Did they even have strip clubs in Bronze Bay? Probably not, but I knew of one off the highway about halfway back to the city.

Sure, I was the best man. But the ceremony was over and the cake had been cut. No one would miss me.

I flashed a look over both shoulders to see if anyone else was leaving, giving me an excuse to call it an early night. I was pretty sure it was only looked down upon for the best man to leave early if he was the first one to leave. But if others were filing out, I was golden.

As I scanned the crowd carefully, watching for signs of people saying their goodbyes or gathering their things, I caught Noah—the groom himself—staring right at me.

He flashed me a pitying look then whispered something in his beautiful bride’s ear. Then she turned to study me, looking concerned.

I rolled my eyes back to the view of the crashing waves, stewing in my poor timing and bad luck. There was no way I could leave now.

I cringed to think what they might be saying about me. Poor Jude … He didn’t have a date tonight. Do you think he’s lonely? Is there anyone we can set him up with?

The thing was … I did technically have a date for that night, but I didn’t want to bring her. Girlfriend wasn’t exactly the term I would use for Natalia, but she certainly didn’t know that. Not because I hadn’t tried to tell her, but because she refused to hear it.

She was … good enough, for now. It was only supposed to be a fling, but I quickly realized I had picked the wrong kind of woman for that. She was high maintenance, stubborn, pushy, clingy, demanding … and just about every other word you could think of for a fling gone wrong. I really had tried to tell her things weren’t serious between us and never would be, but … the truth was, I never pushed it because she kind of terrified me.

So, every night as I found her curled up next to me in bed (staying over yet again without a real invitation) I thought to myself … Oh well. Better than nothing. She’s good enough, for now.

Except lately, more often than not, nothing was actually sounding a hell of a lot more appealing. It sounded about as good as that strip club, which I thought maybe I stood a better chance at sneaking off to with no sight of Noah or Macy standing around, gawking at me.

I looked around the wedding party again, more subtle this time. Bingo. I spotted not just one, but two couples bidding farewell on their way to the path leading up to the parking lot. I was just one swift escape away from being free.

“Jude!” Noah’s voice caught me suddenly.

I winced and turned slowly, making sure to force a happy smile before our eyes met. “Noah … the lucky groom.”

“There’s someone I want you to meet,” he nodded, stepping aside to reveal a woman standing by his side. “This is Macy’s maid of honor, Roxy.”

Roxy was petite compared to me, with the top of her head barely reaching my shoulders. She was packing some serious curves in her short stature though, which were accentuated by the tight glittering rose gold dress that clung to her cleavage and hips. Her deep ruby red curls were waving like a flag in the wind, but as she attempted to wrangle and tuck them behind her ear—I caught sight of two glaring bright green eyes staring back at me.

“Nice to meet you,” I offered, reaching out to shake her hand.

She slipped her long slender fingers into my palm and smiled cordially. “Likewise.” The way she said it made it clear that this was about as nice for her as it was for me … which was not at all.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Noah blurted. “How cliche, right? To try and set up the maid of honor and the best man just because you’re both here alone. But I promise that’s not my intention. You see, Roxy and I need a favor from you. I need a favor from you.”

I groaned under my breath. “I can’t refuse you a favor on your wedding night. You name it, you got it.”

“It seems my little brother is … well, rather taken with Roxy here,” he explained, looking over to Brantley in the distance—who was standing with two drinks in hand, anxiously searching for someone. I could only assume it was Roxy he was looking for.

“He’s obsessed,” Roxy corrected with disdain in her voice.

“As much as Macy and I would love to keep him at bay … ” Noah said slowly. His eyes met mine, and I knew exactly what he was getting at.

“Right, say no more,” I smirked, glancing up to Macy who was doing her best to feign interest in whatever conversation she was cornered into. Her eyes glinted impatiently over to her new husband every few seconds, and I knew they were eager to get away from the crowd to be alone finally.

“Roxy, you’re safe with me,” I winked.

She didn’t look the least bit impressed, or grateful. Noah thanked us and rushed off toward Macy, taking her by the arm to lead her off into the darkness further down the beach—far away from the prying eyes of their wedding guests.

The moment he was gone, Roxy turned to me with a bored expression. “Actually, would you mind walking me to my car? Maybe Brantley will think we’re leaving together and he’ll finally take the hint.”

“Of course, but … are you good to drive?” I eyed the empty glass of wine in her hand.

“No, but I can hide in my car until he’s gone,” she suggested.

I laughed under my breath, already hating myself for what I was about to offer. “I have a better idea. Where are you staying? I’ll drive you. You’ll have a sober getaway, and I’ll have my own excuse to leave … which I’ve been in search of for over an hour now.”

“At a hotel in the city,” she replied.

“Perfect. I’m headed there myself.” I held out my arm to escort her, but she charged past and walked ahead of me the whole way to the parking lot.

Truth be told, I was kind of excited to be sequestered alone in a car with her for the drive back into town. Not just because she was hot, but because she obviously had a catty attitude with plenty of sass and bite. There was nothing that turned me on more than a salty woman who could keep up with a steady stream of flirtatious banter. Maybe it was that guilty pleasure that kept landing me with psychos like Natalia, but with every new woman I met like that … I could convince myself that they would be different from the last one, and all the ones before that.

But no sooner than I had backed the car up and pulled out onto the highway, I turned to see that Roxy was already completely passed out. Her forehead was pressed flat against the passenger window and a subtle snoring sound poured from her nostrils and open mouth.

I grinned and shook my head. So much for a little harmless flirting to keep me entertained on the road.

As we got into town, I shook her awake to get the name of her hotel. She murmured it and fell right back asleep. When I pulled up in front of the lobby of where she was staying, she looked startled by the bright lights as I nudged her back to life one more time.

“Your hotel,” I reminded her.

Confusion briefly washed over her face, her eyes meeting mine with concern. But her expression melted with relief as she seemed to remember who I was.

“Oh, right. The best man,” she murmured, pulling her purse up from the floorboard. “Thanks for the ride.”

“Don’t mention it,” I offered, but the car door was already slamming shut—cutting me off.

I let out a heavy sigh and set off on the last leg of my journey home. I couldn’t wait to get out of that damn suit and climb into bed to pass out, but when I got home … I was quickly confronted with something else the night had in store for me.

“Where the hell have you been!?” Natalia barked, meeting me at my car door with her arms crossed and her eyes flaming.

“With friends,” I shot back.

“In a suit?” she raised a brow.

“Oh, yeah … I guess I forgot to mention it to you. It was my buddy Noah’s wedding,” I grumbled with a yawn, rubbing my hand along the back of my head.

“Noah? As in your best friend, Noah?” Her foot started tapping wildly on the pavement. She grew even angrier (though that seemed impossible) when she noticed the boutonniere pinned to my jacket pocket. “You were in the wedding, weren’t you!? We’ve been together for nearly six months, and you don’t even invite me to be your date to your best friend’s wedding where you’re the best man!?”

“Sleeping together for six months,” I defended. “I thought you’d be bored.”

“That’s it!” she shrieked, throwing her hands into the air. “All this time and I’ve never met a single friend of yours! Not once! I told you how that made me feel!”

“And I recall telling you I wouldn’t introduce you to my friends unless we were in a serious relationship,” I argued as I raced behind her, back into the house. She flew inside with a rage, storming to the closet where she furiously started ripping clothes off of hangers and cramming them into a suitcase.

Except they were my clothes, being stuffed into my suitcase.

“Natalia,” I said quietly at first, clearing my throat. I was a little afraid to mention it with the state she was in, but … “You do realize you’re in my house, right? If you want to end things right here, that’s fine. But you’ll have to be the one to go.”

She threw the clothes into the floor then looked up at me like a madwoman. Her blonde curls were falling loose from their updo in every direction, and if looks could kill … she had the trigger pulled and pointed right at me. Thank goodness she didn’t actually own a gun … at least, I hoped she didn’t.

“When I walk out that door, I’m never coming back,” she fumed, wagging her pointed finger inches from my face.

“That’s … probably for the best.”

She let out a primal, high-pitched growl, and for a moment, I thought she was going to slap me across the face. But thankfully, she went charging for the front door, ranting as she went, “You’re going to regret this. No one treats me this way. Especially not you. You’re going to realize what a huge mistake you’ve made. Just you wait and see.”

I stammered to find any decent parting words I could, at least just to calm her down a little before sicking her onto the rest of the world and her next unsuspecting male victim. But just as Roxy had severed me mid-sentence with the car door, the door to my house flew shut in my face—sending several framed photos crashing to the floor.

I pressed my back against the closed door, reeling with adrenaline—but also relieved. Dragging my hands down my face in exhaustion, I sank down to the floor.

I didn’t want to be alone, but I couldn’t keep messing around with unstable pistols like Natalia. I wasn’t necessarily looking for the one, but I couldn’t keep playing the field either.

I reminded myself yet again that being a life-long bachelor was the safest bet.

Continue reading the FULL version of “Midlife Daddy and Virgin Secret” - CLICK HERE!

Read FREE with Kindle Unlimited!