Always A Bridesmaid: A Whiskey Ridge Romance Read online

  “You okay?” Tucker finally asked softly. Maybe he was just trying to comfort her from the wasp sighting. Still, it was a bit of overkill to hold her so close and kiss her head because of a wasp.

  What was she to say? “Yes, I’m fine but please keep holding me close because I like it. Oh, and your butt looks awesome in those jeans.”

  Instead, she just said, “I’m okay.”

  And then she felt a cool breeze between them as Tucker pulled away slightly. His arms were still on her shoulders, though, as he looked down at her.

  She hadn’t seen this look in his eyes before, the one that came just before two people kissed. Time stood still as he tilted her chin up to look at him. Why was she so nervous?

  “I really, really want to kiss you right now,” he said softly. “But I don’t think I can.”

  “Okay…” she said, not knowing what she really wanted to say other than “Yes, please kiss me and put me out of my misery”.

  “Do you want me to kiss you, Sam?” Oh crap, he actually asked. Now what?

  “I, um…”

  “Excuse me, sir?” a man called from the other side of the lot. He was on some kind of tractor. Tucker sighed and dropped his hands to his sides.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he mumbled as he looked over at the man. “How can I help you?” Tucker called back. The man waved him over. “I’ll be right back, okay?”

  Samantha nodded and watched him walk away. What had just happened? She was so confused on what he felt, but even more so on what she felt.

  This was stupid. She was going home in a few weeks. She was only housesitting. They were two totally different people, weren’t they? He liked rivers and creeks. She liked the blue waters of Greece. The only problem was she was sort of liking the rivers and creeks around Whiskey Ridge too. And no matter how many times she internally recited all of the reasons they couldn’t be together, the reasons never seemed valid enough.

  What was happening to her?

  “Sorry about that,” Tucker said as he made his way through the thick brush. “Turns out he was here to start clearing the land.”

  “Isn’t it earlier than you expected?”

  “Yeah, who knew contractors could actually do things early?” he said with a nervous laugh. “So I guess we’d better head back to the canoe before we get dirt thrown on us.”

  “Wouldn’t be the first time for me,” Samantha said with a giggle as they walked.

  “What?”

  “Yeah, I had this very contentious case once over a piece of property. It was three brothers all fighting for a freaking acre of land. An acre! Ridiculous. But one of them got combative, and I ended up with lovely Georgia red clay all over my favorite white pantsuit.”

  Tucker helped her into the canoe before untying it and climbing inside. “So what did you do then?”

  Samantha smiled slyly. “I may have poured some water on some of the dirt and returned it as mud.”

  “You did not!”

  “I’m not proud of it… Well, I am a little proud of it!”

  “You’re amazing,”Tucker said as he rowed them out into the open water again.

  “What?”

  “I said you’re amazing, Sam.”

  “I’m really not.”

  “Yes, you are. You have this big career where you help people get justice. That’s pretty cool if you ask me.”

  She leaned over the side of the boat and looked into the water. “Is this water clean?”

  “What?”

  “Like, if I jumped into it, would I die of a parasite?”

  Tucker laughed out loud. “No, you wouldn’t die. Mountain water is clean, at least around here…”

  Before Tucker could finish his sentence, and without thinking it through, Samantha rolled over the side of the canoe and into the water. It was cold, something she wasn’t expecting. And it was deeper than she thought, coming up to her mid chest.

  “Are you crazy?” Tucker asked as he struggled to catch his breath from laughing so hard.

  “I think so! It’s so freaking cold!”

  “I could have told you that!”

  “Are you too scared to join me?” she taunted.

  “I’m not scared. I’m just not nuts!”

  “Oh come on, Doctor Ellison. Don’t be such a stick in the mud!”

  “Stick in the mud, huh?” He pulled off his outer shirt, revealing just a white t-shirt underneath, and tossed it aside before sliding into the water next to her, jeans and all.

  Samantha had never felt so free. Floating in the middle of a random little creek in the mountains of north Georgia had made her feel alive and spontaneous again.

  “Man, this is cold!” Tucker said.

  “Yeah, I didn’t think it would be so cold this time of the year.” It was the tail end of summer and not quite fall, but the water felt like it was the middle of winter.

  “Mountain water is pretty much always cold,” he said with a smile. “You look so different.”

  “Different how? You mean because I’m wet?”

  He smiled. “No, because you’re happy. Like, I think I see joy on your face right now.” He reached out and touched her cheek.

  “And? How does it look?”

  “Irresistible,” he said, pulling her forward to meet him. His lips met hers, soft at first, and then more forceful, but in a good way. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, their kisses growing more passionate with each passing second. She’d never been kissed like this, and she never wanted it to end.

  But then she saw the canoe floating away and thought that might be an important detail to mention.

  “Tucker…” she said breathlessly.

  “What?”

  “It’s getting away…” she said between his lips pressing into hers over and over again.

  “You mean this situation is getting away from us?” he asked.

  “No! The canoe is getting away from us, silly!”

  Tucker turned to see their only source of transportation floating down the stream. “Oh, crap! Wait here!”

  He swam quickly over and grabbed the rope, trying in vain to pull it back toward Sam. The current was weak, but still too strong to do that so Sam swam to him.

  He tied it to another tree that had lowhanging limbs. “Want to climb up?”

  “Sure,” she said, wondering if her ribs were going to allow it. Surprisingly she was able to climb up with the help of Tucker’s hand on her rear end, a feeling she didn’t mind at all.

  They sat on the thick limb for a few moments, each of them catching their breath from the swim.

  “Sorry about that,” Tucker finally said.

  “It’s okay. It was just a momentary lapse of judgment on both of our parts. I mean, I’m leaving in a few weeks. And let’s face it, we aren’t exactly a match made in heaven, are we?”

  Tucker’s expression fell flat. He chuckled half heartedly. “I was referring to the fact that I let the canoe float away.”

  Sam’s stomach lurched into her chest. Why had she just said those things? She didn’t even know if she meant them, and now he looked completely confused and maybe even a little sad. She was her own worst enemy sometimes. How was it that she was so good at fighting in court and so terribly bad at the emotional stuff that came along with just being human?

  “I guess I stuck my foot in my mouth,” she said softly. “Look, Tucker, I…”

  “No,” he said, holding up his hand. “It’s okay, Sam. You’ve made yourself perfectly clear the whole time you’ve been here. I shouldn’t have assumed…”

  “But, I…”

  “Please. This is embarrassing enough. Can we just not talk about it anymore?” His face was actually turning a little red, which was cute but also made her sad.

  “Okay.”

  “Maybe we should head back?” He wasn’t looking at her now.

  “Okay,” she said again. Words were failing her right now. As verbose as she was in her law career, fi
nding the right words when it came to Tucker was proving to be a lot more difficult. All she knew right now was she felt a deep loss in the center of her soul, and she wasn’t sure how to repair it.

  They quietly climbed back into the canoe and made their way toward the cabin without another word spoken. Never had silence been so loud.

  Chapter 11

  Tucker sat at his desk reviewing patient files, but his mind just wasn’t in it today. He hadn’t seen Sam in three days after the embarrassing incident in the river. Why had he thought he could kiss her? He blamed himself. He’d cornered her, made her feel like she had to do something she obviously hadn’t wanted to do. He felt horrible.

  But she had wrapped her legs around his waist, and that was something, wasn’t it? Maybe she was having a hard time staying afloat in the water, he decided, although he didn’t really believe it.

  He’d texted her once a day just to make sure she was okay with her head and ribs. And he had to admit a small part of him just wanted to know if she’d respond, which she always did.

  But now he didn’t know where to go with their friendship. Should he invite her to dinner? Steer clear until her sister came back? After all, he’d done his duty making sure she was okay. He wasn’t responsible for her. She was an adult.

  “Doctor Ellison? Your three o’clock is here.”

  “I’ll be there in a second,” he said a little too snippily. The vet tech looked stunned. “Sorry. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

  “Okay…” she said softly as she closed his office door. What was this woman doing to him? It was ridiculous. He wasn’t a kid anymore. He couldn’t let his business suffer over some woman who was going home soon.

  In that moment, Tucker made the decision to just stay clear of Samantha Ryan. It was the best choice for both of them. He was officially breaking up with his fake fiancee and moving on with his life.

  Samantha stood in front of the coffee shop, trying to decide if she should go in. She’d done her best to avoid Monica, but that was mainly because she was stuck at home recovering from her fall. Now that she felt back to normal for the most part, she had to get out of the cabin for awhile.

  Tucker had texted her once a day, mainly just checking that she was okay and didn’t need anything. But she was sad that they weren’t really talking. She missed that already, which was shocking to her in a way.

  Still, maybe it was better that they got used to being apart. She was going home in a few weeks, and she’d need a little distance to get over that kiss. She hadn’t stopped thinking about it yet.

  She sat down at one of the bistro tables outside of the coffee shop and took a deep breath of the mountain air. It was so crisp in Whiskey Ridge. She had never really understood what “crisp” meant until she’d come here, and that was the only good way to describe it. It felt clean and new everyday, unlike the “interesting” smells of the big city.

  “Can I help you, hon?” the server asked. She hadn’t even realized the servers came outside to take orders.

  “Oh. Sure. I’ll take a latte, extra sugar, please.”

  “Be right back.”

  Samantha looked down at her phone, supposedly checking it for work related messages, but actually hoping that Tucker had texted her. Maybe to invite her to lunch? Maybe offering another kiss?

  She was an idiot. Why was she pining for this guy? It had to be the mountain air affecting her senses. She was no longer the cutthroat attorney that everyone feared. In Whiskey Ridge, she was a woman who just wanted to be with a man who liked her. She wanted to snuggle her head against his chest and take in the smell of him. She was weak.

  To Samantha, showing emotions had always been hard. It made her feel way too vulnerable, and Tucker had done just that. Made her mad, at times. Made her feel protected at other times. It was all so confusing.

  It was one of the ways that she and her sister were so different. Katie was all about feelings and showing them to everyone she met. She was a hugger, a cheek kisser and the first one to offer a big, cheesy grin in just about any situation. Samantha was far more reserved, shielding her heart more and more every time a relationship failed.

  “Well, well, well. Look who I found this morning.” Oh no. She looked up to see Clark standing there, coffee in hand. He’d been inside the coffee shop the whole time.

  “Clark. What are you still doing here?”

  “I guess I forgot to tell you. I’m staying in Whiskey Ridge for the foreseeable future.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Well, for one thing, I have a wedding to plan. Much like you, right?” The look on his face was snide, as if he didn’t believe her story of being engaged to Tucker. She hated when people thought they had something on her. It brought out that cutthroat side again. Maybe she should just ‘fess up and admit she wasn’t engaged. No, she couldn’t do that. She’d rather step in front of a speeding bus before admitting to her big fat lie.

  “Right. Deep in wedding planning over here too.”

  Clark looked around. “So where is your fiancé anyway?”

  Sam smiled. “At work. And where is your beloved?”

  “Teaching an afternoon yoga class.”

  “Oh right. Yoga,” Samantha said, rolling her eyes. She wasn’t sure why she rolled her eyes. She liked yoga and took a class in Atlanta three times a week. She just didn’t like this particular yoga teacher.

  “So, have you decided when the big day is?” Clark asked as he sat down in the other chair.

  Samantha leaned across the table. “Clark, you seem a little preoccupied with my private affairs. Is there a reason for that?”

  He chuckled under his breath. “Come on, Sam. I know you too well. When are you just going to come clean?”

  “Come clean about what?” The server returned with her latte, thankfully in a takeout cup. Sam quickly handed her some cash and stood up. Unfortunately, Clark followed her.

  “You know what I mean, Sam. I’m really trying not to embarrass you.”

  She stopped at the end of the sidewalk and turned around. “Embarrass me? Clark, you’re embarrassing yourself. Why are you following me?”

  He shook his head. “We both know you aren’t engaged, Sam. You and that Tucker guy must have worked out some deal…”

  “What makes you think I’d do a thing like that? Do I seem like a desperate woman to you?”

  “To be honest, yes.”

  Samantha was fuming mad. She could feel the anger rising within her, and she clenched her fist at her side, careful not to clinch the other one and end up with burns all over her hand from the hot coffee.

  “If I didn’t care about getting a felony on my record, I’d clock you right now!”

  Clark held his hands up and stepped back. “Calm down.”

  “Don’t you tell me to calm down, Clark. You just accused me of pretending to have a fiancé. And for what? To impress you?”

  “Maybe. I mean, I could tell you were surprised to see me here. I think you just made all of this up to get back at me. Or to save face? It’s really beneath you, Sam.”

  “No, Clark. You’re beneath me. Under my heel. So far in the past that you’re barely a blip on the history of my life.”

  “Yikes. You seem really upset about this. But what I don’t hear are words about how much you love this Tucker guy. Why is that? Could it be because you don’t love him?”

  She took in a deep breath. “Maybe it’s because I don’t care to share my innermost thoughts and feelings with a guy who seems intent on being a royal jerk face. But, just to humor you I will say that I adore Tucker. He’s the best man I’ve ever met. He’s protective, and he feels safe. I want to be with him because no one else could ever compare. Oh, and he’s the best kisser I’ve ever dated. Sorry, but you don’t even rank in the top three. Good luck to Monica. It was like kissing a lizard…” she mumbled, her words trailing off.

  Clark pursed his lips and sucked a breath through his nose, his nostrils flaring like two butterfly wings.
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  “I’d hoped you would just come clean…”

  “Oh, hey, sweetie. There you are…” Sam turned to see Tucker walking out from behind a building next to where they’d been talking. Oh, no. How much had he heard?

  “Tucker,” Clark said simply.

  “Craig,” Tucker said back.

  “It’s Clark, actually.”

  “Oh, sorry,” Tucker said, looking at Sam. She could tell he was trying not to laugh. “I missed you this morning,” he said before pulling her into a passionate kiss. This one was far beyond what happened at the river, and Sam literally felt weak in the knees as he carefully leaned her back.

  “Really? Is this necessary?” Clark finally said. Tucker stood Sam up and grinned.

  “Well, when you’re in love, you just can’t help it sometimes, right?”

  Clark rolled his eyes. “I have a conference call.”

  “See ya, Craig!” Tucker called after Clark as he walked away.

  Tucker pulled Sam behind the building before they both broke out in hysterics.

  “Oh my gosh, the look on his face…” Sam said, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Thank you! I was within seconds of decking him.”

  “Yeah, he’s a piece of work. I heard the whole thing.”

  Sam took in a breath. “The whole thing?”

  “You’re quite the actress. Do you do community theater?”

  “Very funny.”

  “I almost believed it.”

  “Which part?”

  Tucker leaned against the brick wall. “The part where you said you adored me and I make you feel safe and protected.”

  Samantha smiled. “All of that was true, Tucker.”

  “What?”

  “Look, if I lived here and things were different…”

  He smiled sadly. “I get it. And you’re right. But I’ve missed hanging out with you these last few days, so can we at least do that? I don’t have a lot of friends here yet, and for some reason you don’t irritate me like you used to.”

  “Back at ya,” Sam said with a laugh.

  “And since it looks like Clark is here to stay for awhile, you still need a fake fiancé, right?”

  “Right…”