Broken Pieces (Cape Isle, #3): A Cape Isle Novel (2 page)

“Why what?” he asks, mirroring my movements with a smirk on his face.

I roll my eyes again and shake my head. “Why are you not sure you will ever get married?”

He stares at me and his eyes get a weird look in them. He opens his mouth to respond right as Grant and Summer walk up to us.

“Hey, buddy,” Grant says, giving Zack a couple of slaps on the back.

Zack snaps his mouth closed and gives me a look that I can't understand, before turning to Grant.

“Beautiful wedding, man.”

“Summer takes all of the credit for that.”

“Umm… Lexie too,” I murmur, but Zack is the only one that hears me. He gives me a wink and goes back to talking to Grant. I turn to look at Summer and smile. “God, you're just so damn pretty in a wedding dress. I think you should wear it everyday.”

She laughs and her eyes sparkle. It’s amazing to see her so damn happy. Summer and Grant went through so much crap to get to where they are now, and I could not be happier for them. I pull her into a hug and squeeze her to me.

“What was that for?” she asks, patting my back.

“Because I can,” I wink.

She looks at Zack over my shoulder and smiles. “How much has she had to drink?”

They all laugh while I roll my eyes. Jesus! I'm going to get a fucking headache I've rolled my eyes so much in the past 30 minutes.

“She's fine. I think she's just happy,” Zack responds with a soft smile in my direction.

“Where did Katie go?” Summer glances around the room.

“Nick just sent me a text,” Grant responds holding out his phone. I pull my own phone out of my purse and see that he sent me one too saying that he is sorry for making a scene and that he and Katie wouldn't be back tonight, and I begin typing out a reply.

To Nick: About damn time.

I drop my phone back into my purse and return my focus to the group.

“Okay, we need to go mingle,” Summer says as Grant takes her hand and leads her away.

“Mingle my ass,” I mumble. “They will be gone in twenty minutes.”

Zack laughs and nods his head. “Well, I'm dateless again. Want to dance, Lex?”

I smile and take his hand as he leads me out onto the dance floor. “I was always the one you came to when we were in high school and college to fill in for your dates,” I say wrapping my arm around his shoulder.

One of his hands rests on my lower back and he pulls me closer. Zack and I have always had a touchy feely friendship. I've always felt at ease around him, so giving him hugs or dancing with him has always been a natural thing. It used to drive my boyfriends insane, but if they thought I would choose them over Zack, they were sadly mistaken. He was and still is one of the most important people in my life.

“Fill in for my dates?” he asks.

“You know, whenever you would dump the poor girls or they would dump you. I was always the fill in,” I clarify.

He looks down at me and we sway to the music in silence for a second before he shakes his head. “No, Angel, you were always my only date,” he says quietly.

“Such a smooth talker,” I tease.

He looks like he wants to say more, but instead he just smirks and shakes his head.

“What does your week look like?” he asks.

“Just work. Summer and Grant are leaving in the morning. So without her at the bakery, I'm sure we will be extra busy. What about you?”

“I start at the fire academy this week,” he replies with a smile.

I stop moving and stare up at him. “What? They hired you already? Why didn't you tell me?” I ask.

“I didn't think it was that big of a deal and you've been busy with Summer's wedding.”

“It is a big deal. Oh my God, I'm so happy for you,” I say throwing my arms around his neck and hugging him. His arms come around my back and he picks me up off of the ground and hugs me close to him. I bury my face in his neck and take in his smell. I've always loved the way he smells. Is that weird? Probably so, but he has always felt like home to me.

“Thank you, Angel,” he whispers.

I pull back and look at his face. “I bet your mom is so excited.”

He sets me back down on my feet and we start to sway to the music again.

“Yeah, she's happy for me, but she's a little nervous I think.”

“Well, I can understand that. So am I. You will be safe though right?” I ask. I haven't completely thought this through until now. He told me he was applying for the job a few months ago, but I didn't think about him having to run into burning buildings until right now.

“I promise I will be safe,” he responds, studying my face. I give him a nod and lay my head against his chest.

“I'm so tired. When do you think I can go home?” I mumble.

“You can go home now, Lexie. You don't have to stay.”

“I'm going to stay until Grant and Summer leave.”

He nods his head and pull me closer.

“Want me to drive you home?”

I pick my head up and look at him. “Can you just stay with me and that way you can drop me by here in the morning?”

His jaw gets tight, but he nods his head. “Yep. That's fine.”

I tilt my head to the side and study his face. “Are you sure? You're acting weird.”

He rolls his eyes and shakes his head. “Yes, I'm sure. I know you love sleepovers,” he laughs.

I just like him staying at my house. I feel safe with him there, but I'm not going to tell him that. He would wonder why I don't feel safe and I don't want to deal with him freaking out over nothing.

“Come on, the party is dying down. Let's get another drink and mingle. We can go home soon,” he says taking my hand and leading me off of the dance floor.

Chapter Two

Zack

I
LEAD
L
EXIE TO THE
bar and order us both another drink. I'm going to need the extra alcohol if I'm sleeping in Lexie's bed tonight. I don't stay over at her house much anymore, but it happens often enough that I know I won't be on the couch. Sleeping next to her warm body and knowing that I can't act on my feelings is a special kind of torture.

I have been in love with Lexie Sinclaire since I was ten years old. I've tried to date several times, but none of the others came close to her, and yet she has never noticed. Maybe it's my fault for never telling her how I feel, but I'm scared to death that she will pull away. I would rather keep her as my best friend than risk finding out that she doesn't feel the same way.

I've watched her date guys who I knew weren't good enough for her, but I’ve always kept my mouth shut: I don't want to tell her how to live her life, but I know we could be incredible together and I don't know how much longer I can keep my feelings a secret.

The truth is, I'm a twenty-eight-year-old virgin.

I know what you're thinking, but hear me out. I've kissed girls and I've done other things, but I've never gone all the way with a woman. I am reserving all of that for Lexie; I am not going to hand it over to another woman. She is it for me, and I've known that since I was just a kid.

I haven't dated much in recent years and Katie is actually the only woman I've spent time with in a long time. I think part of me knew she was emotionally unavailable so there was no danger of it going very far. I know I need to act on my feeling towards Lexie, but I'm just not sure how to do that after all of this time. I almost told her when she asked me about getting married, but I'm glad I didn't. I think that conversation needs to be had in private.

“What in the hell are you thinking about?” Lexie asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I smile and shake my head. “Nothing.”

“Oh, bullshit.”

I laugh and take a sip of my beer. I see Grant and Summer saying their goodbyes as everyone starts making their way to the front of the house.

“Do you need to stay for clean-up?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “No. We are going to do that tomorrow. Want to help?”

“Sure. I can stay when I drop you off in the morning.”

“Come on. Let’s go say our goodbyes.” She sets her wine glass down and takes my hand.

I've always loved how comfortable she is with me. Maybe it's because of how long we've been friends, I don't know, but I've seen the looks her boyfriends in the past have given me and I didn't care one bit. Lexie is mine, whether she knows it or not. I just need to grow some balls and tell her how I feel, and that's easier said than done.

After saying goodbye to Summer and Grant, I lead Lexie around to my truck and help her inside.

“What time do we need to be back in the morning?” I ask, as I crank the truck up and pull out of the driveway.

“Not until around 11:00 am. Summer hired a few people to come help, but since her and Grant are leaving early, I've got to come let everyone inside.”

I nod my head and look over at her. She has her head laid back against the seat and is looking in my direction.

“What's wrong?” I ask, looking back at the road.

“Nothing. I'm just tired,” she responds, quietly.

I catch something in her tone, but don't question her about it.

It's not long before I'm pulling into her driveway. We both get out and make our way up her front steps and into the house.

“Do you want anything to drink?” she asks.

“I'll grab us some water and meet you in your room.” I say, walking towards her kitchen.

She nods her head and disappears down the hallway. I sigh and run my hands through my hair. I give her enough time to change, before making my way to her bedroom.

I look around and smile to myself as I set her glass on the bedside table. It's been a while since I've been in here, but nothing ever changes. Lexie is a girly girl and always has been. Her sheets are pink with flowers on them. She has about hundred pillows on her bed, most of which she doesn't even use. There’s a vanity in the corner, with makeup covering every inch of it. I like to think of her bedroom as controlled chaos. There is shit everywhere, but she obviously knows where everything is.

I pull my shirt over my head, right as Lexie comes out of the bathroom. Like usual, she is wearing an over-sized t-shirt and panties. I look closer at the shirt and laugh.

“Is that mine?”

She smiles as she pulls a few pillows off of the bed and tosses them onto the bench at the end.

“Yep. You left it at my house one time when you came to visit when I was still living in Virginia. I wear it to bed most of the time.”

I snort and shake my head. “I bet Jared loved that.”

She stills for second at the mention of her ex-boyfriend. It wouldn't have been noticeable if I hadn’t been looking directly at her, but I am.

“What was that?” I ask, watching as she climbs into bed and lays on her side facing me.

“Nothing,” she mumbles.

“It was something,” I respond. I kick my shoes off and start unbuckling my belt, but continue to watch her closely.

“Is it weird that we sleep together?” she asks.

I finish taking my pants off and crawl into the bed. I lay on my side and study her face.

“Do you think it's weird?” I ask, carefully.

Hell yeah, it’s weird. We are two grown adults who have sleepovers. We don't sleep in the same bed when we are dating someone, out of respect for the other people, but I'm in love with her and she has no fucking clue. So yeah, I would say that our odd relationship is pretty fucking weird, but I'm not telling her that.

She shrugs her shoulders and scoots closer to me. “I don't know. We've been doing it since we were kids. Jared knew that you and I had slept in the same bed a lot and he hated it.”

“Really?” I ask. I honestly didn't know she had told her ex about that, but I did know that the guy hated me because the feeling was mutual.

She nods her head. “Yeah, he always accused me of cheating on him with you.”

I roll my eyes. No matter how strange our friendship is, Lexie is not a cheater and never will be.

“Is that why you guys broke up?”

Lexie's never told me why she moved back home. I'm thrilled that she's back again, but it bothers me that she would never tell me why.

She shrugs her shoulders and scoots over a little more until she is tucked against my chest and her leg is thrown over mine. My arm immediately comes around her waist, as I pull her closer against me.

“I don't want to talk about it right now,” she mumbles.

I sigh and give her tiny waist a squeeze. “Okay, Angel, but soon I want to hear about what happened,” I respond, quietly.

She nods her head in response, before burying her face in my neck.

Fuck.

I shift my hips away from her, so she won't feel my growing hard-on. There is no way I'm going to get to sleep like this. She wraps one arm around my waist and tries to pull me closer, but I won't budge.

“Why did you move away,” she says, quietly.

I clear my throat and shake my head. Nope, not going there with her. This certainly isn't the first time I've gotten an erection when I've been around Lexie, but it's pretty damn hard to hide it when her panty covered pussy is so close to my crotch.

She wraps her leg tighter around me and I know she can feel me. I rest my hand on her waist and still her movements, but it's too late. Our lower bodies are lined up perfectly.

“Angel, stop moving,” I say in a rough voice.

She doesn't say anything for a moment, but she doesn't move away. What feels like an eternity later, she lifts her head and looks at me. “Is your dick hard?”

I groan and close my eyes. “Jesus, Lexie.”

“What? It's just a question.”

“One that's not needed, since I know you can feel it.”

Her laugh comes out deeper than usual and I finally open my eyes to look at her. She is smiling at me, with a strange look in her eyes.

“See, you have boundary issues,” I say, with a shake of my head.

“It's not the first time you've been hard around me,” she says, rolling her eyes.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” I groan. “It's just a natural reaction to having a woman so close to me. Go to sleep.” I tuck her head back into my neck and she laughs lightly.

She’s quiet for a second and I almost think she's gone to sleep, until she asks a question that I have no fucking clue how to answer.