Honeymoon Phase By Amy Daws Read Free Chapter 14

Luke

Jesus fuck, what was that?

I lick my lips and swear I can still taste Addison’s lip gloss as we drive out to her dad’s house just a few miles outside of Boulder in a rural area.

Am I dreaming or did Addison want that kiss as well? I thought it was going to be hard work to get her to admit her feelings for me but after one little kiss, I’m feeling a lot more optimistic about this plan Everly and I cooked up together. Roe’s pupils were dilated after that kiss. Her breasts were heaving under that tiny, cropped top. My head hurts from how hard she gripped my hair.

And I want her to do it again.

I want her to do it for the rest of our lives.

The craziest part is, that kiss was nothing. It was a brush of the lips. No tongue, no inappropriate hand movements. It was a sweet, tender brush of our lips under fluorescent lighting and a perfect stranger observing it.

And it lit our whole bodies on fire.

She felt it. She had to have felt it. No way am I in this alone.

And the way she can’t even look at me now? My best friend is bothered as hell and she has no idea just how much more I plan to bother her the moment she moves onto my mountain.

I smile smugly as we pull into her dad’s property. It’s a decent-sized lot with a large machine shed that shows a couple ATVs and a run-down truck. I’ve never been out here before, but Addison told me about her upbringing, and she painted a fairly accurate picture. The property is pretty basic and the house is nice but possibly in need of some updates. It looks like the type of place a single man who owns a successful lumberyard would live in if he didn’t have time to manage it all on his own.

“You might want to wipe that smile off of your face before we go inside because my dad is probably going to kill you,” Addison deadpans from the passenger seat. Her tan, sculpted legs on full display in that satin skirt are not making my life any easier.

I attempt to frown as I slide out of the truck and make my way over to her door to open it again. “I’m not scared of your dad, Roe.”

“Since when?” She huffs out a laugh as she grabs the handle to help herself down out of the truck.

“Since we got that piece of paper about twenty minutes ago that says you’re mine,” I reply honestly.

“I’m yours?” Addison stares up at me, her eyes lit with something I can’t quite decipher. Is she offended by my words, or intrigued?

I shrug. “In a sense. And really, what’s he going to do? Kill his daughter’s husband?”

“Husband.” Addison flinches and covers her mouth as she grins girlishly. “That’s so weird. You’re my husband, Luke.”

My brows lift, loving the sound of that. “You’re my wife, Roe.”

“Weird!” Addison covers her ears and shakes her head. “I don’t feel grown-up enough to be a wife.”

“Oh please, you make bread from scratch and run an entire fucking lumberyard of dudes like it’s nothing. You’re ultimate wifey material.”

Addison’s cheeks flush with my words as we make our way up the front steps, but she pauses at the door and hits me with a serious look. “Just let me do the talking, okay? And whatever you do, don’t catch yourself alone with him.”

My head jerks back but I nod woodenly. “You’re the boss.”

The corner of her mouth quirks into a grin. “A boss and a wife. Maybe being married isn’t so bad after all.” She knocks on the door and lets herself inside before calling out, “Dad, it’s me. You in here?”

“In the kitchen,” his voice barks back.

Addison reaches behind to grab my hand and pull me closer to her. Her palms are sweaty, revealing that she’s perhaps not as brave as she thinks she is. I stare at our hands clasped together, loving the sight of them. Hers is tough from her work at the yard, but it’s still small and feminine. I like how it looks inside mine. Her hand would look really nice with a ring on it. I should get her a ring. Something that’s very her so she can’t be all weird and act like it’s unnecessary.

My fantasizing about Addison’s hands comes to a crashing halt when I look up and see her dad at the kitchen table with a slew of guns in disrepair all around him and various types of gun-cleaning products next to a silo of Miller Lite.

We came at a bad time.

“Hey, Addie May,” John says with a big smile until he sees me come in behind her. He frowns down at our hands clasped together and I try to yank mine free but Addison has a sweaty steel-trap grip on me.

“Dad . . . Luke and I have some news,” Addison says excitedly as she pulls me forward to stand beside her. She grips my arms and glances over at John’s girlfriend, Edith, who’s standing by the kitchen sink. “Luke and I just got married!”

Edith gasps and claps her hands instantly, jumping up and down. “Congratulations, Addison!”

“Thanks, Edith,” Addison exclaims and turns back to her dad. She slides the extra copy of the marriage license we purchased across the table . . .

. . . beside the guns.

“Here’s the proof.”

John refuses to look at the piece of paper, choosing instead to lean back in his seat and grab his giant beer. He shoots me a menacing look and I suddenly really regret the mustache decision because I didn’t think about the fact that Addison’s dad has a mustache. And now I feel like a fucking dick sitting here with a cheap knockoff version of his mustache telling him I just married his daughter, when he most likely knows it was just so she could take over the company he’s trying to sell.

John downs the rest of his beer and crushes his can in his hand before standing up. The loud scrape of the chair on the floor is deafening as he points a finger toward the front door. “You. Outside.”

“Dad, now listen.” Addison steps forward with her hands held up. “It’s my choice who I marry and—”

John cuts Addison a look and, just like that, she stops talking.

I really need to learn that look.

Licking my lips I nod and offer her a tight smile before turning on my heel and making my way out the door, hearing the loud thud of his boots following close behind me.

Whatever you do, don’t catch yourself alone with him.

God, I really am screwed. This is the fucking pole climb happening all over again. Why do I keep putting myself in these situations? I’m a fucking masochist.

I step out onto the front porch and turn on my heel, watching warily as Addison’s dad stomps to the far end, pacing and opening his mouth to speak but then closing it after deciding otherwise. He’s a tall man, decent-sized belly. Not overly muscular, but something tells me he could still kick my ass even without his armory of guns.

Finally he stops pacing and props his hands on his hips. “Did you not think it proper to ask my permission to marry my daughter before you actually married her?”

My brows lift as I consider that fact. Under normal circumstances, yeah, I probably would have asked, but these weren’t normal circumstances. And he knows that. So I hit him back with the only thing I can think of. “Since it was your daughter who asked me to marry her, I guess I thought that tradition didn’t really apply here.”

John huffs out a noise of indignation. “Of course she asked you. That still don’t make this right.”

He begins pacing again, his boots loud on the worn-down deck. I really don’t want this man to hate me for the next year of this marriage. In fact, it’d be nice if I could get him on my side. If I am to win over his daughter in the end, I’d rather we be . . . I don’t know . . . friends maybe.

He reminds me a lot of my own dad. Tall, blue-collar, unrefined. And overprotective to a fault. Not completely dissimilar to me.

I clear my throat and step forward, holding my hands out in surrender. “All due respect, sir . . . Addison is a big girl and is perfectly capable of making up her own mind on who she marries. And what business she can operate on her own,” I add, standing up a bit taller because I’m speaking for her just as much for myself, and something about that makes me feel braver. “She’s a very capable woman.”

“She don’t know what she’s in for,” John tuts, eyeing me through his furrowed brows.

I shake my head and wince. “I disagree with that.”

“You don’t know what you’re in for!” He points back to the house. “She’s a fucking lot.”

I fight back a laugh. “I’m aware.”

“And you might think this marriage is just a piece of paper to help her get what she wants, but you need to know something, Luke Fletcher. You listening to me?”

“I’m listening.”

He inhales deeply through his nose, shaking his head at the house before saying, “She was scared shitless when you were climbing that pole last week. Damn near had a panic attack watching you make an ass of yourself up there when you know you had no business doing that.” He barks out a wet cough and shakes his head in disgust. “So whether you two are just friends or truly married, this shit is real on some level, she cares about you for some reason I can’t figure out. Which means if you break her heart, I swear to Christ, I will grab my side-by-side shotgun and rain so much buckshot in your ass you won’t be able to shit right for the rest of your life. You got me, boy?”

I blink back my shock, struggling to maintain eye contact, because what John has just said to me means more than he’ll ever know. He’s given me hope I wasn’t a hundred percent sure I had before now.

Addison cares about me.

My best friend maybe even loves me. But whether it’s as more than a friend remains to be seen I guess.

“I understand you, sir.” I lick my lips and inhale deeply before adding, “And I may not have asked for your permission, but I’d like you to know that eventually I’d like your blessing and I hope with time, I’ll inspire you to give it to me.” John huffs out a noise of disbelief so I add for good measure, “But until that day you can rest assured that I’ll make it my life’s mission to make your daughter happy.”

John nods slowly and I feel my shoulder straighten a bit more in his presence. I don’t know if it’s because of the lumberjack competition or because I just married my best friend or because of that kiss that I wholeheartedly didn’t expect, but I don’t feel as afraid of him as I once did. He’s just a man as am I. And while having him on my side would help, Addison’s opinion of me is really the only one that matters.

“Edith, if I wait any longer, there might not be anything left of Luke!” Addison yells from inside the house and her footsteps grow louder as she stomps through the house and swings open the front door with all the grace of a lumberyard chick. Her eyes find mine instantly and she looks me up and down, the two lines in her forehead deep as ever. “You’re alive?”

The corner of my mouth lifts. “I’m alive.”

“You don’t need any more stitches.” She squints as she inspects my face.

“Naw, I’m all set.” I shoot her a wink and she exhales heavily as Edith walks outside to join us.

“Can we take you two to supper tonight to celebrate your happy union?” Edith asks, wrapping her arm around John like she’s used to his bullheaded ways. “We head back to Florida tomorrow, and I would just hate not to have commemorated this day with you both in some small way.”

“Sorry, Edith, we can’t,” Addison says, glancing back at me with clenched teeth. “I have a ton of packing to do.”

“Oh, so you’re moving in together?” John gruffs, eyeing us both seriously.

“Well, yes. That is what married couples do, right?” Addison volleys back.

John tilts his head and eyes me warily. “And it’s a requirement of the business trust.”

“Oh, is it?” Addison replies coyly, walking over to me to hold my hand. She nuzzles into me, and I know it’s all for show, but my damn heart still starts racing at her close proximity. “I didn’t recall that, but no matter because I’m moving into Luke’s place up on Fletcher Mountain.”

“You’re what?” John roars, his eyes wide.

Addison swallows. “Yep. It’s bigger than my place and I think it’ll be just perfect for us.” She grins up at me and hesitates before pulling me down to give me an awkward kiss on the cheek.

There are a few seconds of heavy silence before John buckles over, his booming laugh dry and exaggerated as the deep wrinkles around his eyes crinkle on top of each other.

Addison props her hand on her hip, clearly agitated by this reaction. “I don’t know what’s so funny about that.”

John holds his finger up, still laughing and I can’t decide what’s more terrifying, him laughing or him cleaning out his guns. It’s a toss-up really.

He finally recovers control of himself, wiping at his damp eyes. “Nothing funny at all. I can’t wait to hear how you like mountain living in the dead of winter.”

“I’m going to like it just fine,” Addison scoffs and grabs my arm to pull me down the steps. “Come on, Luke. Let’s go.”

“One more thing,” John says, stopping us in our tracks. We turn around and the mirth in his eyes looks damn right menacing. “We need to have a wedding. A proper one.”

“We already did that,” Addison says with a nervous laugh. “I left the marriage certificate on the table for you to see for yourself.”

“But I wasn’t there.” He holds his hands up and shakes his head.

Addison frowns at me and I frown back, not sure where her father is going with all of this. “Dad, it was a spur-of-the-moment thing.”

“I understand that. Young love is unexpected in so many ways.” He loses all humor on his face. “And in a year, you can inherit the lumberyard just like you wanted. What serendipitous timing.”

“Exactly,” Addison says, wrapping her hands around my arm and laying her head on my shoulder.

“But I feel cheated.”

“Cheated how?” She looks up to me like somehow I know what the fuck her disturbed father is up to.

John shrugs and wrinkles his nose. “I didn’t get to walk my little princess down the aisle.”

“Princess?” Addison scoffs. “You’ve never called me a princess in your entire life.”

“Well, I’ve never seen you so . . . in love before.” He smiles and tilts his head as he points at me and her. “It’s softened you.”

Addison’s face tightens as she glares up at her dad. The two look like a couple of bulls getting ready to charge each other and I glance at Edith, who’s just as freaked out as I am.

“I want to see you in a fluffy white dress, Addie May. I want to take you by the arm and give you away in the traditional sense. You’re my only daughter after all. I feel cheated that I didn’t get to experience that moment.”

Addison lets go of me, her shoulders slumped in defeat. “So what are you saying?”

“I’m saying I want a wedding. A proper one. I’ll pay for everything, don’t you worry about the cost, I know how damn frugal you are. But it needs to be done up right. With a preacher and people in the chairs. I want to see Bullhead spin you around on a dance floor and I want this man here . . . Luke . . . to look me in the eyes and ask me for my daughter’s hand in marriage.”

My throat feels like sandpaper as Addison’s father steps close so we’re toe to toe, and he eyes me so hard I feel like I could disappear into the earth right here, right now.

“Fine,” Addison chimes in and both of our heads swerve to look at her.

“Fine?” I ask, my eyes bugging out of my face.

“You’re bluffing,” Addison’s dad responds with a laugh.

“Name the date.” She quirks a brow and eyes him with the fire of a thousand suns.

John’s smile is positively gleeful as he rubs his hands together, deep in plotting mode. “I’ll be back in December. A nice Colorado winter wedding before the New Year sounds perfect.” He crosses his arms with a smug look on his face. “You can plan a wedding in a couple of months, can’t you, princess?”

Addison steps up to her dad, her hands on her hips, her chin jutting upward as she enunciates very clearly, “Looking forward to it, Old Man.”

And with that, my wife grabs my arm and drags me away with her terrifying father shooting daggers at me while we go.

But at least they aren’t buckshot.