Hailey, and I saw her blush as she winked at me. Whatever was going on, Hailey’s friend wasn’t coming for the reason she’d told Jackson. I lowered my head, hiding my smile from Jackson. Whatever Hailey had up her sleeve, I knew that it would be something wonderful for her husband, my brother. They were as equally yoked a couple as I’d ever seen.
“That will look nice,” Jackson said. “So, you think she would hit it off with this oaf?”
“Be nice,” she scolded him. “I think they would do really well together. I know that she’s pretty well established now. Her gallery just opened up in the city. That’s how we got reconnected, honestly. She really does fantastic work.”
“Wonder if it’s the same one you hooked up with,” Jackson whispered.
Hailey gasped. “Walker! You hooked up with someone at the wedding! Shame on you! That isn’t like you at all! See now, I’d expect that from one of the other brothers, but not you. Who was it?”
“I don’t remember her name, sorry. We were both a little drunk.” I lied. “It doesn’t matter anyway. Tell me more about this woman you want to set me up with.”
“Why don’t you wait around for five minutes, and you’ll get to meet her yourself?” She asked.
Before I could answer, she set off for the front door, a hot cup of coffee in one hand, and Cassie in the other. Jackson slid a cup in front of me. I focused all my attention on the drink, conscious of his eyes watching me. The last thing I wanted to deal with was my older brother giving me shit yet again for having a random hookup. It was a mistake to tell him about it.
“You know you’re full of BS. You know damn well what that woman’s name is. Hell, you talked about her for weeks. You were starting to sound like a broken record.”
“Let it go, Jackson. It was a one-time thing. She knew who I was, too, and didn’t reach out, so I don’t see how talking about it now is gonna change anything.”
“You never know. Maybe you walked away from true love. I could probably help you find her –
“I’m not telling you her name, now drop it,” I snapped.
Taking my coffee, I followed Hailey to the front porch with Jackson right behind me. He chuckled all the way outside. If he didn’t get off my back, I’d just as soon leave and be done with him for the week. I loved my brother, but he sure had a way of poking at open wounds. Hailey had softened him some, but he was still a Wheeler through and through.
We reached the porch just as a green pickup pulled into the winding driveway. It was older but well maintained, my heart thumped a little bit. I could appreciate a woman who took care of things. Anymore, it seemed like the world was happy to throw away anything that required a little extra work. It broke my heart to think of the old trucks sitting around and rusting, just like my heart.
I recognized the curves of her body even before she climbed down for us to see. My heart started to race. The black tee I wore now felt suffocating. It had been years since I’d seen her, but she looked just the same, if not better. She was voluptuous, her tiny waist accented by a full rear and breasts. My fingers twitched as they recalled her soft skin beneath them.
The second she looked up, she froze. The blood drained from her cheeks despite the morning heat that was steadily approaching. I was impressed by how quickly she recovered from the shock as Hailey jogged down the steps to meet her. She had a sketch pad under one arm and a pencil tucked behind her ear. The black rims of her glasses slid down a little. A delicate finger rose to correct them as our eyes met.
“Stacy, you remember my husband, Jackson. This is his brother –
“Walker,” Stacy said. “We met at the wedding.”
“Oh, good!” Hailey said. “Then you two already know each other! Jackson, could you help me with Cassie for a second?”
Stacy opened her mouth to protest, but it fell short. She closed her lips and glared at me. The fire inside of me was rekindled at once.
“How have you been?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I’ve been good. I opened my own gallery, and it seems to be doing well.”