Beautiful Disaster (46 page)

I was the opposite of exotic. My tousled brown bob and heavy bangs were easy to maintain, but not a lot of men found it sexy. Not a lot of men found me sexy in general. I was the
girl next door, your brother's best friend. Growing up with three brothers and our cousin Colin, I could have been a tomboy if my subtle but still present curves hadn't ousted me from
the boys-only clubhouse at fourteen.

“Don't be that girl,” I said. “If you want one, go buy your own.”

She crossed her arms, pouting. “That's why I quit. They're fucking expensive.”

I stared at the burning paper and tobacco nestled between my fingers. “That is a fact my broke ass continues to make note of.”

The song switched from something everyone wanted to dance to, to a song no one wanted to dance to, and dozens of people began making their way off the dance floor. Two girls
walked up to our table and traded glances.

“That's our table,” the blonde said.

Raegan barely acknowledged them.

“Excuse me, bitch, she's talking to you,” the brunette said, setting her beer on the table.

“Raegan,” I warned.

Raegan looked at me with a blank face, and then up at the girl with the same expression. “It
was
your table. Now it's ours.”

“We were here first,” the blonde hissed.

“And now you're not,” Raegan said. She picked up the unwelcome beer bottle and tossed it across the floor. It spilled out onto the dark, tightly stitched carpet.
“Fetch.”

The brunette watched her beer slide across the floor, and then took a step toward Raegan, but her friend grabbed both of her arms. Raegan offered an unimpressed laugh, and then
turned her gaze toward the dance floor. The brunette finally followed her friend to the bar.

I took a drag from my cigarette. “I thought we were going to have a good time tonight.”

“That was fun, right?”

I shook my head, stifling a smile. Raegan was a great friend, but I wouldn't cross her. Growing up with so many boys in the house, I'd had enough fighting to last a
lifetime. They didn't baby me. If I didn't fight back, they'd just fight dirtier until I did. And I always did.

Raegan didn't have an excuse. She was just a scrappy bitch. “Oh, look. Megan's here,” she said, pointing to the blue-eyed, crow-headed beauty on the dance
floor. I shook my head. She was out there with Travis Maddox, basically getting screwed in front of everyone on the dance floor.

“Oh, those Maddox boys,” Raegan said.

“Yeah,” I said, downing my whiskey. “This was a bad idea. I'm not feeling clubby tonight.”

“Oh, stop.” Raegan gulped her whiskey sour and then stood. “The whine bags are still eyeing this table. I'm going to get us another round. You know the
beginning of the night starts off slow.”

She took my glass and hers and left me for the bar.

I turned, seeing the girls staring at me, clearly hoping I would step away from the table. I wasn't about to stand up. Raegan would get the table back if they tried to take
it, and that would only cause trouble.

When I turned around, a boy was sitting in Raegan's chair. At first I thought Travis had somehow made his way over, but when I realized my mistake, I smiled. Trenton Maddox
was leaning toward me, his tattooed arms crossed, his elbows resting on the table across from me. He rubbed the five o'clock shadow that peppered his square jaw with his fingers, his shoulder
muscles bulging through his T-shirt. He had as much stubble on his face as he did on the top of his head, except for the absence of hair from one small scar near his left temple.

“You look familiar.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Really? You walk all the way over here and sit down, and that's the best you've got?”

He made a show of running his eyes over every part of me. “You don't have any tattoos, that I can see. I'm guessing we haven't met at the shop.”

“The shop?”

“The ink shop I work at.”

“You're tattooing now?”

He smiled, a deep dimple appearing in the center of his left cheek. “I knew we've met before.”

“We haven't.” I turned to watch the women on the dance floor, laughing and smiling and watching Travis and Megan vertically dry fucking. But the second the song
was over, he left and walked straight over to the blonde who claimed ownership over my table. Even though she'd seen Travis running his hands all over Megan's sweaty skin two seconds
earlier, she was grinning like an idiot, hoping she was next.

Trenton laughed once. “That's my baby brother.”

“I wouldn't admit it,” I said, shaking my head.

“Did we go to school together?” he asked.

“I don't remember.”

“Do you remember if you went to Eakins at any time between kindergarten through twelfth grade?”

“I did.”

Trenton's left dimple sunk in when he grinned. “Then we know each other.”

“Not necessarily.”

Trenton laughed again. “You want a drink?”

“I have one coming.”

“You wanna dance?”

“Nope.”

A group of girls passed by, and Trenton's eyes focused on one. “Is that Shannon from home ec? Damn,” he said, turning a oneeighty in his seat.

“Indeed it is. You should go reminisce.”

Trenton shook his head. “We reminisced in high school.”

“I remember. Pretty sure she still hates you.”

Trenton shook his head, smiled, and then, before taking another swig, said, “They always do.”

“It's a small town. You shouldn't have burned all of your bridges.”

He lowered his chin, his famous charm turning up a notch. “There's a few I haven't lit a fire under. Yet.”

I rolled my eyes, and he chuckled.

Raegan returned, curving her long fingers around four standard rocks glasses and two shot glasses. “My whiskey sours, your whiskey straights, and a buttery nipple
each.”

“What is with all the sweet stuff tonight, Ray?” I said, wrinkling my nose.

Trenton picked up one of the shot glasses and touched it to his lips, tilting his head back. He slammed it on the table and winked. “Don't worry, babe. I'll take
care of it.” He stood up and walked away.

I didn't realize my mouth was hanging open until my eyes met Raegan's and it snapped shut.

“Did he just drink your shot? Did that really just happen?”

“Who does that?” I said, turning to see where he went. He'd already disappeared into the crowd.

“A Maddox boy.”

I shot the double whiskey and took another drag of my cigarette. Everyone knew Trenton Maddox was bad news, but that never seemed to stop women from trying to tame him. Watching
him since grade school, I promised myself that I would never be a notch on his headboard—if the rumors were true and he had notches, but I didn't plan to find out.

“You're going to let him get away with that?” Raegan asked.

I blew out the smoke from the side of my mouth, annoyed. I wasn't in the frame of mind to have fun, or deal with obnoxious flirting, or complain that Trenton Maddox had just
drunk the shot glass of sugar that I didn't want. But before I could answer my friend, I had to choke back the whiskey I'd just drunk.

“Oh, no.”

“What?” Raegan said, flipping around in her chair. She immediately righted herself in the chair, cringing.

All three of my brothers and our cousin Colin were walking toward our table.

Colin, the oldest and the only one with a legit ID, spoke first. “What the hell, Camille? I thought you were out of town tonight.”

“My plans changed,” I snapped.

Chase spoke second, as I expected he would. He was the oldest of my brothers, and liked to pretend he was older than me, too. “Dad's not going to be happy that you
missed family lunch if you were in town.”

“He can't be unhappy if he doesn't know,” I said, narrowing my eyes.

He recoiled. “Why are you being so pissy? Are you on the rag or something?”

“Really?” Raegan said, lowering her chin and raising her eyebrows. “We're in public. Grow up.”

“So he canceled on you?” Clark asked. Unlike the others, Clark looked genuinely concerned.

Before I could answer, the youngest of the three spoke up. “Wait, that worthless piece of shit canceled on you?” Coby said. The boys were all only eleven months apart,
making Coby just eighteen. My coworkers knew my brothers had all scored fake IDs and thought they were doing me a favor by looking the other way, but most of the time I wished they wouldn't.
Coby in particular still acted like a twelve-year-old boy not quite sure what to do with his testosterone. He was bowing up behind the others, letting them hold him back from a fight that
didn't exist.

“What are you doing, Coby?” I asked. “He's not even here!”

“You're damn right he's not,” Coby said. He relaxed, cracking his neck. “Canceling on my big sister. I'll bust his fuckin' face.” I
thought about Coby and T.J. getting into a brawl, and it made my heart race. T.J. was intimidating when he was younger, and lethal as an adult. No one fucked with him, and Coby knew it.

A disgusted noise came from my throat, and I rolled my eyes. “Just . . . find another table.”

All four boys pulled chairs around Raegan and me. Colin had light-brown hair, but my brothers were all redheads. Colin and Chase had blue eyes. Clark and Coby had green. Some
redheaded men aren't all that great-looking, but my brothers were tall, chiseled, and outgoing. Clark was the only one with freckles, and they still somehow looked good on him. I was the
outcast, the only child with mousy brown hair and big, round, light-blue eyes. More than once the boys tried to convince me that I'd been adopted. If I wasn't the female version of my
father, I might have believed them.

I touched my forehead to the table and groaned. “I can't believe it, but this day just got worse.”

“Aw, c'mon, Camille. You know you love us,” Clark said, nudging me with his shoulder. When I didn't answer, he leaned in to whisper in my ear. “You
sure you're all right?”

I kept my head down, but nodded. Clark patted my back a couple of times, and then the table grew quiet.

I lifted my head. Everyone was staring behind me, so I turned around. Trenton Maddox was standing there, holding two shot glasses and another glass of something that looked
decidedly less sweet.

“This table turned into a party fast,” Trenton said with a surprised but charming smile.

Chase narrowed his eyes at Trenton. “Is that him?” he asked, nodding.

“What?” Trenton asked.

Coby's knee began to bounce, and he leaned forward in his chair. “That's him. He fuckin' canceled on her, and then he showed up here.”

“Wait. Coby, no,” I said, holding up my hands.

Coby stood up. “You jackin' with our sister?”

“Sister?” Trenton said, his eyes bouncing between me and the volatile gingers sitting on each side of me.

“Oh, God,” I said, closing my eyes. “Colin, tell Coby to stop. It's not him.”

“Who's not me?” Trenton said. “We got a problem here?”

Travis appeared at his brother's side. He wore the same amused expression as Trenton, both flashing their matching leftsided dimples. They could have been their
mother's second set of twins. Only subtle differences set them apart, including the fact that Travis was maybe an inch or two taller than Trenton.

Travis crossed his arms across his chest, making his already large biceps bulge. The only thing that kept me from exploding from my chair was that his shoulders relaxed. He
wasn't ready to fight. Yet.

“Evening,” Travis said.

The Maddoxes could sense trouble. At least it seemed that way, because whenever there was a fight, they had either started it, or finished it. Usually both.

“Coby, sit down,” I commanded through my teeth.

“No, I'm not sittin' down. This dickhead insulted my sister, I'm not fuckin' sittin' down.”

Raegan leaned over to Chase. “That's Trent and Travis Maddox.”

“Maddox?” Clark asked.

“Yeah. You still got something to say?” Travis said.

Coby shook his head slowly and smiled. “I can talk all night long, motherfu—”

I stood. “Coby! Sit your ass down!” I said, pointing to his chair. He sat. “I said it wasn't him, and I meant it! Now everybody
calm
the
fuck
down! I've had a
bad
day, I'm here to drink, and relax, and have a good
goddamn
time! Now if that's a problem for you, back the fuck off my table!” I closed my
eyes and screamed the last part, looking completely insane. People around us were staring.

Breathing hard, I glanced at Trenton, who handed me a drink.

One corner of his mouth turned up. “I think I'll stay.”

I am so incredibly thankful for my best friend and sister, Beth. Without her encouragement, I would never have embarked on this journey. It's because of her enthusiastic cheerleading that I am living my dream. I cannot say thank you enough. Thank you to my children for their endless patience, hugs, and understanding.

To my mother Brenda for her assistance in any way she could, whenever I asked. Many thanks to fellow authors and dear friends Jessica Park, Tammara Webber, Tina Reber, Stephanie Campbell, Abbi Glines, Liz Reinhardt, Elizabeth Reyes, Nichole Chase, Laura Bradley Rede, Elizabeth Hunter, Killian McRae, Colleen Hoover, Eyvonna Rains, Lani Wendt Young, Karly Blakemore-Mowle, Michele Scott, Tracey Garvis-Graves, Angie Stanton, and EL James for their overwhelming support, love, and advice. You are the best thing to come from my writing career. Truly.

Thank you to my agent Rebecca Watson, who is as brilliant as she is funny, and my agents at the Intercontinental Literary Agency for their diligence and hard work.