Fool For You (Made for Love Book 4) (13 page)

“Teddy?” asks Harper, giving my fingers a tug. My feet were planted the moment I saw Judah. Seeing as how Harper is still holding onto me, I suppose she hasn’t made it very far, either. “Teddy Bear?”

I force my eyes away from Judah and glare at my sister.

“Harper, I love you to death—but right now, I
hate
you.”

She looks over her shoulder, then turns back and frowns at me. “Um, from the looks of things, I think you should be
thanking
me. He’s fucking hot!”

“
From the looks of things
, Ben
Delaney
is standing next to Judah
St. Michaels
. I don’t know if this is just some twisted mix-up or what—but this,
this
right here is why you should have asked for his brother’s
name!
”

She sucks in a breath, her mouth forming a perfect
O
before she chokes out a laugh. I narrow my eyes at her and she
attempts
to shove aside her amusement.

“Shit.”

“Yeah—
shit
is about how I feel right now.”

As if my words have flipped a switch, her demeanor changes in an instant. She cocks an eyebrow at me, throwing me attitude like somehow
I’m
in the wrong.

“Theodora Rose Fitzpatrick, listen to me. First of all, you are an incredible woman. Something tells me Jude senses that, or he wouldn’t have bought you those flowers. Twice. And if he’s not calling your tatted ass after tonight, he’s crazy. Now, come on. I’m a kick-ass wing-woman, myself. We got this, bitch.”

God,
I think to myself as she begins to pull me across the room.
I hate it when she calls me that.

It isn’t until this very moment that I truly understand and appreciate exactly what a
doe-eyed-look
actually looks like. Fuck, if it doesn’t make me hard—especially with the big, round, light brown eyes that are gracing me with the expression right now from across the room.

She looks absolutely stunning, her long dress hugging her small, perky breasts; her red hair straight and cascading down her back; her freckled cheeks rosy with a natural blush.

“Um—why is Harper’s sister looking at you like that?”

Just as Benjamin speaks, Teddy breaks eye contact with me. In an instant, I crave her undivided attention. Now more than ever, her acceptance to my dinner invitation fills me with a sort of desperate impatience.

I want her. Fuck—I want her.

“Judah,” Ben calls, hitting my shoulder. When I finally manage to tear my eyes away from Teddy, I meet his gaze. He scrunches his brow, scrutinizing me. “Shit. Tell me you haven’t stuck your dick inside of Harper’s sister. Please, I’m begging you.”

A small smile curls the corner of my mouth as a soft chuckle ripples out of me. “Not yet, dear brother. Not yet.”

He doesn’t have time to ask anymore questions as the women are now making their way toward us. Teddy is perhaps an inch or two taller than her sister, but the resemblance they bear to one another is obvious. I applaud my brother’s choice, as Harper is as beautiful as he claimed. Though, admittedly, my preference lies with the younger of the two.

Ben sets down his beer as soon as Harper is in reaching distance. “Hey, gorgeous,” he says in greeting, opening up his arms. She walks right into them and grins when my brother kisses her cheek fondly.

“Hi,” she hums before letting him go. “So, I think we aren’t the only two who know each other,” she goes on to say, looking from me, to Teddy, then to Ben.

“Yes, it appears that way.” He wraps his arm around her waist, pulling her into his side, and the both of them pin their attention on Teddy and me, as if waiting for one of us to provide an explanation.

I direct my attention to Teddy only to find her staring down at her hands as she anxiously wrings her fingers. I don’t think, I just
do
, reaching out to graze my fingers along her jaw, tipping her head up when I have reached her chin. The blush that heats her cheeks makes my dick twitch, and I have to actively concentrate on something other than her lips.

“We’re merely acquainted with one another,” I explain, my fingers still touching her soft skin. “But that will soon change.”

She jerks, as if startled by my words, causing my fingers to slip away from her face as she gapes at me. “You didn’t call me back.”

“I assure you, Teddy, that I will,” I tell her, reaching for the remainder of my scotch.

“Ah, see? I
told
you he was probably just busy,” Harper beams. “And now we know why,” she says, looking up at Ben.

“Oh, god,” mumbles Teddy.

A smirk pulls at my lips knowing that I’ve been a topic of conversation between the two of them.

“Oh.
Oooh,
” Ben says, understanding washing over his features as he looks at me. Without a word, I know he’s figured out that it was Teddy whose voicemail I checked before our game this morning. “Yes, by all means, blame me, Teddy. I can be quite the demanding brother. By the way, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Ben,” he says, extending his hand out to her.

“It’s nice to meet you, too.”

“And, Harper, this is my brother—”

“Judah St. Michaels,” she finishes for him, reaching for my hand. I accept her gesture, returning it in kind, all the while waiting for the question that I see in her green eyes. “So—
St. Michaels, Delaney—
there’s a story there, right? Not to mention the
good cop/bad cop
thing you two have going on.”

“You lost me at the end, there, babe,” Ben says with a laugh.

“Light blonde hair, pale blue eyes,” she coos, reaching up to touch his cheek. She then nods at me. “Dark brown hair, charcoal grey eyes.”

“Mmmm,” he hums with a nod. “That’s an explanation best shared over dinner. Shall we tell the hostess our party is ready?”

“Hell, yes. I’m starving,” Harper replies with a grin. Ben chuckles and tips his chin at me before he escorts Harper to the front.

Teddy starts to follow and I down the rest of my scotch before catching up to her. I reach out to rest my hand on the small of her back, and I can
feel
her sharp inhalation. I don’t even attempt to hide my smile. Tonight just got a whole lot more interesting.

W
e sit at a table for four, Teddy on my left, Ben on my right. As soon as we’re all comfortable, our drink orders are taken. Teddy asks for a glass of white wine, her selection chosen with an air of confidence that assures me that she orders it often enough to know what she likes. I appreciate her taste and make note of the Chardonnay she’s requested.

It’s the details that matter whilst wooing a woman. Tonight, I plan on filling my arsenal.

“So, about that story…” she says, looking across the table at Ben. Her gaze flicks in my direction for a fraction of a second. When she catches my eye, her lips part open before she looks back to my brother.

God. I want inside that mouth.

“It’s probably not as interesting as you’d imagine. Our parents adopted me when I was five.”

“Oh,” Teddy breathes. She looks at me once more; only this time, when our gazes align, she doesn’t look away. Alternatively, she peers at me as if she thinks she now knows something about me—but this is Benjamin’s story, not mine.

“So you kept your birth father’s last name?” asks Harper.

“No, actually.” He pauses and I shift my focus in his direction, aware that he won’t say more without my permission. I offer him a small nod and he continues. “When Jude was born, mom was single. He has her maiden name. Our parents got married when he was six, and I was brought into the fold a year later.”

“What happened to your biological parents? If you don’t mind me asking,” Teddy murmurs.

Benjamin shrugs and shakes his head, indicating that he doesn’t mind at all. And he doesn’t. He’s not ashamed of his past in the slightest. It’s one of the things I admire most about the kid, and I’m not too proud to admit it. He and I might have grown up in the same household, but we did not have the same childhood. Not really.

“I wasn’t born into a healthy or stable environment. My birth parents were very young, irresponsible, and abusive. It wasn’t until I started kindergarten that anyone noticed; but it didn’t take long before child protective services stepped in.”

“Shit, Ben,” says Harper, reaching for his hand. Her face is full of sympathy, but Ben just smiles at her before lifting her hand and kissing her knuckles.

“The Delaneys were my second foster home. Judah got attached, so they decided to keep me,” he teases, smirking at me.

I chuckle, shaking my head at him. “I
tolerated
you,” I quip, bringing my glass of scotch to my lips.

“Anyway, it all worked out for the best.”

“You were wrong, you know,” says Teddy. I look at her, taking in the small smile that plays at her lips as we all wait for her to continue. “That story was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be.”

“Everybody’s past comes with some sort of life-changing-story, right?”

For a fraction of a second, her smile falters. If I wasn’t so desperate to taste those lips, I wouldn’t have noticed. I’m instantly intrigued, curious to know what stories make up her past—surely a young, gorgeous, innocent creature such as she does not harbor dark memories that cut so deep.

“Well, damn—we went from zero to heavy as fuck in a flash. God, we haven’t even ordered our dinner yet,” Harper sighs.

I look across from me and, right away, I understand what Benjamin was telling me before, about Harper and the beautiful contradiction she is. The words that just came out of her mouth don’t match the sweet expression she’s casting on my brother. I stifle a sigh, sure that the feisty woman who is obviously stealing his heart is most assuredly a handful. Ben’s desire to pursue her rather than just screw her is his greatest weakness.

“Ah, yes, food,” he says, interrupting my thoughts. “I’ve never been here before. Jude, what would you recommend?”

We spend the next few minutes discussing the menu. Soon, our orders are taken, and a lighter topic of discussion is brought to the table. One conversation flows easily into the next and we talk about everything from what each of us does for a living to the places we’ve traveled, and even what kind of music we like. Ben tries to convince Teddy to tell him what Harper was like as a child, and I scowl at him for even
thinking
of disclosing such information about me. However, Ben, the charmer, keeps the girls laughing all night, and for that I owe him my gratitude.

Teddy’s face when she laughs, coupled with the sound of her endearing giggle, it just makes me want her more. She’s just as delicate as I imagined she would be, and I will have her—I will ravage her, possess her, break her—I will leave her begging for more, there’s no doubt about that.

When the waiter comes by to collect our dinner plates and inquire about dessert, both Fitzpatrick women insist that they are too full to eat another bite. It’s not long after that Teddy excuses herself to the ladies’ room, leaving me alone with the flirty pair. I can endure it only for a moment, and then I, too, inform them that I shall return. Only, I have no intention of using the John.