She let out a giggle. “Mrs. Reed Nickolas Moore.”
I smiled bigger and placed my hands on the sides of her face. I brought her lips up to mine, and I kissed her. I wanted to pour as much love into this kiss as I possibly could.
When I pulled back, she whispered, “Wow.”
I took a step back to put space between us. The heat coming from both our bodies was driving me insane, and I was pretty sure she felt the same way.
“Layton and I are going to go watch some football for a bit while y’all take the dresses back to the rooms. I made y’all appointments at the spa and then dinner reservations at Manzanita. I figured you needed some girl time,” I said.
The look in her eyes caused my stomach to do a few flips and flops and one big dive.
“Reed, you’re making all my dreams come true.”
“I hope so, angel. I really hope so.”
After we got back to the hotel, Layton and I made our way to the hotel bar to give the girls some time to talk. Courtney had promised me that she would tell Whitley everything about Noah, and I knew she would this time. She needed to in order to help her move on.
“You’re lost in thought, dude,” Layton said as he set a beer down in front of me.
I tried to smile. I swore nothing ever got past Layton.
“Talk to me, Reed. What happened to Court today? Since I’ve known her, I’ve never seen her so upset and lost.”
I took a deep breath and let it out as I looked around. “When y’all were on your honeymoon and Courtney and I…well, when we finally got together, she told me something that night, something she had been carrying around with her since she was sixteen years old. She’d never told anyone, not even Whit.”
Layton sat up and appeared to be holding his breath. “Okay, so it’s something serious. You know you can trust me to keep it between us, but if it is something really big, I won’t hide it from Whitley.”
I gave him a smile. “I wouldn’t ask you to, and that’s why I haven’t said anything. I wasn’t even sure that Court had told Whitley yet. I figured she hadn’t since you never said anything to me about it. Courtney is telling Whit tonight.”
Layton nodded his head and waited for me to continue.
“Fuck, I don’t even know how to say it.” I shook my head, and when I closed my eyes, I was brought back to the night when Courtney had told me about Noah. “His name is Noah, and he’s Courtney’s brother’s best friend.”
I opened my eyes and fought like hell to keep the tears at bay. Just knowing what that fucker had done to Court made me want to hunt his ass down and kill him.
“He came into her room one night and threatened her whole family if she didn’t do what he wanted her to do.”
“No,” Layton whispered.
I looked down at Layton’s hands balling into fists. He thought of Courtney as a sister, and I knew after telling him, he was going to feel the same way I felt, and I felt nothing but pure hate and anger.
“How long did it go on?” he asked, his voice cracking.
“A few months. One night, he came in, and she pointed one of her father’s guns at him. She told him she’d rather go to jail than be put through what he was doing to her.” I looked away and then back at Layton. “I want to hurt him so bad, Layton. You have no idea how hard it’s been for me not to call her brother and tell him. He still hangs around the fucker. They’re best friends. I want him to know what his so-called friend did to his sister.”
I saw the look of horror move across Layton’s face.
“Courtney’s younger sister…” he whispered.
“Courtney said she’s almost positive he never touched her sister. He seemed to wait until Court was older. Once she turned sixteen, he started.”
Layton looked down at his beer. “Motherfucker. What kind of a monster does that to another person?”
I let out a long, drawn-out sigh. “I don’t know, but if I ever lay eyes on him, he better run in the opposite direction.”
Layton snapped his head over. “Isn’t her brother getting married in a few months? Is she going back for the wedding? If this Noah guy is her brother’s best friend, won’t he be at the wedding?”
“That was the first thing she asked her brother—if Noah was going to be in the wedding or at the wedding. Her brother told her no. He said that Noah had to go out of the country on a business trip that week, and he couldn’t change the dates. I guess her brother and his fiancée couldn’t change the date of the wedding because this place has a really long waiting list. That’s the only reason Court is going back home for the wedding.”
Layton ran his hand through his hair. “Damn. Poor Courtney. She’s never talked to anyone about this?”
I shook my head. “Nope. I’m the only person she’s ever told. She’s only been with this guy, Mitch, and me.”
“Shit,” Layton said as he dropped his head back. He looked back at me, and his eyes were filled with sadness. “Reed, she really needs to talk to someone about it.”
I looked down at my beer as I ran my finger along the glass. “I know. I asked her if she wants to. I even told her I would go with her, but she insists that she doesn’t need to. I’m hoping that maybe when she talks to Whitley about it, it will help Court move on even more. I think the secret has been slowly sucking the life out of her more and more. I could almost feel the release when she told me. It was like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.”
My cell phone started ringing, and I pulled it out of my pocket to see it was Courtney calling.
“Hey,” I said with a smile.
“Hey back, handsome. What are you boys up to?” Courtney asked.
“Sitting at the bar, drinking a few beers, shooting the shit, and watching football. You know, typical guy stuff.”
Courtney let out a giggle. “We just left the spa. I feel amazing. I’m so very relaxed. Thank you for that,” she said in a seductive voice.
“You’re very welcome. Dinner now?” I asked as I looked down at my watch. “Your reservation isn’t for another forty-five minutes. The spa didn’t take as long as I thought it would.”
“No, it’s good. We’re actually going to take a walk around the property and…talk…”
When her voice trailed off, I knew she was scared.
“Court?”
“Yeah?”