Falling for the Backup Read online

  Piper glanced up and smiled as Audrey made her way to the spot beside Fallon. When she sat down, her sister at her, grinning as she held out a shot glass. “You’re behind!” she said. “Drink!”

  Audrey obliged, not only because Fallon asked her to, but because she needed to forget her conversation with Levi. As the five women threw back shots, Elli sat on the side, watching.

  Audrey felt bad as she smiled over at her. It had to be hard for Elli to watch a bunch of women drink when she couldn’t. But being the sweet person she was, Elli didn’t seem to mind.

  “Please get your tubes tied after this one!” Audrey said as the alcohol burned down her throat. What the hell had Fallon given her?

  Elli nodded. “Already planned. I’m done. No matter what Shea says.”

  Harper hiccupped before giggling. “Whatever. He’ll knock her up a week before the procedure! He’s on a mission!”

  The women laughed as Fallon shook her head. “So is Lucas,” she noted before taking another shot, then shook her head. “I’m pretty sure if he had his way, I’d be pregnant now, and thank God that didn’t happen! I wouldn’t be able to fit in my dress!”

  The girls all nodded while Audrey shook her head. “It wouldn’t matter anyway, since you won’t pick a damn dress!” she retorted, and everyone laughed. “Thank God she’s narrowed it down to two. But still! The wedding is a week away!”

  Fallon shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know what I want. I’m about to walk down that damn aisle in a raincoat! Lucas would love that!”

  That had all the women laughing drunkenly, as Audrey watched Fallon blush. A smile tugged at Audrey’s lips, and even with all the jealousy eating away at her, she loved that her sister was so in love. It was good to see Fallon happy. Audrey had spent years watching her living day to day just to get by. Now she lived for a man who loved her more than he needed his next breath, and for a son who thought she hung the moon and the stars.

  She was so lucky.

  Audrey stood up, smiling down at Fallon, “Well if it’s a damn raincoat, please let it be white, while my dress is sparkly as all hell!” The women all cheered as she raised her glass in the air. “To the indecisive bride-to-be!”

  “To the bride!” everyone chanted along before tapping their glasses together and drinking their shots. Audrey slammed her empty glass down before letting out a loud “Yeehaw!” that was returned by the many patrons at the bar. She grinned as she fell into the seat beside her beautiful sister. Fallon wrapped her arms around her neck, grinning happily back at her.

  “I’ve missed you,” Fallon whispered in her ear. She was drunk, and Audrey had to giggle. She was close to drunk too; those last couple of shots were doozies.

  “I’ve missed you too,” she whispered back.

  “I’m nervous.”

  Audrey smiled as she shook her head. “Don’t be. It’s gonna be fantastic.”

  “But what if I pick the wrong dress and Lucas doesn’t marry me?”

  Audrey sighed. Her sister was entirely too insecure for her own good.

  “Never gonna happen. Lucas loves you something serious. Like you said, you could show up in a raincoat and he would be happy.”

  Fallon nodded, then leaned her head against Audrey’s, looking deep into her eyes.

  “You’re the best sister ever.”

  The tears came fast, filling Audrey’s eyes as she looked into her sister’s caramel-colored ones. Fallon was the most beautiful woman she had ever known. She deserved the world, and Audrey knew that Lucas would give it to her. But now wasn’t the time to cry, even if they were happy tears. Audrey leaned over, kissing Fallon on the cheek before breaking their embrace to scream, “Let’s dance!”

  As Audrey made her way to the bar from the dance floor, she had to admit the night was a huge success. And she hadn’t even thought of Levi once. She was too busy having a blast with her sister and their friends. With the music pulsing around her, she leaned against the bar and ordered another round of drinks. As she waited, the pain unexpectedly began to rip through her. Even though she hadn’t been thinking of Levi while with her friends, he was now heavy on her mind. She dreaded going home, knowing that when she got back to her condo he wouldn’t be there. It made her want to die inside. No matter how much alcohol she drank, or how much fun she had, it would end tonight, and by tomorrow she would be all by herself once again.

  “Someone as beautiful as you shouldn’t be sad.”

  Audrey looked over and then up, locking with a pair of ocean blue eyes. She blinked as she took in the hotness that stood beside her.

  Wow.

  A strong, square chin was covered in blond stubble, his nose had a pronounced bump, his top lip thin, while the bottom lip jutted out a little, just begging to be bitten. His hair was in a messy, tousled cut, and reminded her of the sparkling vampire she often fantasized about, and While “Flightless Bird” by Iron & Wine instantly played in her mind, her eyes drifted down his neck to his broad shoulders. She could see he was strong, but not overly muscular. What he was—was perfect. Her eyes met his again and she couldn’t breathe. He oozed sex. She couldn’t believe how quickly she got turned on just by looking at him.

  She breathed in and out a few times before croaking, “Excuse me?”

  She watched as his lips moved. “I was wondering why someone so beautiful, looked so sad,” he said.

  Audrey’s eyes left his mouth, to gaze into his eyes. “I’m not sad,” she lied.

  “Yes, I think you are.”

  He had an accent.

  Sexy.

  “I’m fine. My sister is getting married, that’s probably why I look sad.”

  He shook his head, “Isn’t a wedding a good thing?”

  She smiled again. “Of course it is, but I’m losing my sister.”

  He nodded. “Yes, but you are gaining a brother.”

  Her smile grew as she gazed up at him. He was tall, really tall. She had always been with little guys, since she was so short herself, but at that moment she liked being with the giant who stood in front of her. “I think you’re right,” she said.

  He chuckled, a deep throaty sound that made Audrey’s stomach flutter. Oh, he was sexy. “I am always right.”

  She giggled at his cockiness. It was totally something Lucas would say, and thinking of him made her smile. “Is that right?”

  “Yes. I’ve been watching you, and I’m glad I came over to talk, because honestly, you are the most gorgeous woman I have ever seen.”

  Oh, wow.

  Tate Odder was nervous.

  He wasn’t lying to the beautiful brunette when he said he had been watching her. He was sitting at the bar when she walked in with her phone at her side, looking so gorgeous it took his breath away. There was something about her that had him begging to know her name. He’d spent the last hour or so watching her with her friends. He recognized the team’s owner, Eleanor Adler, and assumed that one of them was Fallon, the soon-to-be wife of his good friend Lucas Brooks, but he wasn’t sure which one. Not that he cared. He had eyes only for the curvy brunette and had to figure out a way to approach her. He was not one of those guys who would mess with another man’s woman, but from where he’d been sitting, he saw that her ring finger was bare.

  Since coming to Nashville eight months ago, he still hadn’t adjusted to dating in the Music City. There was something different about the girls here than in his Swedish homeland. Maybe it was their accents, or his, but he always felt like an idiot. No matter how much Lucas coached him on the art of picking up women, Tate couldn’t do it. He was worried they would make fun of his accent or the gap between his teeth.

  He was just becoming popular in the National Hockey League. Even though he was ranked fifth in the NHL in goalie saves, he still wasn’t confident enough to walk up to a woman.

  But that was about to change.

  When the beauty walked to the bar alone, he’d channeled his inner Lucas and made his way toward her.

  Tate could