Wildflower (Colors #4) Read Free Page A

passed, I’d made an emotional phone call to Navie. I barely got the words out before she declared that she and Rowan would be on the next plane to Jackson Hole. And that’s just what she’d done. I felt horrible, knowing my heartbroken phone call had derailed Rowan’s proposal plans by a few more days, but I’d had no one else to call. And I needed my best friend.
    What I hadn’t expected was for her to show up with, not only her man, but also our mutual friend, Pepper and Rowan’s cousin, Griffin. The last one threw me for a loop. I’d gotten pretty tight with Pepper since Navie met her when she began working as Rowan’s personal assistant. And once that working relationship imploded because they couldn’t keep from ripping their clothes off around each other, I’d gotten to know Griffin a little when we’d all go out as a group.
    But other than knowing that he got off, in a big way, on pushing every one of Pepper’s buttons, the only thing I really knew about the dude was that he’d dip his wick in anything single, hot, and willing. It was obvious watching the two of them that there was some hardcore history there. Navie and I had speculated for months on what had gone down between the two of them, and we were both of the opinion that it was the worst case of sexual tension we’d ever seen. I could only guess that Pepper being in Wyoming was the reason Griff was there.
    “I’m doing okay,” I answered, soaking up the warmth of her embrace before she stepped back to make room for Rowan, Griffin, and Pepper to have their turns.
    Navie reached up and brushed my brother’s dark hair — that desperately needed a cut — from his forehead. “And what about you, sweetie? You okay?” Watching her try to baby my brother was comical. The boy had a good four inches on her. It was also hilarious how just the sight of Navie and Pepper turned him into a raging hormonal idiot. By his reaction every time they were within a few feet of him, you’d think he never saw an attractive woman before.
    “Uh…” He flushed bright red as his eyes continued bounding to her modest, yet still slightly visible cleavage.
    “Oh, you poor thing,” she cooed, pulling him down into a tight hug. He started hesitantly, but once his arms wrapped all the way around her, his frame slumped in relaxation and he looked at me over her shoulder with a shit-eating grin on his ecstatic teenage boy face. I had to stifle my laughter when I caught Rowan giving him the “I got my eyes on you” double finger point.
    A feeling of contentment washed over me as I looked around my circle of friends, all there to support me and my brother when we needed it. I sucked in a calming breath, a tiny smile tilting the side of my lips up as I thought about how lucky I was to have had such a wonderful grandmother, a brother that I adored, and loyal friends who all loved me.
    Then it all came crashing down around me with one word spoken in a deep, rich voice that sent a chill across my skin.
    “Wildflower.”
    My lungs collapsed as all the air escaped in a whoosh. I felt all the blood draining from my face as I slowly turned around and faced the man I hadn’t seen in over five years. The guy that broke my heart and shattered my childish fairytale fantasies.
    God, he still looked good. No, he looked even better than I remembered. Which was bullshit, because I always swore if I ever saw him again, I’d look so fine he’d swallow his damn tongue. My fucking luck I had to run into him at a funeral where I’d been ugly crying for the last hour, had swollen eyes from the bullshit waterproof mascara, and was splotchy-faced like a mother.
    I wanted to kick Karma’s ass right then.
    “Noah.” My voice came out soft and breathy—completely unintentional. After walking away from him so long ago, I’d convinced myself that if I ever got unlucky enough to stumble upon him again in my lifetime, he wouldn’t have any effect on me.
    I was totally wrong.
    Just