Copyright

Copyright © 2022 by Abby Millsaps

ebook ISBN: 9798986018003
Paperback ISBN: 9798986018010

No portion of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form without written permission from the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a book review.

This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, or any events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created by the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously.

Developmental Editing by Melanie Yu, Made Me Blush Books
Line Editing, Copyediting, and Proofreading by VB Edits
Photography by Ren Saliba
Cover Design © Stephanie Heinritz @ Vicious Desires Design

Dedication

To every girl who's ever been told she's "too much" by a world that would prefer her to be quieter and softer: illegitimi non carborundum.

This story is for you.

Content Warning

Fourth Wheel is a full-length, high-heat romance novel that contains content some may find triggering, including offensive language, verbal threat of sexual assault, death of a parent, and references to alcoholism and addiction. It is a dual POV story featuring characters in their twenties. It ends with an HEA.

1. Maddie

Chapter 1

Maddie

“Nope. Abso-fucking-lutely not. You might as well turn around and strut right back out that door.”

His reaction is one I’d expect, but I’m still caught off guard.

I scoped out the parking lot before shooting my shot at The Oak tonight.

Jake’s Jeep wasn’t out back, so why the hell is he here?

I immediately pull out my phone and type out a message to Paige.

Maddie: Abort mission. The owner’s here, and he knows my brother. He’ll take our fakes.

Paige: WTF? I thought you said the coast was clear! We’re already in the Lyft!

I silently groan and roll my lips, tasting the strawberry champagne lip gloss I slathered on just before entering the bar.

Maddie: Head to Holt. We probably can’t get into Ray’s, but I’m sure there’s somewhere we can go. I’ll meet you there as soon as I can.

“Oh Jakey,” I sing-song. I stash my phone, then hop up onto a stool smack in the middle of the raw-edge bar at The Oak. “You wouldn’t really kick me out, would you? We’re practically family!” I rest my chin on my hand like I don’t have a care in the world as I watch him push off the back bar and stalk toward me.

A lesser woman would shudder at the rage behind his glare.

But I’ve been honing my ability to drive him crazy for years. He’s my brother’s best friend, and I’ve known him my whole life. I’m uniquely skilled at getting under his skin.

Jake plants his hands on the bar and leans forward in a clear effort to intimidate me.

“I’m serious, Maddie. I’m not serving you here,” he grits out through clenched teeth.

I stick out my lower lip and pout. What is his deal? He could have just poured me a drink and been done with the whole thing—I wouldn’t have stuck around for more than half an hour without my friends here anyway.

But now that he picked this fight, I’m going to win.

“You always make my drinks for me at home or at the cabin,” I retort, my voice louder than necessary considering his face is just inches from mine.

He whips his head from left to right, his eyes frantically scanning the patrons sitting on either side of us. Once he’s satisfied no one is listening to our exchange, he looks back at me and scowls.

I bite down on one side of my lower lip and give him the biggest doe eyes I can manage, feigning an innocence we both know I don’t possess. Fury erupts in his gaze when he realizes I’m intentionally goading him, and I swear his jaw ticks just like my brother’s does when he’s trying to keep his cool.

Good. If he wants to ruin my night, I can dish it right back and return the favor.

We stare at each other in a silent standoff, and seconds drag on as I try not to buckle under the weight of his glare. Jake is usually up for anything and doesn’t give two shits about letting me drink. I’m not a kid. I’m twenty years old. Who is he trying to fool with this concerned big brother act?

Finally, someone calls his name from the other end of the bar, and he blinks, breaking our connection.

“You can sit there and pout all night. No one will serve you—I’ll make sure of it.” He raps his knuckles twice on the bar, then turns away, but not before I have the last word.

“That’s okay, Jakey,” I taunt.

His curiosity must get the best of him then, because he turns back to me and cocks one eyebrow.

I smirk before I bring the flask to my lips and suck down a mouthful of vodka.

“I brought my own, just in case.”

I lift the pink bejeweled flask in mock salute. The thing is tacky as hell, but I wasn’t about to meet up with my friends completely unprepared. I’ve only been back in town for a week, and my sad excuse for a social life has come to this: putzing around my tiny hometown and meeting up with people I only sort of liked in high school.

Pathetic.

At least I have Paige to keep me company during my impromptu stay in Hampton. She’s been my best friend since middle school, and she still lives at home with her parents. When I told her my housing plans fell through for summer and that I’d have to hang out in Hampton until my new apartment was ready, she was thrilled.

I don’t share the sentiment.

Hampton, Ohio has nothing on Berkeley, California.

I giggle when Jake’s eyes practically bug out of his head before he turns and stalks off toward the guy who called him over. I take another swig from the stupid flask and make a mental note to see if Amazon has something less garish I can order for future BYOB needs.

I watch, amused, as Jake fumes about me to his employees. I know the second he starts issuing orders because that damn finger starts working again, pointing in my direction as he looks between two of the guys wearing those deliciously tight black V-neck shirts. Both men glance over at me, then look back at their boss, nodding like bobble heads at him.

Poof. There goes my fun for the night.

I glance at my phone again to find three missed calls and a text from Paige. I read her message and roll my eyes. They’re heading to the hookah bar in Holt, which is as lame as it sounds. There’s no way I’m making the drive out there to sit around and pretend to enjoy passing a pipe with Paige, Kyle, Travis, and whoever else they invited to come out with us. I’ll either die of boredom or catch mono. I don’t know which fate would be worse.

I survey the crowd, not because I want to find a familiar face, but because I’d like nothing more than to find an anonymous hookup for the night.

I’m staying at my parents’ house for the summer, but they both travel for my dad’s job, so they’re rarely home. They have some sort of river cruise planned for this summer, too, so I don’t expect to see them except on Zoom and FaceTime. My brother and his wife live in Virginia now, and most everyone else I know from high school didn’t come back to Hampton this summer because of internships or whatever.

I was lucky enough to score a one-bedroom apartment just minutes from campus, but my unit won’t be ready until August first. I thought I had a temporary place to stay this summer, but the girl from my logic class decided shacking up with her boyfriend sounded more fun than subletting the second room in her apartment, so here I am. I’ve got a solid eleven weeks to bum around this sleepy Ohio town before I can head back to Cali and move all my stuff out of storage and into my new place.

The prospects are slim tonight—everyone here is in a group or already paired up. Maybe I should just head out to Holt. At least there’s more than one bar out that way.

I take another swig from my flask as I consider my options. The vibe at The Oak is admittedly not bad—it feels like a local watering hole but with more of an upscale, hipster vibe. I honestly would probably like the place if Jake Fun-Sucker Whitely-Vargo or whatever his name is nowadays wasn’t the owner.

Maddie: ETA 30 minutes. I’m calling a car now.

I close out my messages app and scroll through Instagram for a few minutes, delaying the ride share that will take me out to Holt. Heading to the college town doesn’t appeal to me, but it looks like my only option.

I give one last glance around the room, resigned to the fact that I’m going to have to work a lot harder than I planned tonight. But before I can open the Lyft app, someone new walks up behind the bar.

I can’t make him out at first because his entire upper body is being blocked by the crate of liquor bottles he’s holding against his chest. But when he sets the crate down and turns, my heart flutters and my stomach fills with butterflies.

I try to school my expression as I stare down the bar at a man I haven’t seen in the flesh for more than a year.

Fielding Haas.

Well over six feet tall. Broad shoulders. Arm veins for fucking days. Straight white teeth behind a blinding smile that’s so intense it almost looks predatory.

His hair’s shorter than before, and he’s got a gorgeous tan, even though summer’s just begun. Somehow, he’s even hotter than I remember.

And fuck, do I remember.

I may not have seen the guy around lately, but Fielding was a mainstay at just about every party and holiday get together my freshman year of college. He was good friends with my sister-in-law, and practically besties with Jake.

God, it’s been too long. Just seeing him across the bar brings back a surge of memories. I miss his flirty banter and cocky attitude. I loved how he’d blatantly hit on me to get on my brother’s nerves. He’s hot, and he knows it. Just watching him has my body humming with excitement.

I’m not ashamed to admit that Fielding Haas has starred in more than one fantasy I’ve conjured up while spending quality time with my battery-operated boyfriend. Who could blame me? His eyes are like crystal-clear lagoons, and he’s at least six two!

I squeeze my thighs together on the barstool and try to calm my kitten, but it’s no use. If he has this sort of effect on me from across the room, I’m cream on a cracker once he makes his way toward me. Which he’s doing. Right now.

But as I watch his confident gait, an inkling of disloyalty tugs at my core.

The last time anyone even mentioned Fielding’s name was more than a year ago. My older brother, Rhett, insisted I block him from my phone, going as far as to make me swear I would tell him if Fielding ever tried to contact me. Something had gone down—and as per usual, no one would give me any details—but Fielding is officially on the no-fly list. He hasn’t been at any of our holiday gatherings over the last year. It’s like he ceased to exist.

If I’m not even allowed to accept a text from the guy, there’s no way Jake would hire him to work at his bar, right? Unless…

“It looks like you need a drink,” he murmurs in this deep, smooth voice that has me leaning forward in hopes of hearing him speak again. He stands opposite of where I sit and eyes me with a mix of intrigue and curiosity.

If his words hadn’t just given him away, that look was a definite tell.

This man isn’t Fielding.

This must be the other brother.

The sex kitten inside me revs her engine back to life as his eyes trail from my face to my chest, then back again. I’m smiling so hard my cheeks hurt from the effort. I probably look like an idiot—but I’m an idiot whose night just got a hell of a lot more interesting.

Fielding may be off limits. But no one ever told me to stay away from his twin.

Eat your heart out, Dempsey Haas.

We’re eye-fucking each other like no one else in this bar exists. His body’s illuminated by the funky teal lights that line the bar shelves behind him, giving his form this ethereal glow.

His eyes… goddamn, those eyes. They’re impossibly blue. They’re so light they’re almost clear. It’s like I’m standing on the edge of a pier over a lagoon, gazing down into a bottomless sea of baby blues.

The best part? He’s staring right back at me with such intensity it looks like he wants to eat me alive.

I don’t have time to come up with something clever to say before Jake is stalking toward us, that damn jaw tick working double-time to make itself known.

“I warned you, Fourth Wheel,” he hisses, pointing to me like I’m the one who initiated this conversation.

I reluctantly look away from the man I want to climb like a spider-monkey and raise both hands in faux innocence. “He came over here and started talking to me!”

Dempsey tilts his chin up toward Jake, regarding him while keeping those lagoon-blue irises locked on me. If he keeps looking at me like this, I swear my panties are going to float away in a tidal wave of desire.

“What am I missing here?”

Fuckity fuck. This particular Haas brother has no idea who I am, and Jake’s about to squash my fun before I can even get this party started.

But the heavens decide to shine down on me at that exact moment, and a shattering sound rings out from the back of the bar. Jake rushes away from us toward one of the big booths that line the back wall before he can answer Dempsey’s question.

“Don’t serve her,” he barks over his shoulder as he hustles toward the commotion.

Dempsey chuckles darkly before leaning closer. “What the hell did you do to get that kind of reaction from him?” I bite back a smile as he continues to check me out.

“Honestly? Between you and me?” I hook my heels on the barstool and boost myself up a few inches, silently cheering when he matches my posture and leans in farther.

“I’ve known Jake for years. He’s always hot and cold like that with me. I never know what I’m going to get with him.”

Dempsey’s eyebrows draw together a fraction as he shifts back slightly. “That doesn’t really sound like Jake,” he challenges.

Shit.

I assumed Jake was just his boss. That was probably the wrong angle if they’re actually friends. I have to spin this somehow. I need a diversion, stat.

I pull out my sparkly flask, because as ridiculous as I feel drinking from it, it will absolutely serve its purpose in this situation.

I unscrew the top, then tilt it to my mouth with a flourish, adding in a satisfied moan after I swallow.

“I brought my own for this very reason,” I quip, stashing the flask just as quickly as I whipped it out.

Dempsey’s eyes widen in surprise.

He schools his expression a moment later, then leans forward until his forearms are resting on the natural wood bar. I chance a peek and squeeze my thighs together when I get visual confirmation of what I had assumed. Yep. Arms like his brother. Long, sinewy muscles sheathed in perfectly tanned skin. Hands that were made for touching, kneading, teasing. Veins for fucking days.

“I can’t let you drink that in here, princess.”

I scowl at the cutesy nickname.

“Princess? Really?”

He smirks. “That’s what it says on your sparkly pink flask, princess,” he counters with extra emphasis.

Huh. So it does.

Tou-fucking-che, Dempesy Haas.

“You don’t miss a thing, do you?” I shift my hips on the bar stool and bring my shoulders together, giving him a perfect peek of my cleavage.

“I don’t, thank fuck.”

Straightening, I tilt my head in question.

“I wouldn’t forgive myself if I missed a single thing when it comes to you.”

Once again, I’m grinning like a fool. I can’t help it. I thought I was going to have to chase this one down. But it seems like I may have found a willing participant tonight after all.

“Why don’t you hand me a glass so I can sit here and drink this properly?”

Dempsey glances to the other end of the bar, and I follow his gaze, only to find Jake’s eyes on us.

“Tell you what. Stash that when Jake and the other guys come by. I’ll pour you a soda so it looks like you have a reason to be sitting at the bar.”

“I do have a reason to be sitting at this bar,” I counter as I gaze up at him through my lashes.

Dempsey doesn’t respond. Instead, he busies himself with scooping ice into a glass, then filling it to the brim with fizzy soda.

“Are you waiting on someone?” he asks as he slides me the drink.

“Not anymore.”

“So are you heading out soon?” he questions, the slightest hint of disappointment in his tone.

“Not anymore,” I repeat as I put the stir stick into my mouth and suck.

To my delight, he lets out a quiet scoff while he watches me take a sip of soda.

“Let me take care of my other customers, then I’ll be back. Don’t go anywhere.”

I give him a playful shrug and try to look coy. He doesn’t need to worry, though. I’m not moving from this barstool until I’m leaving with him.

2. Maddie

Chapter 2

Maddie

I flick my wrist and send another tot flying. It arcs through the air before landing in Dempsey’s mouth. His eyes light up in delight, and I raise both hands in victory. We’re officially four for seven, which is pretty damn good, if I say so myself.

“You two are getting on surprisingly well,” Jake chirps as he brushes past Dempsey and moves to the other end of the bar.

I scowl in his direction, but as expected, he ignores me.

That’s the third or fourth comment Jake has made in the last hour that almost blows my cover. What’s his freaking deal tonight? Can’t he see I’m a woman on a mission?

He’s probably just pissed off that I had the brill idea to DoorDash an order of tater tots from his restaurant next door. Not my fault he doesn’t serve food at The Oak. He’s got a fully functional kitchen twenty feet away, but I wasn’t about to lose my seat at the bar: in the middle of the action, in the halo glow of Dempsey’s attention.

Whatever. Jake isn’t my priority right now.

I don’t know if it’s the effects of the vodka I polished off half an hour ago or the charms of this man, but I can’t take my eyes off Dempsey Haas.

He has a little of that “aww, shucks” Andy Griffith energy that reminds me of my brother, but there’s something darker simmering below the surface. He isn’t some fuckboy who’s all talk and no action. No, he’s gorgeous. Charismatic. Enticing without being overly cocky. He’s obviously older than me, with an inimitable confidence about him.

He moves with this grace and ease, like he genuinely enjoys refilling drinks and flirting with every single person who hits on him. And believe me—I’ve been keeping track. Just about every person he talks to acts like they’re the moth and he’s the flame.

Watching him flirt doesn’t bother me. They can try to get his attention all they want.

But he keeps coming back to me.

None of the other guys working have even tried to approach me—whether because of Jake’s warning, or because Dempsey hasn’t gone three minutes without checking on me, I’m not sure.

Jake’s been hovering for the last half hour, prowling and scowling. It pisses him off that I stayed after he shut me down—and that Dempsey’s paying me more than my share of attention.

Serves him right for trying to dismiss me.

Honestly, I should be grateful Jake tried to shoo me out of the bar. He gave me this opportunity to get Dempsey’s attention. I’ve learned plenty about the other brother over the last few hours.

He is well liked and respected by everyone he works with. They all treat him like he’s their big brother or their dad or something. Even Jake talks to him differently than he talks to the other guys.

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