Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 143842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 479(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 143842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 479(@300wpm)
From where she sat next to me, Dakota knocked her shoulder into mine, making sure to include me in the conversation since they’d all been sharing stories about their kids.
“Wait until you meet little Evelyn,” she said, referring to Caleb and Paisley’s daughter, a little girl I’d learned Caleb had gotten custody of after his sister had been killed a couple years before. Now, he and Paisley were raising her as their own. “She is the sweetest little thing you’ll ever meet. I bet she and your Maddie are going to be the best of friends.”
“Of course, they’re going to be besties,” Paisley shouted over the din. “How could they not? Evelyn is obsessed with horses, and when she finds out her horse Mazzie came from your father’s ranch? She’s going to lose it. We have to get them together next weekend. Why don’t you bring her to our place for a playdate?”
Warmth spread through my chest. “She would love that.”
“Ah, I bet she would.” The grumbled words brought attention back to the man who sat beside me. The one I kept trying to ignore.
Impossible when I was getting consumed by the heat he emitted.
Leaning forward, he rested those tattooed forearms on the table, and he swung those golden eyes in my direction before he spoke to the rest of the table. “Little Madison is nothing but a button. Cute as can be. Can only imagine she and my Evie-Love will hit it off. First time I met her, she was out at the park hunting for friends.”
My stomach twisted in a fit of that attraction that I couldn’t tame.
The man might have been wicked hot, but I thought most dangerous was how sweet he was proving to be.
I had to remember to keep up my guard. Barriers. The most Cody could ever be was a friend. I’d just have to get used to the attraction.
“We’ve moved twice in the last three months, so she is definitely itching to find a friend,” I added.
“Then you have definitely come to the right place,” Paisley said. She turned to Savannah. “You should bring Olivia, too. Actually, bring all the kids. We’ll make a whole thing out of it.”
“I’m game.” Dakota lifted her glass.
“It’s a party then,” Paisley said.
With a slow smile, Caleb slung an arm around Paisley’s shoulders. “This one is always looking for an excuse to throw a party.”
“That’s because this life is worth celebrating,” she shot back.
“That’s right,” Savannah agreed.
“Speaking of…” A sly grin quirked up on Paisley’s face when a cocktail server showed up at the table with a tray of shots. “We are definitely celebrating tonight. I ordered shots.”
“Are you trying to kill me?” Dakota whined as the server began to pass out the little glasses filled with a yellow liquid and rimmed in sugar.
“A lemon drop never hurt anyone,” Paisley said, nudging one her direction.
“Yeah, all except for my pride,” Ryder grumbled as he wrapped a tattooed hand around the tiny glass.
Paisley sent him a glare. “You need a little sweet in all that sour.”
Ryder tugged Dakota closer to him, and he ran his nose along her jaw. “Believe me, I have all the sweet I need.”
Cody groaned next to me. “There you go with those dirty paws all over my sister.”
I tried to contain a giggle.
It was cute how Cody kept trying to maintain a façade of annoyance that his best friend and his little sister had gotten together, though I couldn’t feel an ounce of true irritation rolling from him whenever he mentioned it.
It was warmth, instead, his love stark and obvious, even though I was pretty sure he thought he was pulling off that casual indifference he wore like a brand.
“Give me a few minutes, and they’re really going to be all over her.” Ryder prodded it, needling it in.
“Do you see what I have to put up with?” Cody grumped as he elbowed me softly. A streak of fire ripped down my spine.
“Brutal,” I told him, glancing his way.
I shouldn’t have.
I should have remained with my attention focused on the rest of the group. Because he was so close, and there were only two inches that separated our noses.
Every sharp, rugged angle of his face right there, the warmth of his breath mingling with mine.
His scent all around.
Spice and cedar and earth.
My fingers itched with the need to reach out and trace every inch of his face.
His brow.
His jaw.
His lips.
My brain was right back on that image he’d sent me yesterday, my throat going dry and my thighs clenching with the need I shouldn’t feel.
A tease of a smirk played over that delectable mouth, like he knew exactly what was running through my mind.
“To friends…”
Paisley’s voice pulled me from his trap, and I tried to clear the ball of need stuck in my throat as I reached for a shot glass.