Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 112903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
But I won’t think about that right now. Right now, I’m gonna pretend like January doesn’t exist. Like November and December are gonna last forever, so I don’t need to be scared of going all in. Sally’s here to stay.
“Aw, Wy, that goes without saying.” Sally reaches over and grabs my hand, her palm warm from being wrapped around her coffee cup. “You’re my best friend in the world. When I got home last night, I literally couldn’t sleep. I was so…excited. And happy. And I kept wondering if it was all so good because we’re already friends, you know? There’s a level of comfort there that I’ve never had with anyone else.”
I lift a shoulder, my heart doing that hammering thing again. “Whatever the case, I’d like to think we’re both adults. That we’re going in with eyes wide open. Keep talkin’ to me, yeah?” And maybe—just maybe—I’ll finally be able to really talk to you.
“Like I could ever stop.” Sally squeezes my hand. “Thank you, Wy. You really don’t have to help me practice being confident—”
“But I want to.” The breeze blows her hair into her face. Letting go of her hand, I reach up to tuck the strands behind her ear. I hope she doesn’t notice that my hand’s a little shaky. I can’t believe this is happening. “Let me.”
Her gaze goes hazy, eyes unfocused. A flicker of heat ignites low in my belly.
“Okay,” she says softly.
I ain’t about to waste time. I got a little more than a month to show Sally how a real man treats her. Five weeks—but who’s counting?—to get my fill of her before I have to give her up.
Speaking of that, I gotta make sure we’re on the same page here. Sally’s just looking for a good time. A way to let loose. We cross any other lines, someone’s gonna get hurt.
That someone is me, and I’m going to end up hurt no matter what happens.
I still force out the words. “Just sex, right?”
Sally blinks. My pulse thumps.
Ask me for more. Please, God, ask me for the world so I can give it to you.
Instead, she nods. “Just sex. Yeah.”
“Okay then.” I slap my leg in an effort to distract myself from the sudden pain inside my chest. “You got a lot going on today?”
“I do. There’s a new journal I should read, and a surgeon I really admire just released a podcast episode. I haven’t done laundry in—sheesh—way too long. And Dad’s always on call, so I like to be around to help out if he needs me.” She bites her lip. “But if you gave me an excuse to bail, I totally would.”
“How about…” I pretend to think it over as I grab her hand again. “You need to come check out the herd with me. Weather’s good, and I saw a couple of heifers lingering at the back of the pens yesterday. I need you to triple-check that they’re not sick.”
“Sounds serious.”
“It’s not. But it’ll give us an excuse to go for a ride.”
Her lips twitch. “What kind of ride?”
“Whatever kind you want, sugar.”
She rolls her eyes. “Jesus, you are a living, breathing one-liner.”
“It ain’t a line if it’s true.”
Those eyes flash. “Okay, I can’t tell if you’re actually joking or not.”
“Finish your coffee”—I nod at the cup in her hand—“then find out.”
CHAPTER 14
Sally
FRIENDS MAKE EVERYTHING BETTER
“Since you’re a gamblin’ woman now,” Wyatt says, threading his horse’s reins through his gloved hands, “how about we race for some money?”
I’m on Penny, the appropriately named copper-colored mare I usually ride when I visit Lucky River Ranch. Wyatt and I tacked up at the horse barn, and now we’re headed out into the glorious fall morning.
“We forgot to collect our winnings last night, didn’t we?” I say with a smile.
Screwing an eye shut against the sun, Wyatt lifts his hips so he can dig into his front pocket. The motion draws my gaze to his thighs, which strain against the broken-in, faded denim of his Wranglers.
An image flashes across my thoughts—the muscles in those thighs tensing as Wyatt pumps into me, his breath warm on my ear as he murmurs, Only you, Sunshine. You’re the only one I want.
Then again, he made it perfectly clear he just wanted sex. As much as that hurt—as much as I wish he’d asked for more—more is not in the cards. I have to get over that. I will get over that, if only so I can enjoy what Wyatt is willing to give me.
He holds up a wad of cash. “Sawyer grabbed it for us and dropped it in my mailbox late last night. Winner gets double?”
Wyatt is six-two, so he’s got long legs. But they’re thick, too, and so well-muscled that I can see the bulbous outline of his quadriceps through his jeans. The man is shredded, and—