Page 83 of Forbidden King (Magnolia Falls)

I’d filled them in on how odd the whole experience had been, and they’d been pretty floored by all of it.

“Yeah. He’s the best.” I could feel my cheeks heat, and I tried my best to act casual. I couldn’t get him out of my head. The way he’d kissed me out in the water. The way he’d made me feel.

“You two sure spend a lot of time together,” Demi said, as she waggled her brows.

Kingston and I had made a deal to keep this between us, and I’d asked him not to talk to my brother about it, so this wasn’t something I could share with anyone.

And I was fine with it because it was something that I only shared with him.

“We’re good friends.” I popped a tater tot into my mouth as all three studied me.

They didn’t push.

It was obvious they suspected something was up. I wasn’t going to blatantly deny it, but I wasn’t going to offer it up, either.

Kingston had never been in a relationship. And now he was fooling around with his best friend’s little sister. The minute Hayes found out about it, he would freak out, and this whole thing would blow up. I just wanted a chance to see where this went before all the noise brought it to a quick end.

I knew I was playing with fire, but I was willing to get burned for this man.

That’s how strongly I felt about him.

“Just be smart, all right?” Ruby whispered to just me, her eyes giving me that knowing look as Demi and Peyton added more food to their plates.

“I wish you’d just jump the man’s bones. He’s so hot. I don’t know how you hang out with him all the time without anything going on.” Peyton sipped her cocktail and shrugged.

At least only one of them appeared to be suspicious.

“Never crossed my mind,” I said, and we all laughed because they knew that was a big, fat lie.

No one could meet Kingston and not think about it.

There was just something about him.

“Speak of the devil,” Ruby said, and I turned to see him walking toward us.

“Ladies,” he said, his hand landing on the small of my back. “Did you forget to invite me to happy hour?”

Everyone chuckled, and my heart raced because I knew he was here for me.

He can’t stop thinking about yesterday either.

“Are you out trolling tonight, King?” Peyton said, her voice all tease.

“Nope. I seem to have retired my trolling days, Peyt.” He reached over and took a tater tot and popped it into his mouth. “I was just on my way home from work and thought I’d grab a beer.”

Ruby was looking between us, but Demi and Peyton seemed to buy it.

Hell,Iwas buying it. We had plans to meet up later, but I hadn’t expected him to show up here.

Lionel, Ruby’s father, brought a beer over and made small talk with Kingston while we finished our drinks. He’d pulled up a barstool in between me and Peyton and made himself right at home.

“Okay, so we’re all set for the bachelorette party, right?” Peyton asked. “Even if you want it to be tame, we’re still going to make it fun.”

“I know you’re bummed, Peyt. I’m more than aware that you wanted it to be some wild Vegas trip, but it’s just not my thing. So, we’ll come to Whiskey Falls and dance and have some fun. But I promise, when you get married, we’ll do all the crazy things, okay?”

“Fine,” she huffed, and we all laughed.

Kingston’s hand found my thigh beneath the table, and I sucked in a breath. Our shoulders were touching because the table wasn’t large, and his hand climbed up my thigh without any warning. I jumped a bit and cleared my throat to cover it.

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