Page 133 of In Spades

I made my way up the freshly stained front steps, admiring the work Logan, Hunter, and I had put in over the weekend. The December weather had been clear and cool, so Hunter and I sanded down the old steps and put a weatherproof stain on them. Logan power washed the house. Then, the three of us pulled weeds and laid down fresh mulch.

We discussed doing some landscaping in a few months when things warmed up again, but I hoped the six of us would be living at my place by then.

Suddenly, the front door burst open, and Hunter came running out.

“Please, I’m begging you,” he said dramatically, coughing up a storm. “Get her out of here. If Ky sprays anymore hairspray on Kris, we’re all gonna suffocate. Save! Yourself!”

“Masterful performance,” I said, ruffling his dark brown hair as we walked inside. “Y’all gonna behave while Kris and I are gone?”

Hunter pressed his fist to his mouth thoughtfully. “Where did we leave the gas cans and matches again?”

A door opened and footsteps padded down the hall until Kylie appeared. She spotted me, squealed, and ran back down the hall. “He’s here!”

“Kylie, it’s just a work party, not a damn wedding,” Kristin grumbled from the bathroom.

Kylie came back into the living room first. “I know. But you never get dressed up like this and you look gorgeous.” The last word was whispered in hushed reverence.

Kristin rounded the corner, and I could’ve sworn that every molecule of oxygen in my body vaporized.

I used my last breath to whisper, “Beautiful.”

Kristin looked down at the strapless red dress that brushed the floor. A pair of black heels peeked out underneath. “Is it too much?”

“Never.”

She looked up at me with wide eyes, searching mine for signs of deceit. For any excuse to go back into her cocoon.

No. It was time for her to fly.

“You look like Audrey Hepburn,” I said, “In all the best ways.”

Wide, innocent eyes. Simple, clean makeup. Her chocolate brown hair was pulled back in a smooth chignon at the nape of her neck. Understated and classy. Timeless.

I leaned down and brushed her lips, careful not to kiss her lipstick off no matter how much I wanted to.

“I feel a little bit like Cinderella,” she said as I took her hand.

Sweetheart, if you only knew how the night was going to end.

“Your carriage awaits,” I said, motioning to the door. “We’d better get going before my truck turns into a pumpkin.”

Kristin grabbed her clutch, stuffing her phone and keys inside. “Okay, um, Logan and Ky are in charge. We’ll be back by eleven. Steve and Chase are off duty, so if something happens call 911 and then call one of them?—”

“We’ve got this,” Logan said, cutting her off and giving me a nod. “Have a good time.”

I led Kristin out to the truck and helped her up into the cab.

She pulled the hem of her gown in. Before I could shut the door, she grabbed my tie and yanked me in for a searing kiss. Her teeth sank into my bottom lip, and I felt my libido shoot through the roof.

“Hey, handsome,” she said, tugging at my lower lip until we broke apart. “You sure we have to go? Because in that suit—” she waved her finger up and down “—you’ve got the whole James Bond thing going on and I’m all about it.” She stroked her palm down the side of my jaw, pulling me in for another kiss, softer this time.

I pushed the crimson fabric of her dress aside and slid my hand up her bare leg. “Is that what does it for you? Me in a suit?”

“You in anything does it for me.”

I laughed and pecked her lips one last time before hurrying around to the driver’s seat. Hannah Jane would kill me if I strayed from her proposal timeline.

“Me in anything, huh?” I quipped as I pulled out of the trailer park.

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