Page 63 of Cowboy Devil's Embrace

“What happened?” she asked, staring at me with that mom look she’d perfected.

“Nothing,” I hedged, biting my lip and squirming like I was a kid she’d caught doing something bad.

“The date, Penelope. What happened on the date?” Avery asked.

She was practically vibrating off the ground with all her excitement.

“It was, uh, it was nice,” I said, hedging.

I mean, what else could I say? I didn’t have a bad time. It just, well, it did not end like I thought it would.

Like with my legs in the air and a certain smexy cowboy bottoming out inside my has-been-neglected-for-too-long pussy.

“Nice?” Avery spat the word like it was an insult, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Yeah. Nice. He was a gentleman.”

I shrugged, but the careless gesture couldn’t hide my disappointment.

“Nice?” Avery repeated.

I nodded, moving on to the tray of caramel apple dumplings I still needed to finish. I lifted the butter brush and added a dusting of large sugar crystals on top, paying close attention to detail as I worked.

“What do you meannice? I looked the guy up. He’s this rich playboy, party animal type. Didn’t he ravage you? Where’s the beard burn? Why are you even here?”

“What are you talking about, Av?” I did not have the energy to do this.

“I am talking about the fact you can still walk with no obvious signs you had a decent sized dick in you last night, that’s what I am talking about!”

“Geezus, Avery!” I screeched, wave after wave of embarrassment rolling over me.

“Tell me honestly, Penny. Did you guys even fuck?”

I sucked in a breath, met my best friend’s stare, and I shook my head. Tears pricked my eyes, and I shrugged my shoulders, finishing the tray of apple dumplings and putting them in the oven.

In five minutes, the whole place was going to smell amazing. But what did I care?

Max had been kind and attentive. Sweet even. And the way he’d handled Burt? Totally hot.

“I must have done what I always do, Av. Somehow, I friend-zoned myself.”

“What? Nooooooooo!” Avery wailed. “He was supposed to cure the dick drought around here,” my best friend groaned and banged her fist on the stainless steel table.

“Dick drought?”

“Yes! I don’t know if you knew this, Penelope, but Barren County has been having the worst case of dick drought ever. There hasn’t been a fuckable guy who isn’t taken here in forever. And you know rule number twenty-seven of Girl Club? We share our Big D stories when one of us is between guys!”

“Oh my God. You have lost your mind, Avery.”

I mean, she wasn’t really wrong. But what was I supposed to say? I’d been married up until fairly recently, even if our marriage was over long before we signed the papers. Still, I never dishonored my vows.

But I had no time for self-reflection, Avery was still going strong.

“I thought Max was going to be the first in a well of new, single men in the area. Dammit. I didn’t even bring anything to read, thinking you’d regale me with all your naughty shenanigans from last night. I am so disappointed,” she said.

That did it. I started crying. But where some people looked beautiful when they were emotional, my tears were like the total opposite of pretty crying.

They were just loud, scary, hiccuping sobs.

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