Page 25 of Forever Wild

He does have a point.

I narrow my eyes at him, chewing at my lower lip.

“I don’t know. What do you want from me, Wild?”

“Hmmm—” He stares at my lips and heat curls in my belly, my mouth watering.

“And it has to be legal and ethical.”

“Trix, I’m crushed. You know I’d never ask you to do anything illegal or unethical.”

“Okay, what do you want then?”

“Come with me to the dedication at the park.”

My chest contracts, all the air sucked from my lungs.Did Colt Wild just ask me on a date?

“What?” I frown at him, certain I’m hearing things.

“To the land dedication. Come with me.”

Nope, not hearing things. The man definitely asked me to attend a function, in public, with him.

“You sure that’s a good idea?”

“No. It’s probably a terrible idea.” He shoves a hand in his pocket, his lips slightly parted as he gazes at me.

I’m having trouble breathing, what with his blue-green laser stare boring into me.

“But I’d still like you to come with me. You know—for moral support. My brother’s already being a dick about the whole thing…” His voice trails off and I catch a shadow of the boy he used to be back in the day.

Beneath all that cocky swagger, Colt was always a little bit of a lost soul, trying to figure out his place in his gang of brothers and the big, wide world.

My chest aches for that lost little boy and I cave.

“Fine. I’ll go with you. Tell me when and where and I’ll be there.”

A grin spreads over his face, reaching all the way to his eyes, and it’s the happiest I’ve seen him all day. Maybe all week.

“Thanks, Trix.”

“Sure. You better do a damn good job on those beams.”

“You got it, boss. I’m going to need a sturdy ladder, though. And a spotter. I can’t afford to reinjure myself.”

“Deal. Okay, that was enough of a break.” I push off the wall, ready to get back to work. “Time to get back at it. Let’s measure for the tile, then I can head out to the store to place the order.”

Colt whips the measuring tape from his back pocket and walks over to the nearest corner. I follow right behind him, fully appreciating the way his ass perfectly fills out his jeans.

“You stand here and hold this—” He hands me the end of the measuring tape, the tips of his fingers brushing mine, and an electric tingle shoots straight through me. I bite down on my lip and ignore the heat creeping up my neck as Colt backs across the room with the yellow tape.

No, Trix. Doing anything with Colt would be an epically bad idea.

He bends down, scribbling the measurement on the floor with his thick pencil.

“Keep holding the tape, I’m coming back.” He straightens up, then returns to my spot in the corner. “Now, we go the other direction.”

He repeats the process, his eyes on me the entire time he’s inching away. He probably doesn’t trust me to hold the measuring tape, afraid I’ll let go and he’ll get zapped with it.

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