Page 106 of Love Me Reckless

“I am,” I say. Sofie and Ava each take one of my hands.

“Your folks and that fiancé of yours are mighty worried.”

Fiancé. I fight the shudder racing down my spine. “I’ve talked to my father, and my brother.”

The creases around the sheriff’s eyes soften. “That’s good.”

“Thank you for checking in. I’m okay.”

He gives the group of people gathered one last sweep of his unflinching gaze. “Well, you take care,” he says, then turns for the door.

Zach follows him out, and I get one last glimpse of the dark streetand Sheriff Olson clamping his hat back on his head before the door closes.

I exhale a sigh of relief.

We return to the table and our feast. My dress is feeling more and more like a weighted blanket but taking it off feels daunting. Like it’s an old skin I need to forcibly scratch off.

As if reading my mind, Sofie pours me more wine and Ava cracks open another beer.

“Do you think Birch will show up here?” Sofie asks.

I shrug.

“You need us to stand guard?” Hutch asks with a determined glance in my direction.

“No,” I say, shaking my head.

Zach returns, bringing a gust of the cool evening air that sends goose flesh down my bare arms. I’ve noticed Zach switched to water after one beer. It could be that he’s the one driving everyone home, but what if the sheriff warned him, and he’s making sure he’s sober for whatever is coming?

I put it out of my mind. Right now, my friends are gathered here with me. We may not be celebrating a wedding, but it’s a moment I want to cherish.

We finish off the pizza and veggie platter and half a bag of chocolate peanut butter cups, and before I can protest, the kitchen is shipshape and everything stored away.

My friends gather their coats, and I hug each one of them goodbye.

“Call me tomorrow,” Sofie says, squeezing me tight.

Zach is next, and I thank him for helping with the sheriff.

When it’s Hutch’s turn, he bear hugs me so hard I squeak. “I don’t exactly understand what happened today,” he says. “But you look happy, and that’s what matters to me.”

I hold onto him a moment longer, soaking up his kindness. He sets me back on my feet, and Ava wraps me in a soft hug. “I tucked some condoms into your bag,” she whispers in my ear.

I laugh. “What makes you think I need those?”

She steps back with a wicked grin. “Call it a hunch.”

My friends file out the door to a chorus of final goodbyes, and then Sawyer gently shuts the door, his serious eyes darkening with hunger. He gives my body a slow, seductive scan.

“Ready to get out of that dress?”

Chapter Twenty-Five

KIRILEE

The deep timbreof his voice sends heat prickles down my body, taking my pulse with it.

“There’s a lot of buttons,” I say, my breaths coming faster.

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