Page 79 of Wedlocked

“Are we ready back there?” the driver called.

“Wait!” she exclaimed, pulling her phone from beneath the blankets. “We need a photo.”

I grabbed the phone and held it out to snap a selfie of us snuggled up in the carriage. Once that was done, we covered back up and called out that we were ready.

The carriage lurched forward, and Maddie squealed under her breath. “I’ve never done this before. Oh my God, J, this is the best!”

I chuckled and draped my arm around her. “Told you I was romantic.”

“You’re everything, Jamie. Just everything.” She sighed and laid her head on my shoulder.

Snow started to flutter from the gray sky, and the sound of the horse’s hooves clomping against the ground was hypnotizing. We sipped the hot cider and watched the snowy landscape pass by while bundled under our blankets.

And for a while, it was just me and Maddie. The perfect date.

15

Coach

I never really felt thatold until I started hanging out with a bunch of twenty-something-year-olds.

Now?

Just call me the Crypt Keeper.

Yeah, that probably aged me too. Don’t know him? That’s what Google’s for. I’m busy being old. I don’t have time to school you.

Don’t get me wrong. I kept up pretty well. Skied circles around a few of them. Not Lars. That boy was in a league of his own on skis. All the swimming and exercise had done me well. Even still, days of skiing, ice skating, and a long morning of snowmobiling left the ol’ bones aching.

I was feeling all forty years of my age as we drove into the rental place to return the snowmobiles. I’d admit I was proud of these boys. Instead of going to a bar or hiring a stripper for a bachelor party for Kruger, they chose to rip up a mountain covered in snow.

For as boneheaded as they all were, they had some maturity too. At least in the places that mattered most.

Don’t tell them I said that. They’d take it as a personal challenge to prove me wrong.

One by one, the engines shut off, and I glanced over at Bodhi who was parked beside me, grinning from ear to ear like the little troublemaker he was. He drove like a bat out of hell with no inkling of consideration for his safety. Every time I caught up to him, it was like he knew he was gonna get a lecture because he’d gun it again, leaving behind a tidal wave of snow.

Brat.

Tucking my helmet in my lap, I twisted around to watch him. Even bundled up in black snow pants, boots, and a bright-yellow parka with a fur-lined hood against his back, he still managed to look sexy. After cutting the engine, he reached up to tug off his helmet, the beanie on his head going with. His hair was long enough now that it curled some and stuck out everywhere around his head. Sort of looked like a golden halo, but he was no angel, so I kept that observation to myself.

His cheeks were bright pink when he turned toward me, flashing a toothy smile as bright as the snow. “That was gnarly,” he called.

I glowered, and he smirked. “Something wrong, Em?”

I swung my leg off the sled and walked toward him, my boots crunching through the snow as I went. The smile on Bodhi’s face slipped, and his blue eyes widened as he watched me. The energy around us shifted as I straddled his sled and lowered, forcing him to slide back to make room for me.

Our knees bumped, and I planted my gloved palms on the seat between us, leaning in to invade his personal space.

“Did you enjoy making me worry about you the entire morning?” I rumbled quietly.

I couldn’t see his throat work because of all our layers, but I heard him swallow. “I don’t know what you mean.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Are you lying to me right now?”

The tip of his pink tongue darted out to swipe over his chapped lower lip. “No, Daddy,” he whispered.

Ah, that was the stuff. Fucking thrilled me right to my core when he slipped into our dynamic so easily. Told me exactly where his headspace was and exactly what he needed.

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