Page 62 of Fixing to Be Mine

I pull away slowly, breath caught somewhere between her mouth and mine, and I keep my hands on her face for a second longer than necessary to memorize the feel of her skin, the way her lashes are still low, and how her cheeks are flushed from more than the heat. She looks at me like the ground shifted beneath her feet. Hell, it did. At least I felt it.

The emcee laughs into the microphone. “If you don’t marry that woman …”

The tent bursts into applause again. I pull away from Sunny, realizing we lost control.

I rest my forehead against hers for half a breath. “Let’s get out of here.”

She nods.

I wave at everyone, unable to tuck the smile back as I wrap my arm around her, leading her out of the tent with all eyes on us.

“See, you never know what kinda show you’re gonna get at the rodeo!” The emcee recovers. “Next, we’ve got Emmett Valentine!”

There’s a chorus of shrieks from the middle rows. I glance back toward the crowd in time to see my brother strut onto the stage, arms raised like he’s already won something.

He grins at the crowd. “Any woman out there wants to drop twenty grand on me? I’ll give you the time of your damn life!”

The tent roars with laughter.

Emmett winks, reaches for the hem of his shirt, and yanks it off in one motion, tossing it into the crowd like he’s a damn rodeo-themed Chippendale. The single women lose their minds.

Sunny presses her face into my shoulder, laughing so hard that I feel it in my chest. “Oh my God. This is a fever dream.”

“Nope,” I say, resting my hand at the small of her back. “This is Valentine.”

She doesn’t let me go, and I’m not letting go of her either.

The bidding for Emmett is absolute chaos.

Someone shouts two hundred. Then three. Then a woman near the back yells four fifty and throws her hand in the air like she’s claiming a prize-winning pig at the county fair.

When it gets up to a thousand, Emmett beams, shirtless and soaking it up like the crowd’s roaring for him, which they are.

The emcee pounds her gavel and shouts, “Sold to the lovely lady in the fringe tank top for one grand!”

Emmett blows a kiss and flexes like he’s leaving with a trophy.

“Last year, Emmett auctioned himself twice to raise more money.”

“Seriously?” she questions as we step outside.

I lead her away from everyone until we’re in the shadows behind the tent. All I can think is that I kissed the woman I can’t stop thinking about … and she let me. Actually, shemetme in it, matched it, and claimed me as I opened my mouth. We stand there for a minute longer, letting the energy of the tent swirl around us. People are still laughing, shouting out names, clapping like this is the best entertainment they’ve had all month.

Our eyes meet.

“Wanna get out of here?”

“When do I need to pay?” she asks.

“Later,” I explain. “They know where to find ya.”

She nods, still grinning, cheeks pink, eyes bright. “Lead the way.”

We cut through the crowd, still holding hands, still wrapped in that buzzing afterglow.

Every few steps, someone stops us to clap me on the shoulder or say something like, “Way to reel her in, cowboy.”

I’ve never seen Sunny more alive. She’s radiant. Free. And she’s mine.

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