Page 117 of Show Me How
“Is that supposed to be the ultimate test of how much a guy is willing to do for someone?”
“Careful with your answer, Shade. I would hate to have to ban you from the diner,” Maggie warns.
“This is my house, you know?”
Millie’s lips twitch before she butts in. “Shade isn’t the type of guy to bark.”
“But he gets on his knees?” Shelly asks, and I can hear the smirk in her voice.
The red creeping up Millie’s throat and to the tips of her ears has me putting an end to this conversation. If she gets any more embarrassed, I’ll have to bark just to distract her, and I don’t know if my pride could handle that right now.
“Wouldn’t you like to know, Shelly,” I drawl, patting the beanbag. “Ask your husband to act like a dog, and then come back to me to share how it went.”
Millie clears her throat, the red softening as she smiles at me with a silent thank you.
“Let’s get back on track. Is there a specific part of the book that was your favourite? Anyone?”
One of the women who I don’t know all that well—Katie, maybe—blurts out something about a cowboy dropping his hat on the head of the woman he’d been chasing all book. An array of sighs and high-pitched praises fills the living room.
I bite my tongue, letting them have this moment of swooning. It’s a real rule, as far as I know. The wholewear the hat, ride the cowboything. Rowe made that a whole thing when we were teenagers. He used it to his advantage a few too many times.
“Is that the epitome of romance for you all, then? Barking men and cowboy hats?” I ask.
Millie stares at me, the corner of her mouth twitching just enough to give her away. “Go ahead and find out. You don’t have a hat, but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t try your hand at barking.”
“Not gonna happen, princess.”
She shrugs her shoulder, blowing me off. “Fine.”
“What a disappointment,” Maggie sighs dramatically.
“Don’t you all have your own husbands to make do these things?”
Shelly shakes her head. “It’s not the same.”
“Plus, I don’t have a husband. Millie and I are single and now miserable on top of it,” Lacey adds.
My chest heats as I stare bluntly at Millie. I wait for her to feel the weight of my gaze before slowly looking back at me. She rolls her lips, her posture softening slightly. I spread my legs, smoothing two palms down them in invitation. Then, I wait to see if she’ll take the bait despite the audience.
It’s reckless sitting with her on my lap like this, but the beast pounding at my rib cage doesn’t give a shit what any of these people think. Not now that it’s heard the words “single” and “Millie” in the same sentence.
She hesitates to move, doubt flickering across her expression. Worry too. Still, I don’t back down. Having these women leave my place and spreading what happened here tonight around town doesn’t seem like a nuisance. It’s the opposite, actually. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about a fucking cowboy from the stables planting his stupid hat on her head the next time she’s at the diner alone.
“Just take the seat already before someone else does,” Shelly mumbles under her breath.
Lacey giggles before Millie’s finally coming right to me. My princess glares across the room at where the owner of Shimmer Lake sits and grins at her. There’s no real heat behind it. There’s no chance for her to find any before I’m gripping her hips and pulling her down onto my lap.
She falls onto me, exhaling softly before leaning against me like it’s the most natural thing for her to do. I palm her thigh, trying to anchor her to my body before hovering my lips at her ear.
“Sit here first next time,” I murmur.
It’s been too many days since she’s been right here. She’s made it her mission to stay off my lap ever since she finished my tattoo and scurried into the bathroom the other day. I wouldn’t say she’s been hiding, but there’s been some tension between us that I’m chomping at the bit to erase.
She lowers her chin in a small nod. “Okay.”
Her list of questions is crumpled in her hands now, so I help her straighten it again before clearing my throat and asking the next one.
“How much would you say a found family dynamic adds to a good romance story?”
