Page 40 of Charming the Cowboy
He arched a brow. “I thought the universe was going to do that.”
“Well, Marcus might act on behalf of the universe.”
“He’s not in town.”
“I know.” She couldn’t think of any justifications. Nobody in her family – except Marcus, but only because of who Cooper was – would have any kind of issue with her having sex. Her mom and grandma had always been entirely sex positive, and they themselves had taken lovers when it was convenient for them, and certainly hadn’t bothered to hide it.
But this was new for Eliana. Granted, they didn’t even know her whole situation. She might have fudged the reality aroundthe encounters that she’d had up until this point. Because it felt easier. Because it felt less embarrassing.
“I don’t think it requires an explanation,” he said.
“Would you feel the same way if it were your family?”
“I wouldn’t be that happy about proving my brother right. But otherwise.”
He was just owning it. Owning this, and that shocked her. She had expected a little bit of secrecy, but then again, he had kissed her at the bonfire.
“Okay. I’ll… Let’s walk back, and I’ll meet you at my house.”
“Meet you there.”
And just maybe, when she got back home, she did a small protection spell in her room before coming back downstairs. And held her breath until he pulled up. She saw his truck glide up against the curb, and she grabbed her overnight bag and rushed down the ladder. “And where are you going?” her grandmother asked from her beanbag chair in the corner on the second floor. “Away for the evening.”
“Oh?”
“With a man.”
“A man?” Her mom poked her head around the corner from one of the nooks and crannies down the hall.
“Yes, Mother. I’m going away with a man for the night.”
“Do we know this man?”
“Yes. You do.” She kept on moving, with purpose toward the stairs.
“Which man is it?”
“Cooper Langdon,” she said, taking a deep breath as she said his name, swallowing the last consonant.
“Oh!”
That brought both her mom and grandma speeding toward her.
“Does Marcus know?”
“Marcus doesn’t need to know. Considering I don’t know who he’s sleeping with tonight, I doubt he needs to know who I’m sleeping with.”
“True. And, I love your brother, but he is a man,” her mom said.
That somehow made no sense, and all the sense, all at the same time. “Exactly.”
“This seems like a very sudden development,” her mom said.
“It’s… several years in the making, I think. Anyway. I’m off. No need to worry.”
She felt like she had done a really good job of pushing through that.
Of not being embarrassed. Because this was… It was only sex. It was only sex!
