Page 15 of A Forbidden Spring
“Sure, but if Reid asks…”
“I won’t ask you to lie to him,” I say, giving him a soft smile. “How are things going?”
“Amazing.” The tips of his ears heat and my heart squeezes in my chest. He’s so good for Reid and he’s already done so much for our family—for the horses and what will be the sanctuary.
“I’m really happy for both of you.”
“Are you guys drinking without me?” Reid says, slipping his jacket off and draping it over the back of the chair. He presses a quick kiss to Harlan’s lips but melts a little when Harlan holds him captive for a moment longer. My cousin is grinning like a fool when he finally turns back to me. “Tough day?”
I shrug. “I didn’t want to go home.”
His smile falls, guilt swimming behind his black-framed glasses. “Wren?—”
“Stop,” I tell him, taking his hand and squeezing it in mine. “This is what it’s supposed to be. And I don’t think Harlan is ready for a girls’ night although he did say an entire six words to me before you got here.” I wink at Harlan, and he smirks behind his beer.
My phone buzzes on the table and I can’t help but smile.
PEN: YOU GUYS ARE HAVING GIRLS’ NIGHT WITHOUT ME?
WREN: What’s with the shouty caps?
WREN: And who said it’s girls’ night?
PEN: Harlan
“What?”Reid says, looking over my shoulder at my phone, a goofy smile gracing his lips as he looks at his boyfriend. “You’re a dream.”
Harlan shrugs as he stands. “As much as I’d like to keep you all to myself, I should probably let you out of the sex dungeon once in a while.”
Reid’s cheeks flame as he sputters, his gaze whipping back and forth between me and Harlan, as I nearly fall out of my chair I’m laughing so hard. Whether they have anactualsex dungeon or not is none of my business, but Reid’s face is priceless, and so is the comic relief.
“Youcannotsay things like that,” Reid hisses at Harlan before turning to me. “We don’t have a sex dungeon.”
“I wouldn’t judge you if you did,” I tell him, barely able to keep a straight face as he covers his with his hands.
“I hate both of you,” he grumbles, and I see Pen weaving her way through the bar.
“Why is Reid miserable?” she asks as Harlan stands and offers her his chair.
“Because Harlan announced they have a sex dungeon,” I tell her, eliciting another groan from Reid and a smirk from Harlan.
Pen blushes but she nods. “Good for you guys. I was thinking about one of those swings, you know? We had sex in the back of Lake’s truck, because I never got to do that in high school, and holy hell, the number of times I smashed my knee on the seatbelt was…” She looks up as we all gape at her because this rant isunexpected.“What?”
“I’m trying to separate my friend wanting a sex swing from my brother wanting a sex swing,” I tell her as Harlan drags his hand over his mouth, his amusement evident even as he tries to hide it.
Reaching over, Reid downs my beer and sets the glass down with a thunk as he tries, and fails, to form the words.
Any words.
“Well,” Harlan muses, dropping a kiss on Reid’s temple, “that’s my cue to go.” He’s a step from our table when he takes his card out and sets it in front of Reid. “It’s on me tonight. Pen, send me the link for that swing, because we have the perfect spot for one.”
She salutes him as Reid’s forehead drops to the table. Rubbing his back, I share a smile with Pen.
“Can I get you another round of drinks?” the waitress says as she approaches.
Lifting up, Reid meets her gaze, desperation in his eyes as he says, “We’re gonna need shots. A lot of them.”
Snickering, I nod, because I just can’t argue with that.
