Page 94 of The Wildest Ride

A muffled voice came through the door. “Let me in.”

Recognizing AJ, Lil hurried over. She opened the door and pulled him inside.

“Are you crazy? You can’t just come over here at this time of night. Someone will see.”

AJ laughed, shaking his head. “So, competitors can be friends too, Lil.”

Lil put her hands on her hips and said, “You know what I mean.”

AJ closed the space between them and cupped her chin, tilting her face up for a kiss. “I do. I missed you.”

She smiled into his kiss despite herself. Nuzzling into him was as natural as breathing—and that was a problem.

She grumbled, “You’ve only been away from me for about six of the last forty-eight hours.”

His palms came to her hips to slide up her rib cage. “Six hours too many. You don’t have a bra on.”

Her words came out breathy, but she managed: “You have a one-track mind, Garza.”

He grinned. “You don’t need more than one track when it’s a good one.”

Lil rolled her eyes. “Right...”

The microwave dinged, and Lil reluctantly pulled out of his arms to take the bag out and vent it, carefully keeping her fingers away from the outpouring of hot steam.

AJ sniffed the air. “Popcorn. Perfect. Glad we’re on the same page.”

Lil raised an eyebrow at him. “The same page?”

He looked like he’d had a shower. Like her, he’d opted for sweatpants after. His were light gray and he’d paired them with one of his endlessly touchable white T-shirts. In the crook of his arm, he held a pillow, which he pointed to with his free hand.

“Slumber party.”

Lil snorted. “Cowboys don’t have slumber parties.”

AJ rolled his eyes this time. “Don’t be sexist, Lil. Grab the popcorn. We’ve still got to pick out a movie.”

Lil laughed, “You can’t stay here.”

He grinned at her, one dimple peeking out. “Why not?”

“You’ve got sweats on.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? It’s a slumber party. You expect a suit?”

“Cowboys don’t have slumber parties with each other. In suits or sweatpants,” Lil insisted.

AJ shook his head thoughtfully. “You know, you’re right, and that’s really a shame. They should. We’re breaking real barriers tonight. You might want to put in another bag of popcorn. I love popcorn.”

Instead of kicking him out, Lil pulled a second bag of popcorn out of the box. They couldn’t sleep together again, no matter how simple and easy it would be to slide into his arms. There was too much on the line and their bubble of privacy was long gone, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy each other’s company. She had to be careful with him, she knew it. It would be all too easy to tumble right into friendship with AJ Garza, but a human needed companionship every now and then. Even at the ranch she knew how to wind down. Cowboys were allowed to eat popcorn together, for a little while at least.

She told herself that as she joined him on the padded bench that served as a sofa in the camper, setting the popcorn down as she went. Opening her computer, she wished her mind would only stop cackling in disbelief.

He reached for a handful of popcorn and asked, “So what’re we watching?”

Lil’s eyes took on a wicked gleam. “The North.It’s an Irish period drama about a Catholic girl and a Protestant boy who fall in love during The Troubles...”

He grinned cheerfully back at her and tossed a piece of popcorn in his mouth. “Sounds great. Of course, we’d be more comfortable if we watched on the bed.”

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