Page 31 of Into the Woods

Every time I was with Eric, I got to know him a little better, and I liked him. I liked that he played the cello but was a fan of alt rock. I knew that he’d rescued a cat named St. Whiskers and managed to hide him at school for three years before being caught. He was terrified of puffins.

Tonight, we were having dinner and drinks with some of his old boarding-school friends. He wanted me to meet the people that were important to him, which had to mean something.

The more layers I peeled back, the more I found there was to like.

But there was something missing, and I was determined not to let date five pass without figuring it out. Which was why I was freaking out. Tonight was the night that I would know for sure.

It had to be.

I looked in the mirror and realized I looked like I was going to dinner with my grandparents and their friends.

“Fine, maybe it isn’t okay.” I groaned, covering my face with my hands.

Maddie sucked in a breath. “It’s gonna be all right, Bex. I think. But it might help if I knew why you were freaking out?”

I dropped my hands. “Because tonight’s the night.”

Her eyes went comically wide. “You’re going to sleep with him?”

Instant embarrassment heated my cheeks, but before I could stammer out a correction, another voice chimed in.

A voice I knew way too well.

“Who’s sleeping with who?” Linc demanded, his tone a mix of curiosity and innuendo as he appeared over Maddie’s shoulder. He grinned when he saw me, ducking so his face was level with Maddie’s. “Bex! Damn, I miss you, girl. I can’t believe you’re staying in France.” His lower lip jutted out in an exaggerated pout.

“Linc,” Maddie hissed, pushing on his massive shoulder. It basically did nothing; Linc was too big and strong to be moved. “We’re talking.”

“Right, about sex, which happens to be my specialty,” he replied, shrugging as I contemplated sliding off the chair and under my desk in mortification. His dark blue eyes, just a shade lighter than navy, pinned me through the screen. “Who’re you planning on fucking, and do I know him?”

I wasn’t entirely sure what kind of sound I made—a cross between a dying moose and a startled chipmunk—but I knew that this was quite possibly the most embarrassing moment of my life.

“No one,” I finally managed, my hands flapping wildly as I tried to explain. “I meant tonight I’m going to kiss him.”

Yeah, that actually didn’t lessen my humiliation the way I’d thought it would.

Linc’s dark brows shot up. “And who, pray tell, is the beneficiary of your sweet kisses?”

Maddie made a growling sound. “That’s the last time I watch Bridgerton with you, Linc.”

He pressed a hand to his chest, his attention on her. “Mads, you wound my very soul.”

“Not as much as I’m going to wound you if I punch you in the nuts for not leaving us alone,” Maddie snapped back, arching a brow before pointedly dropping her gaze to his crotch.

Linc twisted his lower half away, crossing his legs. “Jesus. When did you get so violent?” His eyes narrowed. “And why is the idea of you spanking my nuts so hot?”

“That’s not… I didn’t…” Maddie spluttered.

Linc patted her head. “It’s cool, Mads. We just can’t tell Ryan. He’d probably cut off my nuts, but it can be our secret.”

“Would you get out of here? I thought you and your nuts were going to a party.” Maddie gave him an exasperated look.

Linc grinned. “I was about to, but then I heard you talking about sex.”

“No sex!” I cried, raising my hands. “No one is having sex, Linc.”

His face fell. “Well that’s a damn shame.”

“It is?” Maddie spoke up before I could.

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