Page 61 of Thoroughly Pucked

“What’s it for? Your ink.”

“My dad.”

“Oh shit,” I say, coughing immediately over my faux pas. “I’m sorry I called it sexy then.”

“It’s okay,” she reassures me. “It was for him. But for me too. If that makes sense.”

Not entirely, but I go with it. “Sure.”

“And yours?” she asks, moving on as she nods to my wrist and the arrow wrapping around it, then the vines and leaves snaking over my shoulder. “I can figure out the vines and leaves, Plant Daddy.”

I hide my smile over how much I like her nicknames, from Stern Brunch Daddy to Plant Daddy.

“But the arrow?” she continues.

“Got that when I signed with my first team. Just to remind myself that even if I didn’t know where I was going, I wanted tokeepgoing.”

“It’s a good reminder.”

Yeah, it is. And tonight I want tostayin the here and now and keep going withthis. Drinking to hikes and to women who know what they want.

I lift my glass in that toast at last. She clinks her glass to mine and then Dev’s. Her gloss leaves a faint trace on the rim of the delicate glass as she sips.

I’d like to do other things with those lips than talk. I finish the wine in my own glass and then set it down on the edge of the tub. “We should set some rules,” I say finally.

I brace myself for her reaction. A lot of people don’t like to set rules.

“Rules?” she asks, like she’s confused or maybe surprised. Shit. I don’t want to ruin this night or this trip.

“I just think they’re a good idea,” I say diplomatically.

Aubrey gives me a skeptical look, her red hair curling in little damp tendrils by her face. “First you wanted to break the rules. Now you want to set them?”

This is why I’ve avoided relationships post-Marla. They’re fuck-all confusing. But I try to stay cool as I answer. “I think it’s a good idea.”

“You mean rules for the hot tub. Like we should be really careful when I get out of it?”

I release a huge breath. “I thought you were pissed.”

She tilts her head, smiling. “I get it, Ledger. But this is fun. I know it isn’t the start of a relationship.”

Even though it seems she’s on the same page we are, it’s better to lay out the expectations clearly. Learned that with Zahra. Everything was clear from the start. No one got hurt. Everyone had fun. “Maybe we can just do this for the honeymoon,” I add.

“I was going to say the same thing…but also, guys?”

Dev sits up straighter. “Yes?”

“This is between us,” she adds, firm. “We don’t need to tell Garrett. Yes, he’s your friend and your agent. But this isn’t a situation where my brother is overprotective of me. Or where he thinks you’re jerks and not good enough for me. He trusts both of you completely. I trust both of you too.”

“That’s what’s really important,” I add.

“It sure is,” Dev says, meeting her gaze. “We want you to trust us.”

Trust is vital in bed. It’s even more vital the more people that share the bed.

“This is a situation…” She pauses, perhaps to collect her thoughts, “Where there’s a start and an end date. That’s why my brother doesn’t need to know.” Her voice pitches up at the end, like she wants to make sure we’re on board.

I can only speak for myself, but I get Aubrey’s point completely given everything going on in her life. “That all sounds smart. You just got out of a terrible situation and deserve a good trip.”

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