Oh, you have to be fucking kidding me.
Jake Steele.
He steps right into our path, his hat tipped back, sweat still slick on his neck. His grin is easy, cocky, and far too familiar. But what makes my chest tighten is how his eyes catch Catalina’s, recognition flickering.
“Catalina? From Boots & Bourbon?” he drawls.
Catalina blinks once, then smirks, tilting her head. “Yeah, and you’re the shithead with your old ass pick up lines. Byeeee.”
For a beat, it’s dead silent.
Just behind Jake, a laugh. A woman about Catalina’s age, with long black curls spilling over her shoulders and dark eyes glinting with amusement. She tries to smother it behind her hand, but the sound escapes anyway, echoing.
Jake shoots her a glare. Her smile falters, her shoulders tense, and without another word, she spins on her heel and storms off, curls bouncing as she disappears into the crowd.
Catalina watches her go, brows lifted. “O-kay… weird.” She shrugs, looping her arm through mine, tugging me toward the lot. “Let’s go home so we can try for babies.”
I choke on air, my boots catching on the gravel. “Catalina.”
She looks up at me, all innocence, her lips twitching with a smug little smile. “What? That’s what you said you wanted.”
Heat punches through my chest, my ears burning as people brush past us, unaware of how my wife just set me on fire in public. I tighten my grip on her hand, steering her toward the truck before she can say another word.
“Darlin’,” I rasp, jaw tight, “you can’t just?—”
She’s laughing, bright and unbothered, with the sound filling the night as she pulls me along.
All I can think is, she’s gonna kill me one of these days.
CHAPTER 12
Carter
“Walk with me,” Catalina asks, looking at me with her big, beautiful chestnut eyes.
She extends her delicate hand to me, and I take it without hesitation. We walk hand in hand across the pasture, the grass whispering around our boots. Crickets chirp softly, fireflies flicker at the edges, and the air smells sweet with clover. She swings our joined hands between us, her bow slipping loose as the wind teases it.
We arrive at the lake, our lake. The same one I took her to on her birthday, back when she still looked at me like I was a puzzle she didn’t want to solve. Now, she looks at me like I’m the only answer she’s ever needed.
She shoves off her boots and steps close to the water’s edge, the last light catching on her bare legs. “I missed this spot,” she whispers.
I slide up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist and pressing my chest against her back. I lean in and lower my mouth to her ear. “So did I.”
She melts against me, her fingers covering mine where they rest against her stomach. Her head tilts back, eyes closing as the wind teases her hair across my jaw.
The quiet stretches, until she breathes, soft but certain, “Carter… I want you.”
Those three words always make my knees weak.
Her lips are soft against mine, her hands sliding up my chest and tugging at my shirt. The warm air surrounds us, the last glow of sunset fading, fireflies flickering at the edge of the pasture.
I deepen the kiss, my tongue sliding against hers until she moans into my mouth. My hands trace down her sides, over the curve of her hips, then lower, grabbing her thighs.
“Carter—” she gasps when I lift her clean off the ground, her legs wrapping tight around my waist.
“Hold on, darlin’.”
I carry her straight into the water. The lake laps coolly against my jeans, soaking us as I wade deeper, until it’s deep enough to support her weight effortlessly. She laughs against my mouth, with her arms locked tight around my neck.
