He grunted. “Well, that’s gonna change. You’ll be on one of my boats before the week is out.”
“I didn’t say it to make you feel bad. It’s just something I knew I could get you to drink on.” She smiled mischievously.
His eyes widened. “You learn quickly, young Jedi.”
She laughed, and the game went on. Abby shared the age she received her first kiss—twelve, and it was awful—and a few places where she’d never had sex. Hunt, of course, drank for every one of the places she’d mentioned, the naughty boy. And then he threw something out there few people knew about her.
“Never have I ever,” Hunt said, “ridden a bull.”
Abby drank.
He set his glass down, his gaze sharpening until she shrank back in her seat. “Oh, I gotta hear this story.”
“Technically, it wasn’t a real bull. It was a mechanical bull, and my friend made me do it.”
“Famous last words, Mrs. Cade.”
Abby blinked. “I forgot my name will change.”
“Only if you want it to. Now finish the bull-riding story.”
She cleared her throat, clinging to the game and not the notion of her married name. “On the drive to California, I stopped off at a friend’s house in Texas. She had a favorite bar, and there was a bull-riding thingy.”
He laughed. “Did you fall off right away?”
She sent him a scathing look. “No, I did not,Mr. Cade. I rode that bull and I rode him hard and long.”
Hunt gulped, took a swig of his drink, then shifted in his seat. “So, you what? Won the bull-riding contest?”
“Would you like to see my medal?”
His eyes rounded. “You’re shitting me.”
“Nope.”
“Damn.” He sat back and absently rubbed his mouth. “Call me impressed.”
Abby yawned, despite the sexy image Hunt was presenting. When he touched his mouth, she thought of his lips touching hers like they had in the chapel. And he hadn’t made the kiss quick. It had lingered and stirred things down low that had lain dormant for years. But it was past two in the morning and she was exhausted after her wedding day. And now it was her wedding night…
“Tired?” Hunt asked.
“A little, you?”
“I could sleep. You mind if I take a quick shower?”
“Help yourself. Towels are in the hall closet.” Abby returned to the sink, where she pushed around dishes, distracted.Hunt, naked, in the shower…
Keep your head clear!
While Hunt used the bathroom, Abby quickly put away the dishes and changed into sleep shorts and a T-shirt. She stared at the bed that seemed to engulf her small room.
“I’ll take the floor,” Hunt said, surprising her from behind and making her jump.
“Oh,” she said, and spun around. “There’s no need for you to sleep on the floor. I have the cot.”
“Nah,” he said, and grabbed a blanket from a small chair in the corner. He lifted it. “You mind?”
“No, but are you sure you’ll be comfortable?” She worried her lip as he laid the blanket in a makeshift pallet on the floor.
