Oh no—
“With my money, that is.”
—or maybe it should be oh yes? oh phew? oh...oh, I don’t know what to think!
“And that’s why she told me in no uncertain terms she plans to make the most out of having me as her nephew instead.”
Andie still hadn’t made up her mind on whether to laugh or cry about her aunt’s “survival” skills when their number flashed on the massive screen overhead. It was finally their turn to take Frontier Ball’sUltimate Challenge,which never failed to go viral every year.
Paul’s eyes were on his wife as they entered the challenge room, and his lips pressed together as he saw her eyes widen in shock.
“A m-mechanical bull?”
“You’ve never tried riding one then?”
Andie shook her head, but her eyes were sparkling with excitement.
“You think we can set a record,koukla mou?”
“Of course!”
Her fighting spirit was adorable as always, but he already knew that she was doomed to fail...
“Let’s give it a try then.”
...because he already had everything planned.
As her husband led her to the makeshift rodeo, which even had fake spectators cheering for themby namefrom walled digital displays, Andie wondered absently why the other guests had yet to come in and join them. Since Paul always attracted attention wherever they went, it didn’t make sense that not a single guess wanted to see how they’d do with tonight’s challenge.
“Ready?”
Andie didn’t have a chance to answer, with Paul already lifting her onto the bull, his hands spanning her waist with easy strength. The leather was warm beneath her thighs, and she grabbed instinctively for the rope attached to the front, trying to find her balance.
“I’m starting to feel a little ner—”
He climbed up behind her and the bull lurched to life as soon as he reached around her to hit a green button.
“Paul!”
She wished she could look at him over her shoulder, but all she could do was gasp his name out loud while hanging on for dear life. All the other guests before them had done this challengeindividually.So why was he—
“Hold on tight,koukla mou.”
His chest pressed against her back, solid and warm, and her heart began to pound. Why did she have a feeling—
Aaah!
Andie let out a strangled gasp when the bull nearly had her flying if not for Paul holding her down.
“Relax,” he murmured against her ear. “Let your body move with it.”
She tried.
She really did.
But the bull was picking up speed now, the movements becoming more unpredictable, and all she could do was hang on and try not to fall and—
What in the world?
