“Um, yeah, I hope so.” Luna was a twenty-four-year-old virgin. An anomaly these days. “I mean … if you’re still interested.” She wouldn’t blame him if he wasn’t.
“Fuck, yeah, I’m still interested.” He grinned and rested his forehead against hers. “I’m stoked about it and honored you trust me with something so precious. Don’t get me wrong, it wouldn’t have mattered one way or another, but knowing I’ll be your first is fucking hot as hell.”
“Oh, good. Phew.” She relaxed. “I was worried you might change your mind.”
“Not a chance.” He shook his head.
Luna’s phone pinged in her back pocket. Boone stepped back to give her room to move, and she instantly missed his warmth. She tugged her phone free and saw Emily’s name on the screen.
“It’s a text from Emily.” She put her phone back in her pocket. “I need to call her.”
“Sure thing.” He kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll grab my electronics and drop them off with you. I’ve got to run out to my place later to start gathering up my gear. Can you join me? We could grab something to eat on the way out there, maybe get in a short ride up to watch the sunset.”
“I love that idea.” She’d missed seeing Patience and Sassy. “I’ll text you when I’m done with my call.”
“Sounds good.” He gave her a yummy kiss, skimmed her hair over her ear, and walked away.
She tilted her head sideways and enjoyed the view of his tight butt as he made his way down the hall. She watched him all the way until he disappeared into the stairwell.
“Be still my heart.” She fanned her face and pushed off the wall. That man was fine as heck, and she couldn’t wait to see him naked. “Oh, my gosh. I’m going to see Boone Langston naked!” She squealed and did a little happy dance, then composed herself with a quick look around and headed into the ops center.
Once she had her laptop connected, she opened the encrypted video program and placed a video call to Emily.
“Hey, girl!” Emily’s bubbly personality was like a burst of happy energy through the screen.
“Hey, back.” Luna had become pretty close to her in the years since her sister met Caleb.
Emily knew all about what happened at The Farm. Mason, the love of her life, had almost been killed there due to Luna’s selfishness. Yet neither one of them ever blamed her for him being shot. Just the opposite.
The first time she saw Emily after he was shot, she’d visited Luna in the hospital, pulled her into one of her famous hugs, and said, “I am so glad you’re okay.”
Luna had cried and apologized over and over again for being so stupid. Emily had looked her in the eye and told her how happy she was that the men who did that to her were either dead or spending the rest of their useless lives in prison. Then she’d gently scolded Luna and told her she never wanted to hear her referring to herself as stupid again.
Emily was a real sweetheart, right up until you messed with someone she cared about. That’s when the claws came out. The entire O’Halleran family was like that—loyal, honorable, stalwart protectors.
“Hang on a sec. I want to close my office door so we’re not interrupted.” Emily disappeared from view, a door clicked shut in the background, and she plopped back into her chair. “So, how are things going over there? How’s the new guy working out?”
“Boone? He’s incredible. He’s so good at this stuff, and he’s really fitting in well with the rest of the team.” She spent a few minutes telling her all about his ranch, the horses, how he was teaching her how to ride.
“Oh, my gosh, you like him! And by that, I mean you have a thing for him!” Emily reacted in her typical exuberant way. “Not that I blame you. He seems like a pretty great guy, and he’s certainly easy on the eyes.” She shook out her hand and said, “Hubba hubba.”
Luna couldn’t help but laugh. “He is all of those things, and yes, I have a thing for him.”
“Please tell me he’s into you, too, or else I might have to kill myself.” She was so wonderfully dramatic sometimes.
“Yeah, I guess you could say we’re sort of, kinda seeing each other.” Why was it so hard for her to just come out and say it?
“Sort of. Kinda.What the heck does that mean?” Emily lifted a giant mug that hadDecaf? You mean broken coffee, right?printed on the side and took a long swallow.
It was only eight fifteen in the morning in Washington State, and everyone knew how much Emily needed her coffee to start the day.
“Okay, yes, Boone and I are officially dating.” Saying it out loud actually felt pretty dang great. “It’s very new, but the chemistry between us is off the friggin’ charts. My stomach drops—in a good way—every time I see him, and I think about himallthe time. Seriously, I’ve never felt anything like it before.”
“Oh, girl, I know exactly what you mean,” Emily said. “I just look at Mason and I want to jump his bones.”
“Well, we’re not to the jumping bones stage yet.” But Luna hoped to be very soon. “Can I ask you a personal question?”
“Duh, of course,” she said before taking another sip.
