He shakes his head. “I know you need approval now to get it fixed and I know you hate dealing with Reed. I’ll get a bunch of quotes for you—with your approval of course—and I’ll submit the winning one to the historical society for you. No biggie. Nothing for you to worry about.”
I can’t help but smile up at him as I bury my face in hischest, relishing the warmth of his body. “You don’t need to do that. I broke it, after all.”
“Yeah, with those little Hulk hands of yours you’ve apparently been keeping secret.”
I crinkle my nose at him. “I do not have Hulk hands. I just… got carried away.”
He wiggles his eyebrows at me. “So you’re saying my dick was so good itturned you intothe cutest little she-Hulk I’ve ever seen?”
I roll my eyes, pushing him away, but he only tugs me tighter, leaving a wet kiss on my cheek. “Seriously, Eve. Can you trust me on this one? I want you to enjoy your party.”
I nod, standing on my toes so I can kiss his cheek. “I trust you.”
He grins, winding an arm around my waist and kissing me, his tongue slipping easily into my mouth as I throw my arms around his neck.
When he pulls away, he takes a step back, toward the party, and holds his hand out for me to take. “Come on. Let’s get you a fresh drink,” he says, pulling me easily under his arm.
And as the music grows louder and the party comes into view, I realize how hard it’s going to be to redirect toward my house without anyone noticing. While the barn is far enough out of the way that no one will really go there unless they’retryingto find some alone time, my house is not quite the same deal. The party is raging out front, and if the people hanging out on the porch are any indication, there’s most definitely a line for the bathroom.
At least, the one downstairs. I’ve made clear the one upstairs is not to be used by anyone except those explicitly invited.
But of course, even after we manage to skirt by the outerreaches of the party and sneak inside, Izzy is waiting in the kitchen.
“Hey!” she shouts, quickly abandoning whatever conversation she was a part of and heading toward me. “You better not be going to bed.” She glances at Ryder. “Going to bed orgoing to bed. This is your party. In celebration of another amazing season. You have all night for more private celebrations.”
I suddenlyamvery thankful that my panties are in Ryder's pocket rather than my hand. I give Izzy a quick smile. “I’m just using the bathroom.”
“Oh,” she says, dropping her drink on the counter next to her. “You know, I have to go too. I’ll go with you.” She turns to Ryder. “Can you watch my drink?”
He raises his eyebrows, glancing between us, and I can only shrug.
“Sure,” he says. “I’d be honored to.”
He leans against the counter, a small smile on his face that tells me he’s enjoying this a little more than he should.
Izzy follows me up the stairs and straight into the bathroom without pause.
“I really can’t believe you haven’t fucked him yet,” she says, easily closing the door behind her and going straight for the toilet. I squeeze my thighs together while I look into the mirror, feigning checking my makeup in the hopes that Izzy doesn’t catch on to what I’mnotsaying.
I’ll tell her eventually, but it doesn’t feel right to do soimmediatelyafter the act. These moments afterward are meant for Ryder and me to get closer, and spouting off to Izzy about it feels akin to bragging about the hot dude I just bagged.
Which, you know, isn’twrong, but it doesn’tfeelright.
“I mean, he has heart eyes when he looks at you,” shesays, tugging toilet paper off the roll as she pees. She stares at herself in the mirror, wiping a stray bit of makeup from underneath her eye. “And Evie, I know you’re slower to warm but he showed up out of theblueone day and he seems like a nice guy, you know?”
She wipes and stands, pulling her pants up and nudging me out of the way so she can wash her hands.
“But you know what? I’m proud of you for doing what feels right. I just hopehefeels right, if you know what I’m saying,” she says, laughing as I lower myself to the toilet. She does a little dance as she squeezes soap onto her hands. “And this is me, calling out to the universe for a man with money who wants to spend it all on me!”
I pee, squeezing in an effort to removehimfrommewithout alerting Izzy to what just happened behind the barn.
“I don’t know if he’s necessarily trying to spend all of his money on me,” I say, grabbing an inordinate amount of toilet paper off the roll.
Izzy scoffs as she turns and grabs the hand towel off the wall. I take the opportunity to wipe toilet paper everywhere I possibly can. “Evie, that man will give you the world if you let him. He’s in love with you.”
My brow furrows as I temporarily forget about the cleanup job I’m supposed to be doing. “We’ve only known each other, like, a month. He is not.”
She spins, leaning against the vanity as I struggle to stand without making it obvious I’m not wearing underwear.
