She exhales in relief.
But instead of leaving it at that, I decide to test the waters a little bit.
“No bed, though, right?”
She flushes. “Of course not. That would violate our rules.”
In our quirky town, being practical about love seems like a necessity to stay sane and not make stupid mistakes. Before we lost our virginity to each other, on the day her parents’ separated yet again and my mom paid a contractor to build a wall dividing their master bedroom in half so she could peaceably be on one side and my dad could stay on the other, Macey and I vowed to keep life—and anything romantic between us—casual, temporary, and easy so real life can’t enter and screw everything up.
Over the years, we’ve made sure to date other people, keeping our time together reserved to once a year. We’ve always been each other’s one weakness.
“So do you want one night with a Wild or one night with Darcy?” I say in order to change the subject.
She smiles for the first time since I walked into the bar, and my heart melts. Macey’s life hasn’t been all ponies and daisies, and whenever she breaks form and lets go, I love it. If I can be a small part of why she enjoys herself, all the better.
“One night with a Wild Darcy cowboy,” she says. “Any woman could enjoy that fantasy for an evening.”
“What does your fantasy entail?” I trace her lips with my finger. “Specifics are always appreciated.”
Her eyes flutter closed at my touch. “Logan. Shit.”
“It’s been nearly a year,” I say in a whisper. “Did you know that?”
She nods as she refocuses her gaze on me. “Yes. I always know how long it’s been since we’ve…”
“Bucked?”
The pulse in her neck picks up, and she breaks into a laugh. “Yes.”
“And have you missed me?”
A fast nod, too fast for her to have faked it. I grin.
“So what do you want to do during your one night with a Wild Darcy cowboy?” I drag my finger from the soft curve of her neck down to the X on her shirt.
Macey shivers when I stop in the center of her chest. “I want you to buck me, cowboy.”
I’m so ready to do just that I can barely keep myself from picking her up in my arms and taking her back to my place. “I will gladly buck you. You know that. Any way, in particular, you’re needing?”
The brown of her eyes swirls with desire. “You know everything I like.”
“I have some new ideas, actually. Things I want to try.”
Her breath catches in her throat. “You-you do?”
I nod. “Would you like that?”
“Yes.”
I shift uncomfortably on the bar stool. I’m going to have trouble walking out of here with any decency in a moment, but I’m enjoying teasing Macey so much I keep going.
“How about tonight we break our once a year rule and practice?” I didn’t exactly plan to say that, but I’m too caught up in our flirting to stop. “Due to the extenuating circumstances of a fake marriage.”
“What do you mean?”
“A pre-wedding honeymoon.”
She swats at me playfully. “That’s not a thing, Logan.”
