His dimple popped. “Someday, you can quiz me on it and find out.” At the door, he turned back and looked at my nearly naked body. “I feel like I should get extra points for not touching you right now. It took an inhuman amount of effort.”
I wished I had something to toss at him. Instead, I said, “I’m going to the Emporium for fajita fixings. Can I get you anything?”
His brow raised, and a little growl escaped him, tantalizing me all over again.
“Get your mind out of the gutter, Fireball.”
“You’re lucky I can think at all, darlin’, after what I saw under that towel.”
My pulse rocketed again. My mouth turned dry, and for two seconds, I couldn’t remember why we were denying ourselves what our bodies clearly wanted.
All humor faded from Beckett’s face, and he was the one who finally looked away. “I promised Tejas drinks the other night and then forgot to meet up with him. He insists I now owe him dinneranddrinks for leaving him hanging.” He hesitated. “So don’t plan on me for dinner. I’ll likely be late.”
I looked down at my toes, noticing the polish was chipped.
“You don’t owe me any explanations, Beckett. We’re not actually in a relationship. Go do whatever it is you need to do.”
When he was silent for far too long, I risked looking at him. Not even a hint of his smile remained. His lips were flat. His expression grave. “I’m not going out to try to get laid, Maisey. The entire town thinks we’re getting married, and I’ll damn well show you the respect you deserve while that’s the case—show us both the respect we deserve. I may not have ever seen myself as married, but I’d never cheat on my spouse if I were.”
It shouldn’t hurt, because it was exactly what he’d said—respectful—and yet, for some reason, it did. It was because, stupidly, in my secret heart of hearts, I wished it wasn’t pretend.
“Well, at least be a good wingman, then, and help Tejas get laid.”
“Tejas doesn’t need the assist, but if Leon shows up, that kid needs all the help he can get.” He looked at his dog. “You staying here?”
The dog thumped his tail without budging.
“Vader and Dorothy have bonded,” I told him.
Beckett groaned. “You actually named her? I told you not to name her.”
I laughed. “Vader deserves companionship.”
Our eyes met again, a flare of longing zipping back across the room.
“Good luck getting him to clean the litter box,” Beckett teased.
Then, he walked out the door with my romance book in his hand and his humor and smile restored.
? ? ?
I’d finished cleaning the dinner dishes, and Dad and I were into our second round of King’s Corners, when Vader sat up and barked two seconds before a fist pounded on the front door.
My body froze before I heard Fallon’s voice demanding to be let in. I swung the door open to find my friend waving a bottle of margarita mix and a bakery box while Andie stood right behind her with a bottle of tequila.
My brows raised. “What’s this?”
“Celebration,” Fallon said, eyes drifting toward Andie and back. “Andie wanted to celebrate with you and make some plans for the wedding. We need to get the date on the ranch’s event calendar before we book up.”
My tension, which had slowly ebbed away during our uneventful evening, crept back up. I couldn’t tell Andie the truth. I liked her, would even say we’d become good friends since the three of us had started a book club together last fall, but this secret had to remain just that, at least until Beckett got the chief’s job.
Dad looked up as the three of us entered the kitchen. “Fallon! Good to see you!”
He got up to hug her, and Fallon squeezed him back. “How’s the hand?”
“Better than my brain. It’s all whacked up these days,” Dad said with a self-deprecating laugh.
“We’re interrupting a game,” Andie’s voice held an apology. “What were you playing?”