Page 86 of One Wild Wish

I lifted the bottle from her hands and placed it on the ground. She didn’t release my tie, so the whole thing was awkward, my upper body twisting while I reached down. I chuckled, but my laugh faded once I had her in my arms. “I’m a passionate guy, which means I might make some bad choices from time to time. It also means I’ll love you fiercely. I’ll also grovel. Whatever it takes to make amends. I won’t bury things again. Consider it a hard lesson learned.” I lowered my lips until they ghosted over hers. “Will you forgive me?”

“I already did.”

“Say it again. Then I’ll apologize again. I’ll do it until I’ve erased all your doubts.”

Instead of answering, she tugged my tie, and our lips connected in our corner of the world. The back of her top dipped low. So low, I slipped my fingers inside. Skin as smooth as velvet greeted me.

Her mouth was eager against mine, and fuck, she tasted like apples and sunshine and lemonade. She tasted like Chardonnay and a future we’d build together. We moved against each other, mouths wet, tongues tangoing with sensual groans. I was hard already, my fancy jeans about to split a seam, but I pulled back, aching. I had to. Any longer and Rachel’s mother would never show her face in this crowd again.

Rachel flattened her hands on my chest. “Did I win?”

I blinked a few times until her meaning registered. “That’s up to you.” When she frowned, I went on, “Technically, you won. You knew it was an Offshoot Chardonnay, but since the name of the wine is different, you can claim a loophole.”

I didn’t know what wager she’d written, had no idea if winning or losing would bode well for us. This was me handing her control again. I was hers to keep or discard. I’d live with the fallout.

“Win,” she said, releasing my tie and smoothing it down. “I win. But you might not like my prize. So I offer you the same loophole. If it’s too much, you can shoot me down.”

Well, then.Curiosity nipping at me, I reached into my pocket and pulled out her neatly folded paper. She knotted her fingers in an anxious twirl.

Ready or not…

Her letters were straight and neat—typical Rachel—words that blockaded my throat and compressed my ribs. Words I hadn’t dared hope for.

“You mean it?” I asked.

“I do. I love you, Jimmy.”

I reread her chosen prizes:

If I win, we move in together. If you win, we move in together.

My heart damn near exploded. I wasn’t sure I deserved a woman like Rachel, but I’d spend a lifetime trying. I refolded the note and tucked it away. “I’m keeping this under lock and key. There’s no backing out now.”

“No loophole, then?”

“Are you kidding? It took me ages to get a sleepover. You’re stuck with me, Sunshine.”

“With Superglue,” came her reply. Then she said, “I got a piercing.”

Come a-fucking-gain?“Where?” I grabbed her hips, my grip a little too strong. A fucking piercing.

Her shy smile nearly split me in two. “I’ll show you later.”

Wound up and horny as hell, I kissed her hard, trying to figure out where I’d find that little piece of metal. Her nipple? Belly button? Lower? I growled into her mouth when two women walked by, horrified whispers shared. I could barely see straight.

I tugged Rachel toward the main room, her lips swollen and well-kissed, mine hungry for more. We could have taken off and finished what we started, but I wanted to see the look on her face when my bid won her mother’s commissioned painting. It would be the first piece of art hung in our place.

Under the framed quote I’d recently purchased:

“If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.” ~ Katharine Hepburn