Page 1 of Wilde Ride

Emeline

Graduation Night – 2018

Two words.

Levi Tucker.

He was my brother Caden’s best friend, and the moment I saw him walk into the backyard of my parents’ house, I nearly died. His brown hair was covered by his favorite black cowboy hat, which he always wore. He was the most handsome man I’d ever laid eyes on. And that was saying something, since everyone I knew, including all my friends, constantly told me how good-looking my two older brothers were.

Levi was twenty-five and I was eighteen. But that wasn’t the issue. The first issue was that he was my brother’s best friend. If Caden had any idea of the naughty dreams I had about his BFF…well, he would send me away to become a nun.

The second issue? Levi didn’t see me as anything other than Caden’s baby sister.

The third reason was Caroline Larson.

Her father and my father were business partners and best friends. That meant she was always at our house and always trying to make a play for Caden, even though he’d been dating Rachel forever. When it finally became clear in their senior year that Caden had no interest in her, Caroline moved in on Levi.

I didn’t like her at all. Of course, my best friends, Kate and Moreen, said it was because I was madly in love with Levi. And that was one of the reasons…but there was something about Caroline that made me think she was a snake. I didn’t trust her one bit.

Speaking of my best friends, Kate and Moreen came rushing over to me. Kate with her beautiful copper skin and dark hair pulled up onto her head and her flowing white dress trailing behind her as she ran. Moreen’s golden red hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and her beautiful face with its dusting of light freckles was bright with excitement. She was also attempting to get ahead of Kate. I loved them both like sisters. They knew everything about me. The good and the bad. Kate was hissing out my name as she drew closer. “Emeline, Emeline! Levi’s here!”

“And she who shall not be named isn’t with him!” Moreen added.

I smiled. I really loved these two. They were my ride-or-dies. If anyone was going to be there for me, it was Kate and Moreen. Well, besides my brothers, Caden and Gatlin. And okay, my older sister Ensley also ranked higher than Kate and Moreen, but only because she let me wear her clothes and told me to never pluck my own eyebrows. Plus, she had introduced me to Stevie Nicks.

Actually, that’s not true. It was our mother. But Stevie wasn’t cool in my eyes until I heard her music coming from my sister’s car one day when she picked me up from school.

I grabbed their arms and started walking away from everyone. “You guys. Hush!”

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw that Levi was walking our way, holding a gift box. I quickly snapped my head straight. “Don’t panic, but he’s coming over this way.”

“Deep breaths,” Kate whispered.

Moreen calmly said, “Play it cool.”

“As if I wouldn’t.” I bumped her arm and said, “Laugh like I just told you a joke.”

Kate was in the theater, and I knew she’d make the laugh sound genuine. Moreen, not so much.

Hitting my arm, Kate said, “Oh my gosh, Emeline, you’re too much.”

I felt Levi behind me before he even said anything. “Emeline?”

Spinning around, I smiled. “Levi! Did you come with Caden?”

He glanced toward the house with a grin, then back to me. “No. Your mom invited me, though, and I didn’t want to miss little Emeline’s graduation party.”

I felt my entire body sag instantly. “Little?”

His smile faded somewhat, and he rubbed at the back of his neck. He suddenly looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here, and that nearly destroyed me. He let out a nervous bubble of laughter. “I didn’t mean it that way. You’re not little. You’re, uh…you’re all grown up and beautiful.”

That inflated me right back up. “You think I’m beautiful?”

Moreen hit me with her elbow as Kate cleared her throat, and I wanted to push them down the hill to give Levi and me privacy.

He glanced at them both, then back to me. “Um, well, yes. You are. But I shouldn’t be saying that.”

“Oh, you can say it all you want, Levi,” Kate stated with a sugary smile.