Page 75 of Homebound

“Yeah, Barbie, I did.” He crosses his arms over his ripped jean jacket.

She scoffs. “My name’s—”

He cuts her off. “I know your name, Alanna. You don’t need to introduce yourself.”

She snaps her mouth closed for a second.

“How do you know my name?” she asks in a softer voice this time.

He flicks a dish rag over his shoulder. “’Cause you’re the reason I have to drive all the way to Horseshoe Bay to get Grey Goose vodka since our house vodka isn’t good enough for your prissy ass.”

In a flash, she scrapes back from her stool, pointing a manicured fake nail at him. “Oh, you prick. I’m not fucking prissy. Who even says that anymore? Let me tell you something…” she trails off, her face scrunching like she’s trying to remember his name.

He crosses his arms over his jean-clad chest, patiently waiting. I can’t tell if he’s smirking with the bandana and all that facial hair, but he seems smug.

Lana tosses her artificial locks over one shoulder. “Okay, Sasquatch, let me tell you something—”

“Nice try. It’s Willie,” he says, giving her his broad back. He’s even bigger than Wyatt.

Her eyes bulge when he legitimately walks away from her mid-sentence, completely ignoring Lana’s talon nails.

I have to use my hand to stifle my laughter. Willie mostly communicates with grunts and scowls, so I’m shocked he’s actually talking to Lana, but I guess he got his city girl fill now that he’s walking away.

She plops back down on the duct-taped leather stool, huffing. “Can you believe him? How rude. He just put himself right on the top of my shit list. He’s absolutely not getting a tip.”

“I mean, he’s probably just pissed. Horseshoe Bay is an hour-long drive from here.”

“It’s not like I asked him to go. Never mind. We’re not talking about Face Beard. So, how was the kiss?” she prods. “Explosive? Legendary? I want all the dirty details.”

“It was…” I try to find the right words because yes, it was all of the above, but it was also so much deeper. I’m not sure I want to share all those details, even with Lana. That would make the moment less ours.

“It was great,” I finish lamely.

“Great?” she states, slapping a hand on the sticky counter, then immediately wiping it on her napkin with a look of disgust. “That’s it? Great? I need more adjectives.”

“Fine,” I relent, fluttering my lips. “It was amazing, but I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Why?” Lana whines. “You know I love gossiping when it’s not about my life. I want to know everything.”

I take a swig of my margarita, regular, not prickly pear this time. “Because it’s complicated. He said he was okay with keeping things light, but he’s still got a daughter, and I’m starting to get attached. I don’t know if I can keep this casual, and I want to make sure I’m doing right by him because that’s a huge commitment.”

She pops a peanut between her red lips, chewing, thinking. “He said he was okay keeping things casual? That’s actually shocking. That man might as well be walking around in a floral apron that reads Looking for a wife, then in parentheses, I love going down on women.”

I snort, wiping the lime juice off my lips. “What makes you think that?”

“’Cause you can just tell with some guys. They’re the selfless types.” She glares at Willie, who’s opening a beer by slamming the top against the counter. “Like Sasquatch over there is no way burying that face-beard between a woman’s legs.”

“You’re right,” he drawls, instantly glancing up like he’s been eavesdropping the whole time. “My apron says, Don’t worry. It’ll fit.”

Lana looks like she has no idea what to say to that, and Willie goes back to opening beers, but there’s a bounce in his step this time.

“What will fit?” a low voice interjects.

My head snaps toward the bar where Wyatt’s leaning casually with his hair pulled back beneath a rugged cowboy hat. There’s a devilish smirk playing on his lips, and I want to drag him away and kiss him silly.

He saunters forward, radiating confidence, and closes the distance until he’s towering over me. Without an ounce of hesitation, he plants his mouth on mine, and kisses me so thoroughly, I’m gasping by the end, and Lana’s fanning herself.

“Hey there, gorgeous,” he drawls, pulling back to kiss the tip of my nose.