The Forever Girl (Wildstone, #6)(28)

“And what parts might that be, Maze?”

Taking a sharp breath, she pointed at him. “You know what parts, you just want me to talk dirty.”

He grinned.

She shoved her undies in her pocket before jabbing a finger at him again. “I’m onto you.”

“If that was true, we’d both be a lot more relaxed right now.”

She didn’t know whether to laugh or push him. Before she could decide, Jace walked by the laundry room, followed by Sammie, who was literally dripping Cheerios with each step, and then both pugs, snorting and squeaking as they cleaned up after Sammie like they were her personal vacuums. “Apparently, I’m the Pied Piper,” Jace said, then paused and took a second to look at Maze. “You okay?”

“Yep.”

Jace slid his gaze to Walker briefly, but then kept moving, his parade in line behind him.

Walker shook his head. “Your boyfriend’s a good guy, but I’m not sure how smart he is.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because he lets me get close to you.” He shifted even closer and looked her in the eyes. “Unless, of course, he’s not really your boyfriend.”

Maze narrowed her eyes. “What he is is none of your business, especially for a guy who’s got a girlfriend of his own.”

“Do I?”

“Yes, that tall brunette with the smallest bikini on the planet.”

Walker laughed softly.

“What’s so funny?”

“The only way you saw a pic of her is if you took a deep, deep dive online. Face it, you’ve been stalking me too.”

Dammit. Caught. “Hey, I stumbled on that pic by accident.”

“That picture wasn’t on my Instagram, it was on Boomer’s,” he said smugly.

Boomer owned and ran the Whiskey River Bar and Grill in Wildstone, and in the old days, he and Walker had found lots of trouble together. She crossed her arms and ignored the fact that she could feel her face flaming. “So I was curious, so what? Why aren’t you bringing her to the wedding?”

“Because I went out with her a total of two times. Two years ago.”

“So . . . you’re not into long relationships?”

Suddenly, his eyes were no longer shining with merriment. Or anything. Walker was in shutdown mode. “Not anymore,” he said.

CAITLIN PRESSED HER forehead to the cool glass of her bedroom window and stared out at the night. The day had gone . . . shockingly well. Maze had sent the guys to check in on the equipment rental company, and the girls had gone shoe shopping. She’d finally found the right shoes for her dress. They were gorgeous silvery goodness with four-inch heels that would put her eye to eye with Dillon.

Around her, the house was finally quiet. Everyone was sleeping, Dillon included—no doubt thanks to the orgasm she’d just given him. If there was one place where the two of them meshed and all her needs were met, it was in bed. He was just the right level of adventurous, and he made her feel sexy.

But as had been happening lately, when they weren’t in bed, little tendrils of doubt filled her. Earlier, she’d given him a compatibility test she’d found on BuzzFeed. He hadn’t remembered the color of her toothbrush, her favorite pizza topping, or what her secret fantasy was—which, by the way, was for the man in her life to vacuum the entire house without being asked. When he’d thought her crazy for being annoyed that he hadn’t known this in spite of her telling him at least once a week, she’d gotten annoyed right back.

Because what woman didn’t have that fantasy?

With a sigh, she shook it off and reminded herself to concentrate on the house being filled with the people she loved above all else. Walker. Maze. Heather. And Sammie! She still couldn’t believe that she hadn’t known about her, that she hadn’t been trusted to know.

But the truth is, that was on her. “You’re too bossy,” she told her reflection in the window. “Too judgmental.”

“Hmm,” Dillon agreed sleepily from the bed, not moving a single inch, eyes still closed. “All true, but I do love it when you’re bossy in bed.”

Caitlin thunked her forehead on the window while Dillon laughed softly.

“What do you think of them?” she asked quietly.

“Your friends?”

“My family.”

“You never mentioned Heather having a kid.”

It was too embarrassing to admit she’d not known. “She’s adorable, though, right?”

“Hmm.”

She turned to look at him. “You don’t think so?”

“Didn’t realize kids were so . . . messy.”

Caitlin smiled. That was one of her favorite parts. “Having her here really brings it home how much I want one of my own,” she said softly.

“Caitlin . . .” He sighed and flopped onto his back. “We talked about this. I love you. I love you so much that I want to be selfish and have it just be us.”

She sent him a warm smile, but she couldn’t help but need more info. “For how long?”

“I don’t know. But I do know we’re not ready. We’ve got my student loans to pay off. A retirement portfolio to build. Careers to stoke.”

“I want my career to be food and kids.”