Page 32 of Pillowtalk

“What does a lake party entail, exactly?”

“Food. Booze.” He laughed and shucked his gloves. “When it’s dark enough we go out in pairs on the lake to wait for the stars to show up.”

A few words stuck out to her in that sentence, and she wasn’t sure which one was more daunting—dark,which was not her favorite thing in the world, orpairs.Her gaze went straight over to Aaron again, and she internally cursed her eyes for always finding their way to him.

She felt a rough, callused hand grab hers, and she quickly turned to Austin, like he was about to get on one knee. “Be my date?” he asked with the air of a perfect gentleman.

Kennedy covered a giggle. “You don’t want to ask some handsome fellow you might get lucky with?”

“How many options do you think I have here?” Austin said with a laugh.

“Obviously not many,” she said, gesturing to his chiseled body. “Or you’d already be taken.”

Austin grinned and tossed his muddy gloves into the cab of the truck. “I’m taking that as a yes.”

Kennedy couldn’t help but notice the silence from the other Sheppard brother on the other side of the truck. Was he trying to keep his distance again? Or did he simply not want to ask her ashisdate?

Maybe he wasn’t even going. The fact that the curiosity surrounding him was killing her was reason enough to accept Austin’s offer. She needed a night that didn’t play with her mind so much…or her heart.

“It’s a yes,” she said, but as soon as Austin turned, she found herself looking back at Aaron. He ran a hand through his helmet hair, shaking out sweat and mud from their afternoon, flashing a grin at her when he saw her looking. She wanted so much to ask if he’d be at the party as well, but she thought better of it. She couldn’t ask him anymore to do what only she wanted, especially since she wasn’t sure if what she was asking was what she wanted at all. So she smiled back and hopped up into the cab of the truck next to Austin and kept the conversation light and shallow until they dropped her off at the B&B.

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