Page 122 of Wildest Forever

My chest aches as my inner thoughts settle.

I never thought I would have someone to call mine.

I never thought I would have a boyfriend, let alone a husband.

Sure, we were put together by my pops. All to keep the ranch safe and keep me out of harm’s way.

Neither of us thought we would fall for each other.

A few years maybe then we would walk away...

But here we are, not even a month in and somehow, we've tripped and ended up entangled.

Not that I am complaining.

But still... this was not on my agenda.

Marriage. Kids. Forever.

None of it.

A heavy sigh expands my lungs as I look at myself in the mirror.

Guilt echoes around my chest and my stomach twists.

How can I feel happiness but then grief bulldozes me? Should I even be feeling anything other than earth shattering grief, it had only been a couple of weeks and somehow, I have made room in my heart for Pacey Rivera.

Fear pricks behind my ears, tears loitering but I push them down, swallowing them whole.

The sound of the bathroom door has me jumping slightly as I peak a sneaky look through the crack in my door.

He walks out, towel hugging his waist, a smaller towel in his hand as he rubs it back and forth over his hair.

My eyes slip down his wet skin, his tattoo over his heartlive by the ranch, die by the ranch.My chest rises and falls, and I want to know what his silky skin would feel like beneath my fingertips, tracing them down his toned stomach, but instead, my eyes trail where I am desperate to run my fingers.

The raised scar tissue makes my heart throb in my chest, a prominent ache radiating through me.

He was shot.

He nearly died.

And I find myself blinking a couple of times to make sure that he is in fact, actually in front of me.

His head turns in my direction, and I slip back in my seat, sitting taller and my cheeks flame at the thought of being caught.

Nibbling the inside of my bottom lip, I twist my mouth and try and stifle my giggle.

Shaking my head, I reach for my hairbrush and drag it through my ends before I dry and style into loose waves.

I do my make-up and smudge a soft pink into my eyelids, finishing with mascara and winged liner. A tanned bronzer dusts across my cheeks, and I match my lips with my eye shadow.

Dressed in bellbottom jeans and a pink cropped tee, I slip my feet into my tanned cowboy boots and press gold hoops through my ears.

Spraying my perfume, I grab a white cardigan as I walk for the door.

Walking towards the stairs, I pause for a second outside his room and wonder if he is still in there.

I debate knocking but decide against it as I make my way down the stairs and that's when I see him.

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