Page 47 of A Rancher's Bride
Diane eyed her closely. “I’m curious, but if it isn’t something you want to talk about, feel free to tell me to mind my own business.”
That sounded ominous. “What’s your question?”
“You must’ve met Penny Talisman, considering you’ve worked around Silver Stone for a long time.”
“That’s not a secret. Of course, I’ve met her.”
“Is it going to be awkward when you see her in the future? I mean, our world is not really that big,” Diane pointed out.
“Still don’t see why it would be a problem,” Kelli said honestly even as it she gave it a little more thought.
She and Penny were never going to be besties, but knowing that Luke wasn’t holding a grudge meant Kelli couldn’t cling to much more than jealousy that the other woman had gotten a taste of the man she still lacked.
Jealousy was a silly emotion, though. It was in the past. Penny had no future with Luke—
Kelli lifted her gaze to Diane’s. “I don’t think she knew what she had.”
The door swung open behind them, but Diane was nodding slowly, something that looked an awful lot like approval in her expression before she turned to blow a kiss at her man.
“Thought we’d find you beautiful ladies here,” Jack teased.
Luke entered the room on Jack’s heels, grinning as he made his way to the couch where Kelli was sprawled. He collapsed beside her hard enough she bounced, taking advantage of her momentary distraction to steal her bag of chips.
“Hey, that’s my bag of junk food,” Kelli complained.
“No time to argue.” Luke folded the top of the bag down and dropped it on the table. “Put on your swimsuit, we’re hitting the pool.”
“But we were relaxing,” Diane complained. “And having girl talk,”
Jack pulled her in for a kiss. “Which means you were talking about us. That’s like a magic spell. You summoned us to your side, and now you’re stuck with us.”
“Oh,” Kelli said, wiggling a finger at Diane knowingly. “It’s like one of those curses. You know, recite the wrong lines and get stuck in limbo forever. Or reciteBloody Marythree times—”
Luke tipped her into his arms, ignoring her shout as he rose and tossed her over his shoulder before marching toward their bedroom. “Meet you back here in five minutes, Jack,” he offered.
A squeal rang from behind them, and then Diane’s laughter. “Caveman,” she complained.
“Og’s woman needs swimsuit,” Jack growled. “Ten minutes, Luke. I’ll try not to get distracted.”
Kelli planted her hands against Luke’s back and pushed upward far enough to see Diane was being carried across the floor. She was cradled in her boyfriend’s arms, the two of them kissing as Jack blindly shuffled forward.
The last thing Kelli saw before the view cut off was him knocking into a wall. Diane’s laughter echoed loudly.
Then Kelli was flying through the air, bouncing on the bed. A second later she was pinned in place by a strong, masculine body, Luke’s lips on hers.
Ohyes.
Sadly, the kiss was brief. Quick, but dirty enough to leave her gasping as he rolled and left her alone and abandoned.
She curled to a sitting position to watch as he dug into his dresser drawer and pulled out a pair of board shorts.
Ten minutes would pass quickly.
Kelli grabbed the swimsuit Ivy had not just lent but outright gifted her with, claiming it was too beautiful to send back to the shop. Someone had messed up big time because the outfit was three sizes too small for Ivy, making it a nearly perfect fit for Kelli.
It was also a far cry from the one piece she usually wore when she went swimming in Big Sky Lake or down at Heart Falls.
There was no time to be shy, or coy, so she turned her back on Luke and stripped to nothing, pulling on the boy short part of the swim suit then wiggling her way into the bikini top.
