Page 25 of Wild Then Wed
He just grins. “Sounds like someone’s been staring at my abs.”
Miller rolls her eyes so hard I’m surprised they don’t fall out of her head. And even though the whole room is laughing, the two of them don’t break eye contact.
They continue like that all night, circling each other with witty jab after witty jab. It’s like foreplay made of sarcasm andmild hostility. It’s unbearable. Someone really ought to just lock them in the pantry and be done with it.
Lark, who’s been quietly smirking into her water glass, finally speaks up. “Well, I saw you in8 Secondsmagazine last month. Sucking face with Brighton Brooks.”
Hudson lets out an exaggerated groan. “Mom, seriously? Sucking face?”
Lark just giggles, pleased with herself.
Across the table, the twins are long gone from their high chairs. One’s probably in the pantry and the other’s probably trying to climb the stairs but no one moves to check. Elvis, ever the opportunist, has re-located to Sage’s side, his chin resting on her thigh while she slips him a scrap of something under the table.
Sage’s eyes light up like Christmas. “Wait—Brighton Brooks?Youmade out with freaking Brighton Brooks?”
A flush creeps up Ridge’s neck as he drags a hand through his hair, which, no doubt, was lightened up quite a bit by the sun this summer. “It wasn’t—okay, first of all, you don’tknowwhat you saw—”
Miller makes a show of scrunching her nose in disgust and shifts her chair a few inches away from him. Deliberate. And effective. He glances at her through his peripheral.
Mom stares at Ridge like he’s just confessed to arson. “You’re making out with girls in magazines now? Nationally? For the wholecountryto see?Myson?”
“It was a candid,” Ridge mutters, looking down at his hands.
Mom stands with a shake of her head. “I raised you better, Ridge Harrison Wilding. Now, I’m going to help Loretta check on the twins before someone ends up eating something they’re not supposed to.”
Hudson looks between Sage and Ridge as Mom disappears, confused. “Who’s Brighton Brooks?”
“No one,” Ridge mutters again.
“She’s one of the top barrel racers in the country,” Sage answers immediately, like she’s been waiting her whole life to flex that knowledge. Then she turns to Lark. “Isn’t that what you used to do?”
Lark smiles, soft and self-deprecating. “Once upon a time. But Brighton’s the real deal. I was just the small-town, watered down version.”
“She’s not—” Ridge starts, then shakes his head. “Look, it wasn’t even a thing, okay? The photo made it look like more than it was.”
Miller takes a sip of wine, batting her long, thick lashes. “Please,dotell us more about your rodeo whore, Ridge. I’m riveted.”
Boone nearly loses it, covering a laugh with the back of his hand and turning it into a cough that fools no one. Sage’s eyes go wide. I bite down on my bottom lip to keep from laughing and glance over at Hudson, whose eyebrows are pushed up to his hairline.
Ridge smirks. “What’s the matter, Millie? You jealous?”
She tilts her head and examines her nails like they’re far more interesting than this conversation. “I don’t get jealous. That would require me waking up suddenly lobotomized.”
Then she tosses him a slow, sweet smile that doesn’t touch her eyes. “But I do hope you enjoyed dry humping your reputation into the ground. Very on brand for you.”
Boone snorts. Lark presses a hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh. Hudson makes a gagging noise.
Ridge rolls his eyes, but his mouth twitches like he’s trying not to smile. And then—in one smooth, entirely Ridge move—he reaches for the edge of Miller’s chair and yanks it back toward him.
It scrapes across the floor, loud and obnoxious. Miller’s head snaps toward him, her green eyes narrowing like she’s calculating the fastest way to dispose of a body without leaving any evidence.
She abruptly stands up, gathers her wine glass, and pivots for the door. “I’m going to go play with the twins.”
Lark raises a brow. “You hate children.”
Miller tosses a wink over her shoulder, perfectly timed. “Only that one,” she says, her eyes flicking to Ridge.
The room erupts again, and Ridge throws his arms up like he’s been personally victimized. I shake my head, chewing the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling. God help us all.
