Page 97 of The Love Lie
Cooper pulls Sam against his side and mutters into her hair, “You ready for this, Cuj?”
“Honestly?” She laughs, the sound warming him up like a shot of whiskey. “I have no idea. Let’s go.”
They close the distance and step inside the bar to open stares. He’s known practically everyone in this place since birth, so he’s not the one they’re looking at. Sam either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care. She gasps and points at a sign on the wall just inside the door that readsBull Riding Arena.
“Bull riding?” She squeals. “Like actual bull riding?”
“They don’t call itthe Barnfor nothing.”
“We have to go.”
“Whatever you say.”
This riding is nothing compared to some of the rodeo riders he’s seen, but Sam is mesmerized as they step through the double doors into the arena. It’s Saturday night so theentertainment is already in full swing. The bleachers are full to the brim with half-drunk patrons but he squeezes them into a good spot near the middle.
“I can’t believe there’s actual bull riding in a bar!” She squeezes his hand so hard he just about loses circulation. Before he can answer, the announcer comes on the loudspeaker welcoming the next rider.
Her eyes are glued to the ring.
His eyes are glued to her.
Every gasp, every flinch, every grin—he drinks them in. They watch five, maybe six, riders. He loses count.
“That was incredible!” she says when the show is over.
Yeah, he thinks.You are.
But he doesn’t want to push too hard, doesn’t want to spook her, so he just says, “Drink?”
They head to the main bar. He points out the pool tables, the live music, the line dancing, the mechanical bulls. Sam wants to see it all. They pull Wes and the girl he’s chatting up in for a game of pool. Then she tugs him into the throng of line dancers, diving in headfirst as she stumbles over her feet, laughter spilling through her lips. He loves her enthusiasm. He loves how she doesn’t care that she has no idea what the hell she’s doing. He loves the joy bright in her eyes.
He loves…her.
Cooper grabs Sam by the hand and spins her into his arms as he leads them to a different area closer to the music. This is all he wants. Her head on his chest. Her fingers playing with the curls at the base of his neck. Her body swaying in time with his. The two of them perfectly in sync, as if alone, despite the looks that have been following them all night.
It could be like this, he realizes.It could be like this for the rest of our lives and I’d never, ever get tired of it. I’d never want to leave.
“Emily, you’re almost up!”
The words don’t register until Wes puts his hand on Cooper’s shoulder. Sam looks up, her lids heavy, her gaze heady. They’re both in a daze, caught in the same spell, until his friend says it again.
“Emily.You’re next on the bull.”
Sam jolts. “Oh, right! I totally forgot.”
“You don’t—”
“Hold this, will you?” She cuts Wes off and shimmies out of her jacket, carefully avoiding Cooper’s eyes. “Winnie will have my head if anything happens to it.”
He knows her well enough to know exactly what’s happening. She’s running. But it doesn’t make him mad. Quite the opposite, in fact, because her reaction just means that everything he’s feeling, she is too.
Cooper fights a grin as she hands him the jacket. It must be a losing battle because she eyes him strangely.
“You okay there, cowboy?”
“Never better.”
She frowns. “You think I’m going to fall.”
