Page 15 of Wilde Flame

I let out a soft laugh. “I’m glad I ran into you this morning.”

My younger brother grinned. “Me too. I miss our mornings at the café.”

“We should make this a habit again.”

Gatlin nodded. “I agree. So, back to Lilibeth…she answered the door in her undies, huh?”

“Undies? What are you, twelve?”

He rolled his eyes. “Is her body as nice as I think it is?”

I brought my coffee up to my mouth and paused. Smirking, I said, “It’s fucking amazing. Not only does she have curves, but she clearly works out.”

“Lucky bastard.”

I winked. “It made the hassle of coming into town worth it, I can tell you that.”

Chuckling, Gatlin replied, “I bet.”

For half a second, I thought about telling my brother what I’d overheard Lilibeth say about her virginity, but decided against it. I was never one for gossip, and I wasn’t about to start now.

“Okay, back to reality. That storm is moving in, I’d like to make sure we’re ready for it.”

Gatlin and I easily fell into a conversation about the ranch. It pushed all thoughts of Lilibeth and her sexy-as-hell body right out of my head.

For now, anyway, because I had a feeling that once I was in my bed tonight, those visions would pay me a visit.

Lilibeth

“Lilibeth?”

My head jerked up to see Ensley staring at me. “Did you say something?”

She laughed. “I said a whole bunch of something. Where are you at tonight?”

I glanced around the table and tried my best to smile. Moreen sat across and to the left of me, and Ensley sat directly across. It was our weekly girls’ dinner, and we were at one of our favorite restaurants. The only one missing was Emeline, who’d gone off to Lake Tahoe to get married.

“Something is for sure off. You were late to work on Friday, and now you’re woolgathering.”

“Woolgathering?” Ensley asked.

Moreen nodded. “Yeah, like daydreaming. I read it in a historical romance novel and fell in love with that saying. I’m so glad I was finally able to use it.”

I chuckled. “I wasn’t daydreaming.”

Ensley rolled her eyes. “Please, you were totally off somewhere else. Want to tell us where?”

“The store.”

“You were daydreaming about the store?” Moreen asked with a slight frown. “We really need to get you out on a date.”

Ensley laughed. “Agreed! If you’re thinking about your store with that dreamy face, we should be worried.”

“Dreamy face?” I said with a laugh. “I did not have a dreamy look on my face.”

“You totally did,” Ensley retorted.

“We should go out tonight,” Moreen decided as she changed the subject.