Page 114 of The Wildest Ride

She looked up at him through her eyelashes as she took a seat in the chair he’d pulled up for her, a slight lift to one corner of her mouth.

She said, “You didn’t ask,” as he pushed her chair in and he laughed.

“I didn’t,” he agreed, moving to take his own seat. “You didn’t have to come.”

He didn’t expect her to counter with just as much suggestion in her voice when she said, “That’s debatable...”

He chuckled, flames leaping in his eyes, “Glad you remember.”

She snorted. “You’re impossible.”

He grinned. “You started it.”

Laughing, she picked up a menu. The laughter stopped abruptly when she opened it up, closed it, and set it down. “I can’t eat here. It’s robbery.”

This time AJ laughed. “Yes, you can. It’s a date, Lil.”

“I can’t. A meal here could run the ranch for a day.”

“You sound like The Old Man, so I’m going to tell you what I tell him.”

Lil raised an eyebrow, head faintly cocked. “And what’s that?”

AJ grinned. “Order whatever you want.”

She couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face—he watched her try and lose the battle, and he loved it.

A waiter came to take their drink order and he watched her discuss the wines with a strange tightness in his chest.

Her brightness and spirit shone through, whether she discussed Tempranillo or rodeo. Parts of her were as raw and wild as the animals they rode. Other parts as refined and focused as the sharpest professional. She was fire, but she’d been right when she’d said she knew how to be ice when she needed to be. A whole set of contradictions and the perfect balance was Lil. He could spend the rest of his life diving into her and never get bored.

When the waiter left, she placed her elbows on the table and leaned toward him, resting her chin in her hands, eyes bright and mischievous in the flickering tabletop candlelight. “So, what’s the occasion?”

AJ raised his eyebrow. “It can’t be just wanting to have a nice meal with the beautiful woman I’m sleeping with?”

Another blush colored Lil’s cheeks at his words but she didn’t give up. “Slept with, past tense. There hasn’t been any time for that lately. And if that were all, we could have done that with room service at the hotel and it would have been a whole lot easier. This took effort.” She gestured around the full restaurant.

Theirs was the best table.

He shrugged. “Most things don’t take much effort when you’re AJ Garza...”

She snorted. “There’s not room at this table for your ego and the rest of us.”

He brought a hand to his chest. “Words hurt more when they come from gorgeous women, you know...”

She laughed. “You’re outrageous.”

“I’ve heard.”

Talking with Lil was like playing with an electrical outlet, every time he got buzzed, he wanted to come back for more.

“I’m not surprised. Your poor mother.” She sighed, doing an excellent job of looking serious and regretful for his mom.

“My mom adores me.”

Lil patted his hand on the table. “Of course she does.”

He was chuckling when the waiter arrived with their drinks—a glass of wine for Lil and a sipping tequila for AJ. When they were alone again, he raised his glass.