Somehow her smile grows when she sees me, and then she’s out of her chair, walking across the room, ignoring whatever the guy next to her was saying. Fucking hell, she’s beautiful. Her long dark hair falls down her shoulders in loose waves. She’s wearing jeans, a tattered concert T-shirt and a pair of chucks, and she’s never looked as gorgeous as she does right now. And for the first time in five months, I can touch her and kiss her, and it doesn’t matter who’s watching because she’s mine.
Adley stops in front of me and opens her mouth to say something, but I cup her face in my hands and slant my mouth over hers. Soft hands wrap around my neck, curling into my hair. She presses her body against mine. We hear a few catcalls, and when I pull back, she rubs a finger over her bottom lip.
“What was that for?”
“Because I wanted to. And I can.”
“Well, feel free to do that any time,” she says with a smile. “What are you doing here? I thought you couldn’t make it.”
“Chloe didn’t mind me bailing on her a little early.”
“Oh yeah?”
“I was helping her move. She has to be out of student housing by the end of the month.”
Her smile falls. “Lincoln, why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve helped.”
“That’s why I didn’t tell you. You needed to study.”
“Now I feel bad. I never would’ve pulled you away if I’d known that’s what you were doing.”
“It’s okay.” I kiss her forehead, and she sighs. “We got the majority of it done. She only has a few more things left to get. She actually insisted I come.”
Adley purses her lips and nods, although I can tell she stills feels bad about it. “Thank you for being here. It means a lot to me.” She grabs my hand and glances back at the table. “Would you like to meet my friends?”
“I’d love to.”
Lacing her fingers with mine, Adley leads me to the group. “Lincoln, this is Emily, Jack, Tyler, Phillip, and you already know Abby.” She points to each one as she introduces them. They all smile, and Abby waves. “Everyone, this is my boyfriend, Lincoln.”
“Boyfriend?” Jack looks taken aback. “I didn’t know you were dating anyone.”
There it is. I knew these fuckers wanted to get into her pants. But my Adley looks up at me adoringly. Her smile takes my breath away. I don’t know what I did to deserve this woman, but I’m not letting her go.
“We’ve been seeing each other for about five months,” she says.
Jack’s eyes linger on Adley a little too long before he clears his throat and says, “That’s great. Congratulations.” He holds his hand out, and I shake it. “Nice to meet ya, man.”
“Yeah, you too.”
“Can you scoot over?” Adley whispers to Jack.
“Uh, sure.” He scoots his seat to the side, allowing Adley to slide an empty chair in next to hers.
I wait until she’s seated before I sit down. “Aren’t you guys missing one?”
“Taryn had to get home.” Adley’s hand finds mine under the table. “We ordered a bunch of appetizers. Are you hungry?”
“Starved. Today was crazy, and I didn’t get a chance to eat lunch.”
“What do you do?” Emily asks
“He’s a bull rider,” Adley answers.
I squeeze her hand and correct her. “Former bull rider. I stopped riding professionally after last season. Now I mostly train other guys.”
Emily’s eyes widen. “A bull rider, huh? That sounds dangerous.”
“It can be if you don’t know what you’re doing.”