Tempting Love (Cowboys & Angels 3)

Corina and I walked hand in hand, making small talk as we went.

“Do you think Amelia and Wade are excited about the wedding reception?” Corina asked.

“I do,” I answered with a smile. “Mom and Amelia have been busy all week with party planning.”

Corina’s grin spread wide. “I can’t believe they got married. You think people will wonder if Amelia is pregnant?”

With a shrug, I replied, “Who knows. I don’t think Amelia cares what people think.”

I could see the worry on Corina’s face. I was still kicking myself for letting things get so out of control that we forgot to use protection. Then there was my job. I was worried sick by the idea of having someone in my life worrying about me, the risk of leaving her and possibly a baby behind if anything happened…

Fuck.

My hand raked through my hair. I’d already had three good friends die in the line of duty, each leaving behind a family who loved and needed them. If Corina was pregnant with our child, would I want to keep putting my life on the line every day?

I wasn’t so sure. I wasn’t sure about anything anymore. When I was younger, my dream had been to work on the ranch, but things hadn’t turn out like I had originally planned.

“Hey, are you okay?” Corina asked.

The soft touch of her hand on my arm drew me out of the downward spiral of my thoughts.

“Thinking about something with work. Sorry. Bad habit.”

She gave me the sweetest smile. “You know, if you ever need to talk about anything, I’m always here for you.” My chest tightened. I was so damn stupid to push her away.

We had stopped walking and were now facing each other. This beautiful woman standing before me blew me away. I didn’t deserve her. She could have kept me at a distance and made me fight harder for her, but her heart was so forgiving. Her house had been destroyed, her job had changed at a moment’s notice, her entire life had turned upside down. And she was worried about me. The urge to tell her I loved her pulled on my heart, but my head was telling me it was too soon.

Cupping her face within my hands, I smiled. “Do you have any idea how much you mean to me?”

Her cheeks flushed slightly. “I have an idea.”

My gaze searched her face. Her eyes were the most beautiful I’d ever seen. My heart melted into the ocean of blue staring back at me.

“No matter what happens, Corina, I’m never leaving you.”

Tears pooled in her eyes. When she opened her mouth, I knew she wanted to tell me she loved me, but she held back. In a way, I was still relieved.

She finally let some words slip free. “I’m scared, Mitchell. I don’t know what to do if I’m pregnant.”

The fear in her voice sent me off the edge. Leaning down, I covered her mouth with mine. It didn’t matter how many people were around to see us. I needed to take her fear away. Nothing else mattered.

Corina wrapped her arms around my neck as she opened her mouth to me. Her lips were warm and soft as a cloud. We both let sounds of pleasure slip out as we deepened the kiss.

Someone standing next to us cleared their throat. We ignored it; the kiss was too perfect to break.

“Y’all might want to take it back to your place if you want to suck face like that in front of the whole town.”

Stepping back, I dragged in a breath. Corina did the same. A smile spread over her beautiful face, followed by a pink flush on her cheeks.

“Hey, Waylynn,” I said, pulling my eyes off of Corina and looking at my older sister leaning against the building. I hadn’t realized we had stopped in front of the place she had chosen for her dance studio.

With a wide grin, she stepped closer. “Hey there, love birds. You keep up the PDA and tongues are gonna be waggin’.”

I laughed. “They already are.”

Waylynn’s gaze moved between the two of us. She lingered longer on me, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she had heard what Corina said about possibly being pregnant. If she had, she didn’t mention it.

“Well, this town needs good gossip.” She lifted her brows. “Maybe now they’ll move on from my sad story of being cheated on and having to crawl back home to Oak Springs from New York.”

“Fuck what people say, Waylynn,” I snapped.

Her stare pierced me. “Remember your words of advice, little brother.”

Amelia let out a scream when she saw us. Running up to our small group, she grabbed Corina and hugged her before doing the same to Waylynn. I reached down and gave her a kiss on the cheek, my gaze still fixed on my older sister.