Page 45 of By His Vow

“Takes one to know one,” she counters. “Oh, speaking of. I want all the details when you finally get to ride that stallion.”

“Not happening,” I state.

“What? Why not? You have to get something out of this bullshit. He’s got the reputation of a freaking Adonis. If I were you, I’d be making very good use of that. It’ll soften the blow of being married to the prick, that’s for sure.”

“I’m not sleeping with him.”

She laughs.

“Lori, I’m being serious.”

“So what? You’re going to be married, making it look like you’re following Daddy’s orders while you’re both fucking everyone else?”

I cringe. “I’ve got to be monogamous. Tell me about your date,” I beg. “I can’t talk about him anymore.”

“My date was great. Everything I hoped for. And he was hung, too. Fucking epic,” she says in a rush. “Kingston has to be faithful too, right?” she asks, swinging right back around.

“Towel,” I demand after killing the water and holding my hand out.

“Tatum,” she warns.

“I don’t care what he does, Lor. He can fuck his way around Chicago and get dick rot if he wants, so long as he doesn’t try sticking it in me.”

You are such a fucking liar, Tatum Warner. Be honest, you want to climb that man like a tree.

Wrapping my towel around my body, I step out of the shower and come face to face with my smug best friend.

“I give you a week before you fall under his spell, and his body.”

“Jesus, Lor. I do have some self-respect, you know.”

She quirks a brow.

“What? I do. What time is Cory meeting us?'“

“Eight at Maxies. Changing the subject isn’t going to work, though,” she calls as she backs out of my room, ready to return to her hair.

No. I fear that telling myself I’m going to be celibate for a year isn’t going to work either, but a girl can try.

12

TATUM

With a wide smile splitting my face and more margaritas than I can count right now warming my stomach, I lose myself in the beat of the music and the warm, strong hands that hold my hips hostage.

“Fuck. I love this song,” I scream, my head falling back against Cory’s shoulder as the heavy bass thumps through my body.

Honestly, I have no idea what the song is, but it doesn’t matter.

“You’re on a mission tonight, T,” Cory shouts in my ear.

“Been a long week, Cor. I fucking need this,” I say, rolling my body against his.

Last night was good, but every time I looked up and saw the anger lining Miles’s face, I was reminded of what I was trying to forget.

And then when he abandoned me to hook up with the server, it was all I could think about.

But this, right now, surrounded by my two closest friends, losing myself to the beat as sweat glistens over my skin and my head spins with tequila, is everything.