Page 6 of Forbidden Cowboy
“This is not a debate, Miss. Fox. Moving on—”
I ignore Josie’s moan of enjoyment when my chair scrapes the floor. I rise on my beaded flip-flops. “Thisshouldbe a debate. Kissing booths date back to the early 1900s. Rocky Ridge Creek’s kissing booth has paid for the grad’s end-of-year trip for as long as I can remember.”
Jade spins, and we meet face-to-face. “At the expense of flaunting women around likeobjects for men to do as they please.”
“It’s a mutual agreement. A harmless kiss.” I get the irony of my statement. “And sometimes it’s simply a hug. There’s absolutely no flaunting.”
“It’s all flaunting.”
“What’s wrong with some harmless flaunting?” Hart’s voice silences Jade—silences everyone. My sister’s popcorn crunching is the only sound in the town hall.
Jade’s knuckles turn white from squeezing her hips. “You would say that.”
Hart removes his Stetson as he rises to his feet. He barely glances at my sister as his gaze travels the room. Naturalcharmer. “My great-great-great grandfather met my great-great-great grandmother at the Rocky Ridge Creek kissing booth.”
My sister’s green eyes do not stray from Hart’s. “And what a floozy she would’ve been for her time, flaunting her lips to all the single men in Rocky Ridge Creek.”
The room coils, and I can see the town folks picking sides. Will they choose the Wildes or the Foxes? Both are highly respected names in the town. Both are notably known for donating money to the town for decades. Both are essential to make Rocky Ridge Creek the amazing small town it is.
Thomas’s gavel slices through the room like a knife. “I was wrong.” Wilma and Faye are on either side of the man, tapping his clipboard. “The kissing booth reconstruction is being completed by Hope Fox and Levi Wilde.”
Chapter Two
LEVI
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“WILDES DON’T WORK with Foxes.” My brother’s growly statement rings in my ears, barking like our father’s stern voice my entire life.
Never let your guard down.
Watch out for those Fox dames and their lust games. That’s how they hook you, and then they destroy you.
I got the memo.
Loud and clear.
So why the hell is my brother glaring at me like I offered to work with a Fox? I didn’t even want to come tonight. And I sure as hell didn’t bring up some sappy love story about our great-great-great grandparents.
Look at the reflection in the mirror, brother.
And then Thomas goes and throws me to the wolves. Or, in this case, the Foxes. I’d rather wrangle a dozen territorial bulls at once.
“Foxes don’t work with Wildes,” Jade retaliates, mirroring my brother.
“Something we agree on.” The way my brother eye fucks her, there’s no mistaking they’ve hooked up.
The room explodes into huge arguments. Everything from their sordid history of murder and hog theft to slapping Knit Happens with a hefty fine for breaking their hours.
I slump back in my chair and rub my temples where the twangs of a headache are starting to develop.
Glancing at the stage, I notice sly smirks pasted on the pesky duo. And pesky those two old birds are. They habitually stick their noses into everyone’s business.
Why do I get the feeling they had something to do with pairing up Hope and me on this pointless project? Honestly, I side with Jade on the topic. Fox or not, I vote to leave the kissing booth in a bed of coals.
If that’s the case, then why is there a fucking ripple of something I don’t want to name coursing through my gut at the idea of working with Hope Fox—the girl next door. My brown-haired, hazel-eyed, tree-climbing best friend. At least she had been free of responsibility and expectations when we were wild kids.
I remember the first time I saw her. She’d given me the same peculiar, curious look she’d given me not ten minutes ago.