Free Fortune's June Bride (Mills & Boon Cherish) (The Fortunes of Texas: Cowboy Country, Book 6) by Allison Leigh

them, glasses clanked together and people cheered.
    Aurora did, too.
    But mostly she was thinking about the feel of his thigh against hers underneath the table, and wishing he wouldn’t just see her as “kiddo.”

Chapter Five
    “Y ou want me to walk you up?” Galen was peering at Aurora’s house situated up the hill from where he’d pulled into the gravel drive. “It’s pretty dark.”
    “I’m not ten,” she protested grumpily.
    “Yeah, I know. Ten-year-olds don’t drink as much beer as you.”
    “I had three,” she said, carefully distinct. And they’d been at the Two Moon nearly three hours.
    “I know,” Galen said in a soothing, indulgent tone that only added to her general sense of irritation. “And you were tipsy after just one.” He handed her the foil container with the hot wings she hadn’t been able to finish.
    “Fortunately, I knew I didn’t have to drive.” She stared at him in the faintly blue light coming from his truck dashboard. “I’m not planning on following in my brother’s footsteps.”
    He patted her shoulder. “I know.”
    All night, he’d sat next to her, his body heat searing down her whole left side.
    And now he was reaching a long arm across her, pushing open the door for her.
    “I’m not a kid, either.”
    He drew back more slowly and pulled off his cowboy hat, pushing it up onto the dash. “Trust me, Aurora. I know that, too.”
    The air had finally cooled off and now it was almost chilly. But she couldn’t blame the shivers skipping up and down her spine on the temperature. Those were owed strictly to him.
    Her mouth felt dry and she swallowed, unable to look away from him, still leaning half across her, so close. “Galen—”
    Suddenly, the porch light up at the house went on and her mother was hanging out of the front door. “That you, Aurora, baby?” Her voice was loud enough to carry two counties over. “Getting kind of late, isn’t it?”
    Aurora wanted to sink through the floorboard of Galen’s truck. “Not really,” she muttered.
    “It’s midnight,” Galen murmured, sitting back fully in his own seat. “Time for Cinderella to get inside.”
    “Only because she has to get up in the morning to drive her parents to the airport,” she said. “Not because she believes in fairy tales anymore.” She unclipped her seat belt. “Thanks for the ride.”
    “Guess you won’t need anyone picking you up tomorrow to get to Cowboy Country. You’ll have the ranch truck?”
    “Right.” She pushed the door open a little wider with the toe of her tennis shoe, but some devil made her lean across the console and press a quick kiss to his lean cheek.
    He reared back as if he were stung, though. “What’s that for?”
    Trying not to gulp like some inexperienced ninny, she lifted the foil container between them. “Keep your shirt on,” she said tartly. “Giving me your share of wings, of course.” Then before she could make a bigger fool out of herself than she already had, she scrambled out of the truck and slammed the door.
    “Hold the door, Mama,” she called out, heading blindly up the familiar dark hill dotted with sweet gum trees to the bright light shining from the porch.
    When she reached it, her mother tucked her arm around her. “Have fun, baby?”
    Aurora looked over her shoulder, watching Galen’s taillights as he drove back down the sloping gravel driveway. “Not as much fun as you and Daddy will be having starting tomorrow.”
    Pru McElroy’s eyes were as excited as Aurora could ever remember seeing. “I still haven’t finished packing,” she said. “Your daddy’s been snoring asleep for the past two hours, and I still can’t decide what all I need to take!”
    Aurora gave her a quick hug. “Well, let’s go figure it out, then,” she said. “So we can both get some sleep, too!”
    Her mother squeezed her back. Then laughed again, and clutching Aurora’s hand, pulled her into the house.
    It was only later, after the two