“Why not?” T.A. pressed.

 Willa sighed. “I’m afraid of needles.”

 All three women burst into laughter, and Crazy Bitch even had to wipe tears away.

 “How do you feel about knives?”

 * * *

 Willa knocked on Lucky’s office door.

 “Come in.”

 She opened the door, seeing her fiancé sitting behind his desk, working, and he was wearing one of her favorite suits. The charcoal-grey color did things to his skin that made Willa get a warm feeling in her stomach.

 His face broke into a welcoming smile when he saw her.

 “I see your appointment went well. You look fantastic.”

 Willa blushed at his compliment, coming to a stop on the other side of his desk. “Thanks. Are you busy?”

 “For you? No.”

 “I wanted to ask a quick question.”

 “In a minute.” Lucky leaned back in his chair. “Come here.”

 Willa tilted her head to the side. “Why?”

 “Because my future wife needs to give me a hello kiss.”

 “Oh.” Willa turned red as she moved around the desk to bend down and kiss Lucky briefly on the lips. When she would have risen up, his hand went to the nape of her neck, holding her in place.

 “Like this.” His seductive voice had her stomach clenching tighter. Then his tongue thrust demandingly into her mouth until her hands plastered against the front of his shirt, and she kissed him back. “That’s the way I want you to tell me hello.”

 “I can do that,” Willa whispered.

 “Good. Now what was the question you wanted to ask?”

 Willa stared helplessly in his eyes, unable to return to reason as quickly as him.

 “You said you had a question to ask me.”

 “Oh.” Willa straightened, reluctantly taking her hands away. “Did Viper promise Sissy that she could join The Last Riders?”

 “Moon did, not Viper,” Lucky admitted.

 “You’re joking, right? Moon promised an underage girl that she could join a sex club?”

 “Relax, Willa. Moon told her she had to be nineteen.” Lucky held his hand up. “The promise is one that Viper has no intention of honoring, though. You have nothing to worry about,” Lucky assured her.

 “I don’t?” Willa was having a hard time retaining her temper. “Did you know that Sissy ran away from Texas? Sex Piston gave her a job… well, she did. I think she’s been fired. Killyama is driving her back.”

 “She is?”

 Willa nodded.

 Lucky laughed. “We won’t have to deal with her again.”

 She decided to change the subject before she became angry at his attitude toward Sissy. Willa traced a paper on his desk. “You have several appointments today.”

 “I schedule couples’ counseling on Wednesdays. In the morning, I spend my time with couples about to be married. In the afternoon, with those already married.”

 “Why haven’t we done that?” Willa asked with interest.

 “Because it would be hard to counsel myself,” Lucky replied with a grin.

 Once the idea took hold, Willa didn’t want to give it up. “What kinds of things do you counsel the ones getting married on?”

 Lucky leaned back in his leather chair, rocking it back and forth casually with his hands laced together across his flat stomach. Willa swallowed hard. Lucky made her want to touch him, yet she couldn’t work up the courage to.

 “I discuss their expectations of each other, their finances, if they want a Christian marriage.”

 “We could get counseling from the pastor in Jamestown. He’s very nice.”

 “Yes, he is. I’ve met him several times. I’m more than willing if that’s really what you want. I’ll call and make an appointment.”

 Willa smiled happily until Lucky’s next words had her rethinking bringing in a third party to discuss their relationship.

 “I’m surprised. I thought you would balk at talking with someone. You usually try to avoid personal topics…”

 Lucky had the phone in his hand, but Willa put her hand over his.

 “Personal topics?” she questioned.

 “Yes. He will talk briefly about sex and—”

 “Maybe we should wait.”

 “We’re getting married in two weeks,” Lucky reminded her.

 “I know that,” she snapped. “Now that I think of it, I really don’t have the time. I have several orders scheduled, and Beth and Lily still haven’t picked their bridesmaids dresses. It was just a thought, anyway.”

 “Sit down, Willa.” When Lucky motioned her over to the chair by the window, she crossed the room and gingerly sat down. “Perhaps it would be better if we just have an open discussion between us. Will that make you feel more comfortable?”

 Willa gave a relieved sigh. “Yes.”

 “All right.” Lucky sat down in the chair across from her, and Willa looked at him expectantly. “What do you envision for our marriage?”

 Willa took a second to think, dreams filling her head of the years ahead. “I see us living a happy, fulfilled life with you as pastor and me helping you however I can. Maybe have … I don’t know, two children?” She looked at him from underneath her lashes. She really wanted four, but she didn’t want to scare him away before she could get a ring on his finger.

 Lucky frowned. “Two?”

 “One?” Willa bit her lip. How was she going to talk him into four if he only wanted one? Fear that he didn’t want any had her wanting to change the subject. “We can talk about that later. What’s next?”

 “We should discuss this now. Children are an important part of a marriage.”

 “Can we talk about them later?” Willa twisted her hands together nervously.

 His gaze dropped to her lap. “Okay. Then we should talk about finances. What is your credit rating?”

 “I’m not sure.”

 His frown deepened. “You’re not sure? You’ve been looking at properties to expand your business, so you should be familiar with your credit score.”

 “I figured I would check on it when I found a place.”

 Lucky ran his hand through his hair. “I could look over your finances—”

 “That’s not necessary. I have an accountant.”

 “Who?” Lucky asked in a way that made Willa think he believed she wasn’t the best judge of character.

 “Dustin Porter.”

 Lucky looked horror-stricken. “You let Dustin manage your books? He’s a kid.”

 “He’s my age.” That choice of words didn’t seem to make him any happier.

 “He doesn’t even have a high school diploma.” Lucky’s voice had risen to the extent that Willa was becoming angry.

 “Yes, he does. He earned it over the internet like he did his accounting degree.”