Riding the High (Silver Pines Ranch Series)

by Paisley Hope

“I don’t, I didn’t…I mean…shit.” “Please, on some level you always have, but after the ‘dreaded kiss’ you can’t admit it to yourself.” She grins. “Because it was the most embarrassing moment of my life! He rejected me. Pushed me away mid-kiss. Told me it wasn’t a good idea, remember? It sent the message loud and clear. Cole Ashby doesn’t think of me that way. It took me over a month and a boyfriend in tow before I could even show my face at the ranch after that.” I put my head in my hands with the humiliating memory. Liv snickers and fiddles with the bow of her paper bag shorts. “He was dating someone then, and that was eight years ago. Hell, you two were barely legal. Do you not understand the way he looks at you now? Or how he does anything he can to get under your skin? Do you think he does that because he isn’t attracted to you?” I shrug and toss my lip gloss in my clutch. “I never thought of it. It’s Cole. He looks at me half the time like I annoy the shit out of him and the other half like I’m a loose cannon.” “Maybe so, but there’s a part you’re forgetting, the part that never takes his eyes off you. Especially when you aren’t looking.” “That’s a bit dramatic.” I look up at her and blow out a raspberry. But Olivia’s not entirely wrong. Cole looked at me like that last night, and just the thought of his eyes on me sends heat through my core.