Flawless (Chestnut Springs, #1)

by Elsie Silver

Then my door is wrenched open.

“What are you doing?” I ask, brows knitting in confusion. I thought he’d stormed into the bar.

“Opening your door for you. Now get out.”

realize he’s trying to be gentlemanlike while also be...

We don’t look at each other as we walk, but he touches my shoulder gently and gestures me across his body. He moves me to the opposite side of him before taking up position by the road.

“Thank you. How charming. Now lose the shirt and get on your bed.” I blink slowly as I put together the real meaning behind what she’s saying. “That’s very forward, Summer.” “Don’t test my patience this morning, Eaton. I need at least three cups of coffee before I can deal with this adorable version of you.” “It’s alright. I like it when a woman knows what she wants and just asks for it.”

“Shut up and let me rub your back. It’s warming my hands.” And I let her, because when she puts it like that, it sounds an awful lot like she’s enjoying touching me.

When she sees me laughing, she gives me a timid thumbs up, followed by a shy smile. And fuck, it feels good. Because that—right there—is not part of her job description.

He turns, and in a few strides he flips the top half of my suitcase closed, and I stand frowning at him as he zips my bag shut.

“What do you think you’re doing?” “All I heard was that you think I have a pretty face,” he says as he marches past me, rolling my suitcase behind himself.

I’m so fucked. I’m super fucked. I’m so super-mega fucked. Summer was also right. I’m a massive prick. Because I’ve been awake for the better part of an hour, letting her cuddle me. Staring at her, trying to memorize every little freckle.

“And of course, I know who you are. Summer had your Wranglers ad plastered on her bedroom wall for years.”

“Are you hiding because your sister is a grade A bitch or because I now know that I’m your teenaged spank bank fodder?”

“I’m finding I don’t really care what people think where you’re concerned.”

The knowledge that I do that to him makes me wild. It seems unlikely. We seem unlikely. And yet I’d have to be an idiot to deny there’s a connection here. The bickering. The jokes. The goddamn teenaged crush.

His pinky finger wraps around mine tenderly before he moves his hand to the small of my back, guiding me safely across the road and making my chest flutter.

Summer: Please don’t do anything stupid while I’m at the staff meeting. I trust you to hold it together for one afternoon. Rhett: Shit, Princess. I don’t know. I might go crazy without you. Summer: For ducks’ sake. Summer: Duck Summer: *Duck Summer: FUCK. Ugh. Why can’t my phone learn that word? I’ll be back around dinnertime. Rhett: Quack.

The Eaton boys are a whole mood this morning.

Because, while Rhett might not want to be near me right now, I’m finding I want nothing more than to be near him.

With everyone around me screaming his name and cheering for him, someone who’s been theirs for over a decade now, he feels like mine. Because he’s staring at me.

Rhett stares at me like no man has before in my life. And for all the times I couldn’t decipher his look and thought he was glaring at me with irritation, or frustration, or distaste . . . I realize I was wrong. He’s staring at me like he wants me. Really wants me. Like he aches for me. Like he might melt, just for me.

“Having you think I’m out fucking everything that moves when I’ve looked at nothing and no one since the first day I laid eyes on you. I stepped into that godforsaken boardroom, and you practically demanded I become obsessed with you.”

“I don’t want it, Rhett. I want you.”

And then he does something he’s never done. He peeks up at me from beneath the brim of his hat, like he knew exactly where I was sitting. He winks at me. And then he nods, and the gates fly open.

And I melt into the bed, soaking up this side of him I didn’t even know existed. Sweet, and tender, and swoony.

“That’s why I’m going to give you this little tidbit of advice: cool your jets. If you ever have something that no one else wants, you gotta ask yourself where the value is.”

He smiles wistfully, observing everyone around the table. “It never mattered whose eyes were on your mom. Because her eyes were always on me.”

While lively conversation rolls on around me, I think about my mom. I think about Summer. And when I glance over at her, her eyes are on me.

I’m hit with a realization that sends me reeling. Summer wasn’t just made for me. She’s it for me.

“But I want to make one thing clear. I am not possessive. I am protective. And I’ll never stop protecting you. I’d hit that fucker again in a heartbeat if it meant keeping him from talking to you that way.”

“Well, I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to sit here and wait to make things right with you. I’ll sit here all weekend if I have to.” “No, you won’t. You ride tomorrow. You should be resting.” “Summer. Don’t you get it?” He stands, holding out his hands in frustration. “I care about you.”

“Yeah, Dad. I like him. He’s not like he comes off. Nothing like everyone thinks.” “I know.” My head flips in his direction. “You do?” “Of course, I know. Been helping that kid for over a decade now. He pisses me off because he’s a loose fucking cannon, but I like him. I knew you two would get along eventually.”

“I’m not stupid. I know things are strained between you and Rhett after that explosion. But I also know that men don’t look at a woman the way he looks at you unless they’re out of their goddamn mind for that person. I know you’re so accustomed to pleasing everyone that you give and give until you have nothing left to give. Rhett might be a little rough around the edges, but maybe you smooth him out and he scuffs you up. I don’t know. Only you can make these decisions. But what I saw that night was a man who’d burn everything down to defend you. I saw a man who’d risk it all to take care of you.”

But that man wears his love for you on his sleeve for the entire world to see. And he doesn’t give a shit who sees it. He’d scream it from the mountain tops if you asked him to. It’s written all over him. And you definitely need that.”

“Please don’t cry. I fucking hate it when you cry. It’s like a bullet to my chest.” “Taken many bullets, have you?” My voice is weak, and I hate that. “No,” he husks, “but I would. For you, I would.”

“I could ask you the same thing, Princess.” “Fuck my life, he calls you princess, too? Ugh. Unfair.” A lanky redhead standing behind her crosses her arms and rolls her eyes.

“I love you,” she says, her voice soft but sure. I gaze down at her and wonder what the hell I did to get this fucking lucky. “I love you too. And I don’t need to ride tonight. Or ever again. Hearing that from your lips is the biggest win of my life.”

Choosing each other. Finding each other. Showing up for each other. And everything about the moment is flawless.

At the end of this driveway is our house. And I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of referring to it that way. The only thing more satisfying would be being able to call Summer my wife.