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And based on the way he’s looking at me right now, I think Rhett Eaton’s new babysitter just might be me.
You’d have to be dead to not appreciate a man like Rhett Eaton.
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.
Plus, the fact that I can’t stop staring at her gorgeous face makes me feel like she isn’t innocent in my frustration at all.
And as much as I hate to admit it, I like her eyes on me.
And just like that, I think I have my first gym crush.
There’s something about a man who is damn good at what he does that holds an appeal for me. Every step is sure. Practiced. Full of confidence.
But I also don’t miss the way her eyes snag on my body as she lifts the shirt up and over my head. She seems generally indifferent toward me, but now and then, I swear something flickers between us.
And we fall quiet together. I hear the even rhythm of his breaths and feel his exhale across my chest. I fall asleep like that, lulled by the gentle steady sounds of him, by the solid comfort of him. My hand held tight in his, my feet cradled against his skin, and my heart warm wrapped up in his words.
“I’m finding I don’t really care what people think where you’re concerned.”
His hands are possessive on my body. Pulling me tight against him almost aggressively, while cradling my skull so delicately, and kissing me so carefully. He lights me up. He burns me down. And I bask in his heat.
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.
Summer is proud and responsible. Two characteristics about her I absolutely admire.
I know she’s trying to diffuse the situation, to keep me out of trouble, which is why I’m so surprised when she says, “Okay. Then you’re doing the shot.”
“In the mood for some dairy products, Rhett?”
He’s staring at me like he wants me. Really wants me. Like he aches for me. Like he might melt, just for me.
Rhett Eaton will ruin me if I give him the opportunity, and I don’t even know what to do with that. I think I might want him to ruin 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.”
“Now, tell me honestly, Summer. If this were your last moment on earth, what would you want me to do?” I don’t even need to think about it. I know what I want from him. “Ruin me.” “Good. I’m about fucking done being a gentleman with you. And the only thing I’m ruining you for is anyone else.”
“Please, don’t stop.” “Wasn’t planning on it. Just admiring the view.” “Lose the shirt.” I chuckle. “There she is. My bossy girl.”
All I can taste is whipped cream and cherries, and all I can smell is her. All I want is her.
“That’s a crime, Summer. A terrible shame.” I slide a finger in and feel her contract around me as she gasps. “It seems I have some wrongs to right.”
But based on the things he’s said, it seems I have been wrong. Very, very, wrong.
“Jesus. I’m going to pay for this tomorrow, aren’t I?” Rhett smirks. “If you’re not walking bow-legged tomorrow, I won’t have done my job tonight.”
“You want to fuck a bull rider, baby?”
“Take a walk on the wild side with a cowboy rather than your fancy city boys?”
“Tell me why you want it, Summer.” His voice is gruff, with a bite that wasn’t there before. It. It hits me that he talks about himself like a commodity. Maybe this isn’t a game for him at all. Maybe he really is trying to figure out why a girl like me would want a man like him. I pin him with my eyes as I sit up on the edge of the bed and reach for him. “I don’t want it, Rhett. I want you.”
It does feel right. “I’ll burn more bridges to take a kick at the can with you, Summer. Give me a shot.”
“I love your freckles,” he murmurs from behind me, the pad of his finger tracing lines across the expanse of my back. “They remind me of all the constellations. Like I could draw lines between them, and pictures would appear.”
I’m not sure how I fell so hard, and so fast. I’m not sure of anything, really. My career. My health. But I’m pretty fucking sure Summer is a game-changer in more ways than one.
I lean down closer, wishing I could Thanos this place—snap my fingers and make everyone else disappear.
“The only thing I hated was how badly I wanted you, Princess.”
“I think I’ve wasted enough time with men who aren’t good enough to know that you are better than good. More than enough.” I close my eyes and soak that up for a moment. Hearing that I’m enough for someone like Summer. I didn’t know how badly I needed to hear that.
“Princess, you look like you were made for me.”
I’m hit with a realization that sends me reeling. Summer wasn’t just made for me. She’s it for me.
“I’m against hitting women myself, but I fully support you decking your sister.” A dark laugh escapes me, and then, he hits the gas.
“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.”
And I definitely don’t want to consider the fact that I might be in love with Rhett Eaton.
She nods at me and walks away. Taking my fucking heart with her as she goes.
“Rhett, working on the ranch isn’t something to do with yourself. This is a job. A job I love. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t. You need to figure out what you love and make that your life too.” The only word in my head when that screen door slams behind him is Summer.
Did I chase off the one man other than my father who put me first? Was he out of line? Or was I so tuned out from what I want that I missed the part where we fell in love? Did I dismiss him when that’s what he was trying to tell me?
But I would rather fucking die than let Rhett see how deeply he wounded me.
Because in my last moments, I’d want to be with Rhett. I’d want him to know I love him too. Every stupid, impulsive, broken bone in his body.
It only took two months of spending every waking moment with one other person or thinking about that other person to slip into a place where it feels like she belongs with me. And I belong with her.
“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.”
I take my hat, and I plunk it on her head. Just like I told myself I would. And then I kiss her.
Choosing each other. Finding each other. Showing up for each other. And everything about the moment is flawless.
The only thing more satisfying would be being able to call Summer my wife.
