1. Sage
sage
Present Day
Girl’s nights. Christian Riggs. And now me gripping the neck of rosé between my thighs like a fucking shield.
Anything to keep that man at a distance.
I sat on the kitchen counter in my own apartment while we all ate a sausage and pepper pizza straight from the box.
My best girlfriends, sassy, vivacious Lina Larsen, and the feisty, determined Romy Miller — now Larsen — had declared a girl’s night.
After months of Lina being on the rodeo circuit in pursuit of winning her barrel racing event, their family was now deep in ranch repairs, insurance company nightmares, and an ongoing police investigation.
Last summer, Junior Matheus’ attempted to abduct Reed Ownstead’s daughter and burn down the ranch, causing a devastating forest fire.
A manhunt was underway but there was neither hide nor tail of him.
Needless to say, a relaxed night was well overdue.
I picked up my wine glass, pouring in the rest of the bottle until it was filled to the rim.
“Damn, girl.” Lina huffed a laugh.
Bringing the glass to my lips, I sipped it down, raising my eyebrows at her. She knew exactly why I was giving myself a dose of social lubrication. Part of it, at least.
The reason: the man leaning against the counter across from me.
The sleeves of his zip-up hoodie were pushed up to reveal tan, corded arms, the hood sitting back on his head covering a mess of wavy, dark-blond hair.
His emerald eyes were on me when my gaze traveled to his face.
They sparked and smiled with a mischievous glint, communicating a secret knowledge of my mouth.
I couldn’t help looking at his own, full and soft, curving up to reveal his dimples on either side, only slightly concealed by the shadow of blond scruff along his square jaw.
Heat washed over me. My eyebrows slammed down, glaring at him before averting my gaze to the light-pink liquid.
Christian Riggs annoyed the hell out of me.
For more than one reason. One, because of his very open obsession with me.
Two, because he had no fucking boundaries.
Three, because he was my little brother’s best friend and roommate and knew exactly how to get under my skin.
And four, he was a cowboy who had no right to be so obnoxiously gorgeous.
I didn’t do cowboys. Of any kind. I knew how they operated.
They were traditional, possessive, and overly protective.
I was not about to give up my independence or submit to some patriarchal asshole.
I’d done that once before and it didn’t turn out very well.
I lifted the glass to my lips, taking three big gulps.
Despite all the irritating reasons, Christian felt safe to me. Harmless.
My cell phone buzzed in my back pocket and I slid off the counter to reach for it, just as I saw Christian pocket his.
I turned my back to him. Leaning my elbows on the counter, I held the screen close to my face hoping to conceal who was texting me.
Tick Tac
Doing ok?
I sucked in a breath through my nose before releasing a deep exhale.
Me
Fine.
Tick Tac
Could’ve fooled me. You should’ve just drank straight from the bottle.
I shot him a glare over my shoulder.
Christian was laughing at something Lina said, as he checked his phone. His gaze slid to mine momentarily, before turning back to my friends.
Me
You’re making a habit of crashing girl’s night and my hangovers aren’t appreciating it.
Tick Tac
I know a few hangover cures I can give you in the morning.
Me
There is no morning after with us. In fact, you’re going to head home.
Tick Tac
You’re going to make me drive after I’ve been drinking?
Me
You’re impossible.
Tick Tac
But you love me.
Me
I feel something, but it’s not love.
Tick Tac
Lust?
At that, I took another big gulp of rosé.
“Are you two going to be on your phones all night or are we going to watch a movie?” Romy asked.
“Sorry,” I said, shoving it back into my pocket. They had no idea we were texting each other while we were in the same room.
“I needed this,” Romy said. “So much.”
“Same,” Lina bemoaned. “With the ranch and all of us being squished together in one house, it’s been a lot.”
They were currently all staying in a cabin on Christian’s parents’ property while the ranch was going through smoke remediation, and the close quarters were starting to wear on them.
“Not that we’re not appreciative of your folks,” Lina added to Christian.
He shrugged. “They had the room. It made sense to provide it. That’s what we do in Willows when people need help,” he said, taking a bite of pizza.
That was exactly what his family did. Helped anyone who was in need. The Riggses were the most generous people I knew. They helped me when I needed it most and I was a virtual stranger.
“Well, I raided your family DVD collection.” Lina picked up her purse and pulled out a plastic case. “Varsity Blues?”
Romy sighed. “That brings me back. James Van Der Beek was the guy.”
“I was more of a Pacey girl,” I commented.
“Who’s Pacey?” Lina asked.
I gasped. “Oh, sweet child of mine. I know you’re a baby, but please tell me you’ve seen reruns of Dawson’s Creek?”
Lina shook her head while she took another sip of her wine. “What am I missing?”
Romy’s mouth was hanging open. “Oh, I know what we’re doing after we watch Varsity Blues.”
At some point between season one and two of Dawson’s Creek, and my third full glass of wine, I fell asleep on my couch snuggled between Romy and Lina. But I woke up in my own bed, my head pounding and my mouth feeling like cotton.
“Ugh!” I groaned, stretching, expecting my feet to collide with Arlo at the foot of the bed. I moved my feet around, feeling for him, but he wasn’t there.
I sprung up, scanning the room. The blinds were drawn, blocking out the morning light.
“Arlo?”
I listened for movement but there was nothing.
A spike of panic shot through my chest.
“Arlo!” I called again, swinging my legs over the side of the bed, freezing when I noticed a note propped up by a glass of water and a bottle of ibuprofen.
Take care of that hangover. I took Arlo home with me so I can walk him in the morning and you can get some rest. Your coffee pot is programmed to go off at 8, so you should have a fresh pot waiting for you when you wake up.
Heart, C.
I ran a hand down my face while I attempted to stuff down the fluttery feeling in my belly. He was too thoughtful, too pushy, and too damn good for me and all the baggage I carried.
Taking two ibuprofen and picking up my water glass, I padded over to the bedroom door, opening it to see Romy and Lina had both left at some point.
All the throw pillows were put back in place and blankets were folded, wine bottles were deposited in my recycling bin, and the pizza boxes were nowhere in sight.
“Christian,” I muttered, shaking my head.
The scent of coffee filled my tiny galley kitchen, the machine ticking while it warmed. Taking the pot off the warmer, I took out a mug from the cabinet and filled it before opening the fridge to pull out the creamer. My eyes went right to the leftover pizza stored in freezer bags.
I shook my head for the second time, a smile creeping over my mouth while I took out the creamer and the pizza.
While I poured the creamer into my mug and stirred it, I picked up my phone that someone had put on the charger last night and opened my messages.
Me
Did you do all this?
Tick Tac
Good morning, sunshine. How are you feeling?
Me
Better than I thought. You didn’t have to do all this.
Tick Tac
Drink your coffee and have some cold pizza, then tell me I didn’t have to do all that.
Me
You’re too much.
Tick Tac
I think the words you’re looking for are “thank you.”
I scoffed, because I had no other choice but to accept this.
Me
Thank you.
Tick Tac
That wasn’t so hard was it? Now, stop talking to me and go drink your coffee. Arlo and I are going for a run. I’ll bring him back later.
I needed to go work on the gallery anyway. Not bothering to grab a plate, I took a bite of cold pizza, nearly moaning as it started to soak up the alcohol in my system.
Why did he know exactly what I needed when I didn’t even know what I needed myself? Irritation coated me like an itchy wool sweater.
Maybe some time in the studio painting was what I needed instead. Anything to shed this feeling I was losing control of my heart, because obviously there was someone who knew how to take care of it better than I did and I wasn’t ready to give it to him, or anyone.