Chapter 32
Fuck. Something about her scent just drives me wild. She smells like sugar cookies or vanilla cupcakes. I don’t think I’ve ever met a woman who smells as sweet as she tastes.
Kaylee’s head rests on my chest as she circles her fingers across my skin.
I close my eyes, thinking about how I haven’t told Sawyer we’ve been hanging out either.
I was bothered by her comment earlier, but, honestly, it makes sense not to say something before we know ourselves what this is.
It’s more than just a little fun between us, not just a hookup.
At least for me. But I understand her hesitation, and the only way to change it is to prove how I feel.
I reach up and lock my fingers around her hand, holding it over my heart before placing a kiss on her forehead.
“What do ya think about a bonfire tonight after the show?” I never push what we are. I’m content with the fact that there is a we to begin with. But more and more I find myself attached to her, wanting to show her off, make her mine.
She leans back, looking into my eyes. “Sounds good to me, a lot better than going out after. Especially if it goes well.”
“If? Sawyer’s goin’ to nail it. There ain’t no if.” My tone isn’t angry, just confident in my friend.
She smiles but it flows into her eyes, warm and meaningful. “Everyone needs someone like you in their corner.” She kisses my cheek. “Too bad I’m not willing to share.”
Her little admission rocks me to my core. I don’t think she realizes the weight of what she just said. I still don’t know exactly what we are, but the fact she doesn’t want to share me with anyone is like music to my damn ears.
I don’t say anything about that though, instead, I just smile and kiss her back. “Then it’s settled. Party at our place once Sawyer gets his deal.”
She frowns. “Can I ask you something?”
Worry and hesitation mingle within her voice, and I hope it’s got nothing to do with me, but I find myself replying, “Always.”
“Do you think they’re making a huge mistake?”
Relief washes over me, thankful that this isn’t another moment of her trying to push me away. Not really the direction I thought this conversation was going, but I can see why Kaylee would be concerned. She’s protective by nature, and Daisy is her best friend.
She sits up and crosses her legs, looking down on me.
“This is both of their dreams. And if I were to guess, them being together could bring it crashing down for one, if not both of them.” She stares off as if there’s more to what she wants to say.
“I didn’t tell Daisy about us. I’m worried they can’t be together and if that happens I’m scared she will be heartbroken not only by that, but also by seeing you and I together because you’re her connection to Sawyer. ”
I didn’t ever think of that. Not until now, but as much as it warrants truth, it doesn’t mean anything for us. At least not for me. “So, let’s say they don’t work out. That mean you’re bookin’ a ticket out of here?”
She contemplates, which concerns but doesn’t surprise me. She’s calculated by nature.
“No?” The question in her voice has me crawling out of my skin.
I lean up, scooting myself back against her headboard.
“No,” she reconfirms, this time more adamantly.
“I just don’t want to see my best friend hurt.
I want to protect her from what I honestly think the outcome is, but I also don’t think it’s my place. ”
“The heart wants what it wants, Angel. No mountain is too big to climb if ya want it bad enough. They know that. We all do. There are just a bunch of assholes out here makin’ some of us forget.”
Seriousness remains on her pretty features, but sadness resides behind those hazel eyes.
I wrap my arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. “We don’t have to talk about it, but whoever didn’t climb a mountain for ya was wrong.”
Her reluctance to the subject is obvious, but so is the anger as her cheeks flush. “Rhett it’s fine. Like I said, we don’t all have to be saved. Some people suck. That’s life.”
Of course, she’s right. Some people do suck and that won’t ever change, but leading with the assumption that they are, should. I do my best not to say something that will upset her. I can tell that life has programmed her this way and it’s not a flaw, it’s a wound. One I hope to heal.
Looking around her room, I spot two doors, a bookshelf filled with books, and more pink than I’ve ever seen in my life. “Ya like to read?”
“Yeah, a bit.” She looks toward her bookcase.
“I like the escape. I’ve always found it cool how you can live through the eyes of someone else.
See their world, imagine yourself right alongside them and feel what they feel.
One minute you’ve found a secret passage, and the next you’re fighting off bad guys, or sobbing because the author killed your favorite character. ”
I like that. I think because it’s relatable, adventurous, but also because I see her eyes come to life while she thinks about it.
I notice the clock on her bedside table and realize I’ve got to check on the horses and set up for our afterparty before the show tonight, but I also don’t want to leave her just yet.
“Ya got a bathroom up here.”
“Through there.” She points toward the door on the right side of her far wall.
“It have a shower?”
“It does.” A sly look crosses her face.
“Show me the way.” I reciprocate her expression, helping her up from the bed before wrapping my arms over her shoulders and trailing her toward the bathroom.
We cross the threshold, and I release my grasp. The space is just as girly as the rest of her house. Bright blue everywhere, a frilly shower curtain, a hand towel that matches, and an entire shelf filled with lotions and body sprays above her toilet. Everything, though there’s a lot, has a place.
She reaches for some towels while I survey her collection.
Love Spell.
Well that’s got to be what she wears, because her scent for sure casts a spell on me.
She bumps into me, lurching me forward toward the toilet.
I catch myself on the shelf, thankfully not sending it to the floor.
Looking down, I see the buckle from earlier tossed in the otherwise empty trash bin next to the toilet.
I reach in and grab it and damn near gasp when I realize what it is.
What the hell is going on? And why is the very rider I looked up to my whole life’s buckle in the trash?