Making sure the business was successful had been my sole focus for a long time, so dating hadn’t really been a priority. Gods, there’d been a lot of lonely nights.
I sighed, walked over to the sink, and poured out my unfinished coffee. I was already anxious enough. The last thing I needed was caffeine.
My phone dinged, and I looked at the screen.
Bailey:He’s not here, you big baby.
I snorted but let out a breath. I would go to work and figure out the rest later.Yeah, if you can focus.I hadn’t really gotten as much done as I usually did. But who could blame me?
I hurried over to my study and grabbed my laptop since I’d been working from it the last couple of days, then headed out.
Once I got in the car, the phone began to ring. The display said it was Rhys. I groaned. I really didn’t need another long rant from my brother, but I couldn’t ignore Rhys’s call.
“Rhys?” I hope he heard the tone of my voice and took note.
“Oh, thank Urs, you answered. Kian needs help. His car overheated or something on the way off the ranch, and he’s stranded. Can you go get him, please? I’m at the factory today.” My brother sounded upset, and I rolled my eyes at the theatrics.
“Seriously, this is beneath you, Rhys. I know you want me to meet Kian, but honestly—”
“Stop, Gabe, I’m serious. You’re the last person I would have called, but Papa and Daddy are not home, and Austin is in a meeting, and Hunter is at the station, and Graham is over here.” He sighed. Shit. He was serious—my mate was in trouble.
“I’m on my way. Don’t worry. I’ll go get him.”
He’s safe. He’s fine,I repeated to myself over and over again, trying not to push down on the accelerator. He was still on our land, after all. Nothing would happen to him.
Even though it took less than seven minutes to get there, when I finally pulled up, I blew out my breath. I didn’t bother turning off the car. I simply opened the door and jumped out.
“Kian! Kian!” I called, hurrying to the opened hood of the car, but he was nowhere to be found.
“Kian?” Fuck, where was he?
“Hello?” I turned around at the sound of his timid voice and came face to face with my mate standing with the door between us.
“Hi,” he said, “Are you… I mean, you’re Gabe?”
I nodded. Fuck, I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Kian was beautiful. That was the only way to describe him. From his stunning steel-blue eyes that seemed to be even more startling with the dark, sweeping lashes that matched his head of dark hair. He was perfection.
“I’m Gabe.” Damn, why did my throat feel so dry?
“I’m so sorry to be a bother, but there was like smoke coming out of the engine, and I don’t even know if AAA comes out here? Is there AAA this far out? Or is there like a guy? I wasn’t sure. So I called Rhys, but he’s at the factory today. I was working, but then I thought I would go grocery shopping.” His eyes widened. “I wasn’t slacking off or anything. It’s just sometimes getting out and doing something mundane helps bring the ideas to the forefront. You know?”
Kian lowered his head and kicked his feet, and all I could think was how adorable he was.
“I didn’t think you were slacking off,” I reassured him. “Besides, we don’t expect you to work every hour of the day. I’m not at all artistic, but sometimes ideas come to me at the most random times. I swear I figure out most of my best solutions in the shower.”
His head flew up, and his mouth formed anO, which of course made me focus on his delicious, full pink lips that were just a little too wide for his face, but that made him even more attractive to me.
And maybe it was wrong to think this way, but I loved our height difference. I could just imagine his body tucked up against mine as we slept.
Kian would fit so perfectly.
Our eyes met, and when his swept down my body, I watched as his cheeks pinked, and I couldn’t help smiling.
That was a good sign. My mate might be attracted to me.
The image of us in bed was so clear. That lean, smaller body pressed up against mine. My eyes traveled down his body, taking in the polo shirt and shorts he wore. His legs were lightly toned and hairless. Fuck!
I could imagine all that smooth skin against my hair-roughened one.
