I scoff, ready to bite back. “You really think that highly of yourself?”
His voice dips, slower now. “Don’t hear you denying it, sweetheart.”
I open my mouth to tell him exactly where he can shove that ego, but he reaches up before I get the words out—his fingers brushing my temple as he tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
I freeze.
The teasing grin I’m used to isn’t there. His eyes are softer now. Steady. Serious. And that—that’swhat throws me.
“What are you doing?” I whisper, but it doesn’t come out nearly as harsh as I want.
“Waitin’ to see if you’ll stop me,” he murmurs.
Before I can think of a comeback, thunder cracks overhead, so loud it rattles the walls. I jump without realizing, damn near throwing myself into his lap. My hand fists in his shirt like it’s instinct.
His arm slides around my waist, smug as ever. “Careful, Sawyer. Keep grabbin’ me like that and I might not let you run when you come to your senses.”
“It was an accident,” I say a little too fast. “Storm just startled me, that’s all.”
“Oh yeah?” His grip doesn’t loosen. If anything, he draws me closer, pressing me against him, breath warm and rough at my ear. “Then tell me to fuck off, and I’ll go out into that storm. Leave you the whole barn to yourself.”
My heart trips. “What if I don’t wanna be alone?”
He pauses, and the corner of his mouth lifts. “So, you want me to stay?”
I should say no. Push him away. Anything but what I actually do.
“Didn’t say that,” I whisper, though it comes out softer than I mean it to.
“Didn’t have to.”
I can smell the leather on his jacket, the faint trace of rich sandalwood. My pulse beats out of rhythm as his thumb traces the edge of my jaw like he’s memorizing it.
I don’t move away. I can’t.
I can’t fight him—not the charm, not the confidence. His arms are strong, sure, but being in them feels dangerously addictive—like I’m on a rollercoaster I’ve been riding for who knows how long.
Instead, I close my eyes and tilt up—leaning in without thinking, without breathing—waiting for him to meet me halfway. For barely a second, it feels inevitable. Like we stopped fighting something that has just been waiting for us to give in.
Then it’s gone.
It’s quiet. I don’t even hear the rain anymore. There’s nothing.
When I open my eyes, he’s already pulled back, grin lazy and infuriating, toothpick back between his teeth. “Knew I was your type.”
My stomach twists, heat flooding my face. He knew exactly what he was doing—pulling me in, then leaving me there, hanging on the edge of a kiss that never came.
Before I can respond, he glances toward the window. “Rain stopped.”
I stand too fast, and don’t bother to check if my face is as red as it feels. “If there’s a God, he’ll send a lightning bolt straight through your thick skull.”
He laughs in the most infuriating way as I shoulder past him and straight into the mud pit outside. What in the world is wrong with me? What was I thinking?
For a split second, I forgot every reason I should keep my distance. I already know what it feels like to be gutted.Harrison proved that. But Trouble? He could do worse. He could destroy me.
I try to shake it off, but the ache of almost kissing him is still there. Worse than that, I was the idiot who leaned in. My cheeks continue to burn just thinking about it. I will never live that down.
A few hours later, I’m still angry, humiliated, but I slip my feet into a cute pair of boots and let them guide me. Pushing through the doors of Saddle and Oak, the world shifts from twilight to neon. Honey, queen of this kingdom, stands behind the bar, her hands busy with bottles and glasses. She catches sight of me and waves me over with a smile.
