"You gave her permission to choose herself." His gaze was steady. "That's never the wrong thing."
The certainty in his voice settled something in my chest. He had a way of doing that—cutting through my spiral of doubt with simple truth.
After we cleaned up, I tried to focus on emails while Rhodes reviewed security footage on his laptop. We settled into the living room—him on one end of the couch, me on the other. I'd curled up against the armrest with my laptop balanced on my knees, while Rhodes sat at the opposite end with his computer open on the coffee table in front of him. The soft glow of our screens was the only light in the room aside from the lamp I'dswitched on in the corner. Outside, the evening had gone full dark, and the house was quiet except for the occasional creak of settling wood and the tap of keys.
Normal. Domestic.
Except my mind wouldn't stay on the emails.
It kept drifting back to the ranch. Not to Addie's triumphant glow, but to what came after. Rhodes’ body pressed against mine in the arena dust. His hands on my hips, adjusting my stance. His voice at my ear—low, deliberate. The way he'd known exactly what he was doing to me. The way he'd seemed amused by it.
I glanced at him over my laptop screen. He was focused on his computer, jaw set, those blue-gray eyes scanning footage with the same intensity he brought to everything.
The energy crackling between us now had nothing to do with Vanessa Clarke.
At ten o'clock, we went through the awkward dance of getting ready for bed.
I showered, changed into satiny pajama pants and a buttery tank top, came out to find him already in bed on his side.
I climbed in, maintaining the careful distance. Stay on your side. No touching. The rules we'd agreed to.
But the space between us felt smaller tonight.
I lay on my side facing away from him, staring into the darkness. The sound of his breathing filled the quiet. The mattress dipped slightly under his weight.
I wanted to turn over. Close that gap. Find out if he was as awake as I was.
With Landon, I'd trusted too fast. Opened up before I really knew him. And when things went south, I'd been blindsided.
I'd known Rhodes just a few days. Watching him move through my space, feeling the pull of attraction every time he got close. It wasn’t enough time to know if what I was feeling was real or if I was making the same mistake all over again.
The smart thing was to keep my distance. Wait. See who he was when he wasn’t being my bodyguard.
But lying here in the dark, wanting him this badly? Smart wasn't winning.
Chapter Four
Rhodes
The dress shirt felt wrong. Too formal, too tight across my shoulders—or maybe that was just my chest constricting at what I was about to do.
Church. First Baptist, where the whole town would be watching.
I hadn't set foot in a house of God since Jake's funeral. His family's pastor had spoken beautiful words over the casket—about sacrifice and honor and a greater plan. Probably brought Jake's parents comfort.
None of it reached me. Just stood there numb, watching them lower my best friend into the ground because of a call I'd made.
I'd grown up in Sunday services on my family's ranch in Abilene. But after Jake? After watching him bleed out and realizing no amount of prayer would bring him back? Faith felt like one more thing I'd lost that day.
And sitting in a pew this morning wasn't going to change that.
But Presley had asked. Everyone expected it. So I'd put on this shirt and play the part.
I finished with the buttons, ran a hand through my hair.
Presley appeared in the doorway. Pale yellow dress that hit just above her knees, pearls at her throat, heels that made her legs look endless. The woman took my damn breath away every time she entered a room.
We'd been orbiting each other for days. Every roping lesson at my ranch—Friday, Saturday—while Addison practiced the routine we’d put together, I'd stood close enough to guide her form, close enough to imagine what it would be like to bind those delicate wrists and trust me with her pleasure. Yesterday we'd spent the evening preparing Crown & Grace for today's Competition Send-Off Tea, working side by side while that same awareness hummed between us.
