Things I didn’t expect today. Number one — Pumpkin finding a spider the size of my hand and delivering it to me like a little prize while it was still alive, and, two — three Knight brothers walking into the house one after the other.
They even came in order, Roman who paused and did a slow perusal of me, my skin prickling with every place his eyes touched. Then there was Silas, who grunted his greeting, and finally Remy. The youngest, the bronco rider.
He grins and looks me over, the way he does making me feel like I’m at auction, circling me so he can see every angle.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” He hoots, “He actuallyfound one.”
My assumption is that he doesn’t know about the clause.
I remember him from high school. He was loud. Charismatic. Everyone loved him.
We were never in the same circle, hell I wasn’t in the same circle with any of them, but Roman and Silas were the quiet type, something they held to their chests, even now. Remy, however, has always had an air about him that opened him up to people.
“Hello,” I say to the youngest Knight brother. It’s scary how very similar they all are but different in the same way. They share the same eyes, that whiskey, honey gold and the same dark hair but each of them is different in their own way.
“What did he do?” Remy stops in front of me. “There was a bribe. No one willingly marries that fucker.”
“Remy,” Roman scolds. I look toward him. He’s holding his side, a frown pulling down his brows.
“What?” He responds incredulously. “Am I wrong?”
I remain quiet, not sure what to say or if I should say anything at all.
“There was an agreement,” Roman sighs.
“I knew it,” Remy laughs. “She’s much too pretty to be married to you.”
My cheeks heat. “Um, I’m just going to go.”
“You don’t have to,” Roman steps closer, reaching for me, but I move just out of touch. This is all too much; none of this is what I agreed to at all. There were supposed to be no feelings involved, and I thought I’d be able to control the attraction I felt toward him, but the man is like a magnet. He pulls me in even when I’m desperately trying to run in the opposite direction.
“I’m just going to go take a swim,” I tell him. “Pumpkin is around here somewhere.”
“Not working today?” He asks before I can leave.
I’d called in expecting Roman would need someone here for him, but since his brothers are here for the moment, I can head down the falls.
“Not today.”
“Be careful,” He says, eyes holding mine. My stomach does a little flip as my heart beats just a little harder. I make a quick escape, taking the stairs two at a time so I can get a bag together. When I return downstairs, the three of them are talking in Roman’s office, a gap in the door allowing their voices to carry. He’s telling Remy about the marriage clause and how I came to be the one hechose.
“You want more,” Remy says.
That’s my cue. I dart for the door, slipping out into the warm spring sunshine. It’s been busier than usual — or as far as I can tell — since the whole cattle incident, with more people and more eyes watching. I think back to what Silas had said, how it was done on purpose, and a shiver runs through me.
A couple of the guys say hello to me as I pass them, but it doesn’t take long before I’m all alone, the sounds of the ranch becoming a distant hum. I slip into the trees and follow the trail, a sigh leaving me when the sound of the falls replaces all the noise inside my head. The sun is hitting the water just right, making it sparkle, and there’s a small rainbow being thrown off by the waterfall spray.
A sense of peace settles into my bones as I strip down to my bikini, leaving my clothes in a pile on the bank. The water feels slightly warmer, but it’s stillchilly, making my skin prickle as I wade deeper, my hands swishing over the surface. It’s been a few days, the longest break I’ve had from swimming in a year, and it’s like my body knew, like I had starved it but now it’s being fed. I push deeper until I can no longer touch the bottom and then swim out to the center.
I don’t know what happened, whatchanged.We had both been pretty clear, we knew how it was meant to go, but I messed it up. Kissing Roman was the catalyst, or was it? It could be the way he cares so damn deeply, or how he watches when he thinks no one is looking. Maybe it’s his smile and the lines that appear every time he does. He’s caught me off guard, and now I’m frantically trying to get all those walls back up.
I don’t know anymore, and I don’t know how I’m meant to move on from the kiss. Not when all I do is think about it, flipping between wanting it and being too afraid to take it. Could we just dothisfor a year? Enjoy it and then part ways? I suppose that’s an option.
I guess it’s somewhat inevitable when there’s an attraction between two people and they’re forced to be together in proximity, orbiting one another but never touching. The tension builds and builds until finally, it snaps. We are on a collision course, and unless something changes, I won’t be able to stop the inevitable crash.
There was a reason I didn’t seek out relationships. I didn’t have the time mostly; I didn’t want to commit and compromise the things I loved. Sure, that might be selfish, but I didn’t see myself happy in any other scenario. Yet, since being here with Roman, I’ve had more time off from the bar than I ever have since it opened. It just feelsmessy.And wrong. So fucking wrong.
I am paid to be here. He literally gave me half a million dollars to be here; surely that makes going furtherwith the man questionable at best. What kind of person does that make me?
