“She loved your room,” Carter says. “Said it was perfect.”
Seth goes still. Just for a beat. Like his body has to decide whether to laugh or start swinging. “Say that again.”
“Your room.” I don’t bother hiding my grin. “It was bigger. Nicer. She needed it.”
“You gave her my room,” Seth says, flat.
“I gave her thebestroom,” I correct. “It just happened to have your stuff in it.”
Seth stares at me for a long moment, then shifts his gaze to Carter like he’s confirming that this isn’t a hallucination.
Carter lifts a shoulder. “She liked it.”
Seth exhales through his nose, slow and controlled. “You’re both lucky it’s for June,” he says at last. “If it were either of you pulling that move for yourselves, I’d drag your mattress outside and let the horses decide what to do with it.”
“She really did like it,” Carter adds.
Seth’s expression shifts at that to something calmer. “Good.”
“She laughed for five minutes when she saw the body pillow,” I say, because I can’t help myself.
Seth’s head turns slowly. “The what?”
Carter’s tone is dry. “Don’t.”
I grin wider. “Don’t ask.”
Seth holds my stare for a second, then decides he doesn’t want that information in his life. He turns and heads for the kitchen. “If we’ve got a guest,” he says, opening the fridge, “we feed her.” He starts pulling things out, setting them on the counter like he’s laying out tools. Efficient. No wasted motion. “Steaks,” he says. “Potatoes. Salad.”
“Sounds perfect,” Carter replies and steps in, rinsing potatoes without being asked.
I grab a knife and a cutting board, grinning because, for the first time in years of traveling and never putting down roots, I’m starting to think the chase might finally be over.
Now the fun part begins.
10
JUNE
Three ridiculously attractive cowboys are staring at me across a table loaded with enough food to feed a small village, and I’m trying very hard to act like this is normal.
Except, it’s not. Nothing about my life right now is.
I’m seated at a large square table. Seth sits directly across from me with those intense blue eyes, Kai to my left, Carter to my right. The arrangement feels intentional, like they wanted to surround me, like I’m the center of their lives.
I’m definitely not complaining.
“The food smells incredible,” I say, inhaling the aroma of perfectly seared steaks, buttery mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, salad, and fresh bread. “I love home-cooked food more than anything, but living alone makes me lazy. Most nights it’s scrambled eggs or whatever I can microwave in under three minutes.”
“That’s tragic,” Kai says, already loading his plate like he hasn’t eaten in weeks. “Food is one of life’s greatest pleasures.”
“Easy for you to say. You have a personal chef.” I nod toward Seth, who’s cutting into his steak.
His lips twitch. “Someone has to keep these two from starving.”
“He’s being modest,” Carter adds, passing me the bowl of mashed potatoes. “Seth’s the only reason we eat actual meals on the road. Without him, Kai and I would survive on gas station burritos and energy drinks.”
“I resent that.” Kai points his fork at Carter. “I can cook.”
