Addison:
It really is. I have 6 clients who have already signed contracts to move their horses in once I’m officially the owner of the property. I also have 4 kids who will take lessons on the new school horses, thanks to you! I owe you.
You owe me nothing, James. Happy to help.
Addison:
:)
I was watching some college football when I heard a knock at my door. Coal lunged off the couch, barking as he ran to the door. I pulled it open to see my brother standing on the other side. A huge smile spread across his face as we gripped hands and slapped each other on the back in a hug.
“Good to see you, brother,” Archer said as he made his way in with his bags.
“Back at ya. Glad you could get your ass down here and hangout for a while.” I led him to the kitchen and grabbed a beer for him out of the fridge. He set his bags down as we moved over to the couch to watch the game and catch up.
“So, what’s been going on?” He glanced around my living room. “I will say, this place is pretty fucking nice, and the town is a lot nicer than I imagined.” He chuckled.
I rolled my eyes. Archer was always such a snob. “Glad it’s up to your standards, princess. Things are good. The practice is busy. I like living here. Everyone is nice.”
“Good deal. What about the women?” He waggled his brows. “They nice too?”
I chuckled. “Definitely not bad. I actually have, uh, been spending time with Walker James’s sister.”
Archer barked out a laugh. “Spending time? What the fuck does that even mean?”
“We hang out. I’ve helped her out with some horse stuff. She’s really cool.”
“Have you helped her out with anything else?” He smirked.
I didn’t want to tell him about the other night when we had phone sex. He would have a field day with that.
“I mean, there’s clearly an attraction there. She’s gorgeous, but she ended an engagement, like, four months ago to a douchebag who cheated on her. Plus, her horses and her brother’s horses are my patients. She’s opening up a hunter/jumper training facility, and her barn as a whole will be my client. A big one at that. There’s just no way I can go there. It isn’t smart. I don’t do relationships.” I sighed heavily. Saying it all out loud just confirmed why I couldn’t go therewith Addison.
“So why not just casually hook up? Why does there need to be a relationship?” Archer asked before taking a sip of his beer.
“I’m not sure she’s in the right headspace to do casual right now.”
“Why don’t you let her decide that for herself?” Archer cocked a brow.
I thought about his comment for a moment. He had a point. After what had happened between us thus far, it seemed like she could be open to just having fun. Maybe that was what she needed after a broken engagement.
Archer sat there and studied me for a moment before breaking the silence from his unanswered question. “You really like her.”
I scoffed. “She’s just a good friend.”That I think about constantly and who is hot as fuck, I thought to myself. “But like I said, nothing can happen there. The practice is my priority.” I took a long pull from my beer, unsure of who I was trying to convince at this point.
Archer rolled his eyes at me. “Well, I hope to meet this good friend of yours while I’m here.”
Chapter 8
Addison
“Girl,thisplaceisincredible! Is Walker accepting roommate applications?” Harper ran her hand along the sparkling white quartz countertop that made up the spacious island in my brother’s massive gourmet kitchen. She insisted on a tour of his place after seeing the guesthouse I was living in.
I laughed. “Yeah, as much as I love it here, I am excited to get my own farm going and my own place to live in eventually. I hate depending on other people.” I opened the fridge to grab the bottle of rosé that I had chilling, along with two wineglasses from the cabinet. As I was pouring us each a glass of wine, Harper plopped down on the barstool in front of me.
“So, fill me in on what’s been going on with that new hot horse doctor of yours. I know that you already told me about your trip together to get Dahlia and how he helped you get some stuff over to the new farm, but that’s all you’ve really given me.” She looked at me with eyebrows raised and a knowing smirk. She knew I wasn’t divulging everything to her.And she was right.I mulled it over for a minute, deciding if I should tell her everything. My mind drifted back to the nighton the phone when he had me falling apart with my own damn fingers and his name on my lips. I squeezed my thighs together at the memory to dull the ache.
“We text a good amount, but we’ve only really spent time together when I need him to help me with something because we’re both so busy right now. Something did happen a couple of weeks ago though.” I took a big swig of wine before continuing.
