Levi blushes and shakes his head.
“You’re here to see Rhett, I take it? How’s that going, anyway?”
“Well…I have no idea.” With a huff, I walk back towards the vehicles with Levi. “He said he wanted to keep things casual and that he was too much of a mess. I agreed because… hello…the man is too damn fine not to just take what he gives. Anyway,we’ve been chatting some and last week he asked me to look at a house for him.”
“The house he just bought?”
“Yeah, he was out of town and needed someone to go ASAP, and he trusted me. Said he could be sure of my vision. I went, and today he brought me roses, Levi. A motherfucking huge bouquet to say thank you. But the best part of that? He put a little note card inside. It was a get-well-soon card, and he signed it, ‘Love, Rhett.’”
I’m not gonna tell him the part where I sighed and crushed it close to my chest. He was being sweet and wanted to show thanks. I’m certain he didn’t realize the magnitude of it, but a guy can hope.
“Roses? Really? Does he know they’re your favourite?”
“He does. I told him. He guessed on the white.”
Levi whistles. “Doesn’t sound very casual to me.”
“Ugh, I know. I just…I don’t want to push him, but there’s something there, Levi. The way he looks at me, and how he didn’t even bat an eye when he saw my scar, and knows Dad lives with me. He’s just…god, he’s so fucking perfect, and I’m fucked.”
Levi laughs softly and bumps me with his shoulder.
“Fucked good or fucked bad?”
“Both, to be honest.”
We both laugh at my honesty, but it quickly fades.
“I see. That’s definitely a conundrum.”
It’s something all right.
“I’ll call you tomorrow, Levi. We should catch up. But he asked to see me tonight and, well, here I am.” I spread out my arms and twirl in the spot. Levi laughs as he reaches for me.
“If you need me, you call, okay?” He hugs me hard before turning to his car. “Anytime, Dee. You know I’ll be there.”
“I know. Thanks, Levi.”
After watching him get in his car, I enter the facility in search of Rhett. I don’t know what he had in mind when he asked to see me, but I sure as fuck wasn’t about to say no. I’ve already resigned myself to accepting whatever it is he has to give and going with it. I’ll nurse a broken heart later if I have to, but I won’t turn him away.
I find Rhett and Alec still inside the rodeo ring in deep discussion with a pile of rope between them.
“You boys doing okay there? Two handsome cowboys with a rope is how great movies start.”
Rhett’s smile when he sees me absolutely does not send the butterflies in my gut into a riot. When he bounces over the short gate and almost runs to me, it doesn’t squeeze my heart so hard it hurts, either.
“Hi.” His hand smooths down my arm. “You didn’t get to go home and change?”
“Should I have? I was already late, so I thought I’d come right over.” I peer around him at the scene he just left behind. “If you were planning a film, I wouldn’t mind watching.”
Rhett huffs a quiet laugh. “Nobody is watching anything… but I like where your mind went.”
Oh. Well, maybe showing up in barely there jean shorts and a tear-away shirt was the best plan after all.
A throat clears, and Alec steps closer. “Listen, sorry to disappoint with no movie, Diamond.” He chuckles as he pats my shoulder. “I’m going to head to the Airbnb and call my husband. I’ll see you in the morning, Rhett?”
“Absolutely. Thanks for coming, Alec. I’ll bring the coffee tomorrow.”
Alec wishes us a good night and leaves us.
