“What?” She stopped typing and looked at me.
I figured at this point there was no need to wait, so I pushed the door open and walked in.
“Bria, I’d like you to meet my cousin Dallas and his girlfriend, Trinity.” I went around her desk to where she was now standing. “Guys, this is Bria St. James.” I almost called her my girlfriend, but he hadn’t talked about labels yet and I didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable.
“It’s nice to meet you.” Dallas spoke first.
“And we are so sorry for the interruption.” Trinity added. “We just wanted to say hi, and we will let you get back to work.”
“Of course.” Dallas smiled.
“It’s nice to meet you too.” Bria replied. “Did you know they were coming?” Her eyes turned to me, and there was something in them that troubled me.
“No, we decided to surprise him.” Dallas answered before I could. “We’re really just passing through.”
“That was thoughtful.” She stepped away from me. “I’m sorry, but I really do need to finish this.” She picked at the papers on her desk.
“Sure,” Trinity said. “Hopefully we will see you again.”
“Guys, I’ll meet you downstairs.” I told them.
Dallas nodded and led Trinity out of the office, making sure to close the door as he went. I gave it a beat to let them get further away before I spoke.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Bria was back in her seat and facing her computer.
“Yes, there is.” I pushed. “Are you mad that we interrupted your schedule?”
“No.” She wouldn’t look at me.
“Yes, you are.”
“No, I’m not.” She repeated. “I’ve just got a lot to do.” She took a breath. “Which means I’m not going to be able to go with you this weekend.”
“That’s fine. We can go next weekend.”
“I don’t think I’m going to be done by then either.”
I stood there staring at her. “What weekend would work for you then?”
“Does it matter?” She glanced my direction so quickly I might have missed it if I didn’t have my eyes glued to her. “You leave in a week.”
“And?”
“You’ll be back to your normal routine, and so will I.” Her fingers slowed as she moved them over the keyboard. I’d bet my last winnings that shew as just typing gibberish.
“My normal routine?” I repeated. “You mean traveling from town to town, and rodeo to rodeo, sleeping with every woman that passes my way?” She didn’t say anything.
“Wow, just like that we are back to day one, I see.” I shook my head. “I thought we’d moved on. That you’d gotten to know me better. That we’d gotten to know each other better.”
“It’s only been four days, Junior.” She snapped. “You can’t know someone in four days.”
“Then how do I know that this isn’t about time or visiting my family?” I asked. “And it isn’t about me being some fuck boy. If that was all I was after, then I’d have been screwing Lola since that first class, and you know it. I’m falling for you and I think you’re looking for any excuse you can find not to feel the same.”
“You might think you know me, but you don’t.” When she looked at me this time, her eyes were nothing but ice. “We’ve had fun, but I have a job to do, and so do you.”
“Like I said, back to day one.” I shook my head and spun her chair so that I could rest my hands on either side of her. “I do know you, just like you know me, and you know I’m not about to give up that easily. I don’t walk away from what I want, and I want you, Bria. Not just in my bed, but in my life. I want to know everything there is to know about you. I want to ride through Blackthorne with you beside me. I want to spend holidays with you and wake up beside you. I want to know your past and your future. I want all of you, but I won’t force you. That is the one thing I will never do.”
