The cool trickle of the condensation rolls south past the V-neck of my tank and between my breasts.
A grunt has my eyes peep open. Hadley is shifting on his seat as he takes off his hat and organizes the snacks between us, gaze fixed on his hands.
Damn, he’s kind of cute when he’s flustered.
It is duly noted that I’m making him uncomfortable. The friend zone never looked so appealing.
“Ready, Jonesy?”
He slides his belt over and clicks it into the buckle, still not looking at me as his throat bobs. “Yup, when you are.”
I raise a brow, studying him for a beat before shifting Betsy into gear and turning out onto the highway.
Rodeo camp, here we come.
The sun is well and truly down by the time we make camp. We are, as I had dreaded earlier, the last ones to arrive. As wepoke along the gravel driveway of the grounds, I see Brady and Spencer setting up their sleeping arrangements in the back of their trucks.
The rest of the Bravos team is here, including Knox. His big shiny black truck takes front row near the arena. Of course it does.
I pull Betsy round and park behind Brady’s truck, out of line of sight of the rest of the crew. Instantly, I hate myself for thinking we have anything to hide. We don’t. Apart from Knox and his big mouth, there is nothing to these accusations.
Nothing at all, to be precise.
Hadley spent the last three hours mostly silent, either on his phone or staring out the window at the incredible countryside as it flew past.
I kill the engine and sigh.
He finally drags his gaze from elsewhere to face me.
“You okay, cowboy?” The words are soft, almost an apology for my rawness at the gas station.
I shouldn’t be talking about who I would sleep with and then expect the trip in a confined space to go without a hitch.
He forces a smile and my gut swoops.
Shit.
“Yeah, I’m good. Might go catch Brady. See you later for supper.”
“Sure.”
He pushes from the van and shoves his hat on his head. His aviators sit on the dash. His snacks are hardly touched. I berate myself as my forehead hits the steering wheel.
God above, Maggie, we had a good thing going.Friends and a road trip. Why the hell did I have to go make things awkward?
Why?
I am such an idiot.
An idiot who has to spend the entire weekend avoiding Hadley Jones, to show the rodeo crew and team we are not in fact trading favors for sex, so I can sidestep the awkward shit heap I’ve dumped myself in.
Good lord, it’s going to be a long two days.
