Page 4 of Unexpected Second Chance For Love

Griffin was going to kill him.

“This isn’t going to work,” he blurted before he could consider a more tactful way to let her down easily. There was no way he’d rent to her. The two of them, alone in his house, her bedroom so close to his—that was trouble. And Austin had allowed trouble to burn him once before. He’d learned his lesson.

Her face fell and he wished he could call back the words. Say anything to bring that playful smile back. Her mouth was much too pretty to be turned down in disappointment like it was currently.

“Why not? Because of who I am? It’s been ten years, Austin. Surely you can’t still hold a grudge.”

“Me? I don’t hold a grudge. It’s your brother who practically ran me out of town.”

“He did not,” Payton replied and Austin knew then that she didn’t know the whole story. If she did, she would have turned and walked out. Probably slapped him first, then left.

Instead, she stood her ground in front of him—close enough that he could smell her floral shampoo and see that her eyes were an ephemeral blend of bold blue and turquoise green. Not that he should be noticing those things about her. He took a large step back to create enough distance that his brain had a chance of functioning.

She stepped forward to close the distance between them again. He stepped back and and she moved forward. Stubborn girl. If he kept going, he was going to be backed into a beam, then what would she do?

He suspected her bravado was more confidence than she felt, so he couldn’t resist testing the limits-just a bit. Same old Austin who can’t resist playing with fire.

He stepped back. Payton followed. They continued this dance until his back hit the beam and Payton was right in front of him, her breath coming in short bursts. He was so close to calling her bluff.

Austin raised his arms above his head and rested them on the beam. “You’ve got me where you want me, darling What do you plan to do with me?” He deliberately laced the words with innuendo but Payton didn’t back down.

She flushed deeper and her eyes widened with something that looked ike desire. But she held her ground. An impasse, it seemed.

Her breath ghosted over his cheek and he considered the ramifications of reaching for her and giving her the kind of kiss she’d probably never experienced. That would teach her a lesson. Would also get him killed, if she told her brother.

Instead, Austin allowed the moment to unravel between them. Waited for her next move in this chess game they were apparently playing. Queen poised to take the win.

Payton huffed a frustrated sigh then stepped sideways. A Queen can move anyway she wants, after all.

Austin remained where he was and waited. Silence dragged on as they watched each other. He’d lost track of the endgame here. He needed to get her out of his barn and off his property as soon as possible. He was good at running women off, it seemed, but not this one. Payton showed no signs of giving up.

“Are you going to rent me that room or what?” she demanded, turning to face him with her hands on her hips.

“No, I’m not,” he replied.

Payton rolled her eyes and for a moment he saw a glimpse of the familiar Payton he’d known. The one who was in a constant state of aggravation with her older brothers. “I’m not a child. I have the money. I’d be a good tenant.”

“I don’t care. I can’t rent you the room.”

“Ohhh!” she whined and kicked at the dust on the floor with her work boot. “We’re all adults here, Austin. Why do you have to be so stubborn?”

“I’m looking out for you. Griffin will kill you, then me, if he so much as senses we’re having this conversation.”

“Why?” she pierced him with those blue eyes. “Why don’t you two patch things up? You were best friends.”

“That’s a question for your brother.”

Payton kicked at dirt again. He could see the gears turning in that cunning brain of hers. She’d always been smarter than all of them. She glanced around the barn furtively until her eyes landed on a magazine tossed on the nearby workbench. Her eyes lit up and she picked it up. She held it up as she turned to him.

“You read about equine therapy?”

Austin debated whether to disclose his plans. He decided it would be public knowledge soon enough anyway and there was no reason to hold back the information from Payton.

“I’m planning to start a non profit to provide equine therapy to people who need it.” He’d benefited from it himself and wanted to pay it forward.

“You’re going to provide it?! Are you certified?” She looked at him with wide-eyed curiosity and appreciation. Her approval warmed him more than it should.

“Not me. I plan to hire someone once I have everything set up and ready to go.”

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