Page 12 of Love Me Reckless

Oh.

“Kidding,” he says, splashing me.

I hope he doesn’t see the relieved look on my face.

“You want to tell me why you jumped ship tonight?” he asks, his face going still.

I gulp a breath for bravery. “I think Birch has a mistress. And it’s not the first time.”

Chapter Four

SAWYER

Kirilee looks away,her cheeks flushing with what looks like shame.

“Shit, sorry,” I say, cursing at my complete lack of tact. Maybe I want her to tell me what’s going on with douche date so I can help her break things off with him. Because she can’t stay with someone who treats her like this, let alone…fucking marry him.

She straightens. “It’s okay.”

I stare. “It is so totallynotokay.”

Her shoulders tighten and release in an exaggerated shrug. Like she’s unable to agree with me, even though she knows she should.

“So, are you going to break up with him?” I ask.

She looks at me like I’m crazy. “No.”

Leaning back on my hands, I lock eyes with her. “You told Darcy you’re running from your future. Is he part of that equation?”

“There are certain things my family expects, and marrying someone they think is a good match is part of that.”

“So pick someone else, for fuck’s sake. Aspen can’t be the only suitable person in the universe.”

Her laugh is so sweet and pure, like a song.

“It’s Birch, silly. And he’s the third one,” Kirilee says. “I can’t put them off any longer.”

“Why not?” What the fuck does she mean bythird? “And who is ‘them?’”

“My parents, but Birch too. He’s completely overhauled his family’s resort properties throughout Europe to be carbon-neutral certified in just four years. He can bring Finn River Ranch’s energy needs and emissions into balance, and we need that. He and my father are well-matched.”

“So why don’t the two ofthemget married?” I splash her with my fingertips.

She rewards me with another smile. “My parents want to retire, but not until they know the company’s safe, and I’m safe. My brother can’t bring Finn River Ranch into the future alone. They need Birch.” She gives me a shy but serious glance through her long lashes.

“They don’t trust you.”

Her pretty face tenses. “In some ways, yes. In others, no. I mean, I honestly don’t know how to run the business, and I don’t exactly want to.”

I’m done with talking about douche date. “What do you want?”

Her mouth is half-open, like I’ve caught her in the middle of a thought. “Um, what?”

I lower into the water, the heat like a wave of thorns on my skin, and settle on the bench seat. “If you didn’t have this business partnership thing breathing down your neck, what would you want?”

She gazes up at the stars, giving me a private moment to take her in. The delicate arch of her neck, her ivory skin sprinkled with freckles, and the way she slowly swings her leg to and fro, like she’s daydreaming. Her chest rises with her slow inhale, and I have to look away because it outlines the shape of her body in that swimsuit and there is no way I’m going down that fantasy road with Finn River’s one and only princess.

Everything about her is so tempting. From her soft curves andsweet smile to the humble way she talks and how she’s so obviously holding herself back. It makes me want to watch her let it all go.

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