Page 50 of The Hellion and the Captain
“Have you not seen her before, at Colin and Lily’s party?”
“I did see her there, yes, but I thought she would never consider a man like me,” Tommy said earnestly. “But if she’s with Williams, surely she would considerme? Williams is fine, but he’s not... You know.”
“No, I don’t know.”
“Rhys, the man doesn’t even seem to care that I’m flirting with his girl.”
“Maybe he doesn’t want to start something with a teammate who would go after the woman he brought with him.”
“I was just testing out her interest, you know? And shedoesseem interested, Rhys. So, what does that say about Williams?”
“I’m not sure what it says about Williams, but it certainly says something about you,” Rhys said, fixing him with a look, annoyed that one of his players would consider taking his teammate’s girl – as fake as that relationship might be.
“Aw, Rhys, don’t be like that,” Tommy said, and Rhys rolled his eyes. Tommy never took anything seriously, but sometimes he needed to learn what was appropriate.
“Don’t mess with Emmett’s woman,” Rhys said firmly. “And don’t question a teammate like that. A divided team is an unsuccessful one.”
“You’re right, Rhys,” Tommy said, his head dropping to his chest. Sometimes, Rhys forgot that some of these men were so used to looking out for themselves that they forgot what it meant to be part of a team. “Should I apologize to Williams?”
“I think Williams will be just fine,” Rhys said. “Maybe back off a bit.”
“That I can do,” Tommy said with some relief.
Rhys kept himself distanced from Emmaline the rest of the night, fearing that he might overstep, but he mustn’t have done a great job of it, for Lily walked up to him later on, a gleam in her eye.
“See something you like over there, captain?” she asked, and he straightened.
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“You know exactly what I mean,” she said, disguising her laugh by bringing her drink to her lips. “Luckily for you, you’re not the only one staring.”
“Others are staring at Emmaline?” he said, looking around, ready to do battle.
That only made Lily laugh harder. “No, Rhys! They’re staring at Minnie.”
“Minnie?” he said, confused for a moment. “Oh. Your friend.”
“Yes,” she said, placing a hand on her hip, cocking it to the side as she studied him. “You really have it bad, don’t you?”
“Just leave it alone, Lily,” he muttered, and she nodded, although that didn’t prevent her parting shot as she left.
“In case you were wondering,” she said. “It’s not one-sided Rhys. Not even close.”
They were words he couldn’t stop thinking about the rest of the night.
Chapter Seventeen
Emmaline had looked behind her a few times as she left the tavern, but Rhys did nothing but stare at her, his eyes like daggers in her back. She met his gaze, solid, insistent, but she couldn’t read his expression.
Was he upset with her? Had he realized that he would prefer a woman like Minnie over one who walked around in men’s clothing?
She was still considering his thoughts as she entered the carriage with Colin, Lily, and Minnie to return home, and didn’t notice that the carriage door had been wrenched open again until Colin let out a shout, though he quickly quieted. She whirled around to see who had joined them, both relieved and excited to see who it was.
“Rhys,” Colin said as relief, excitement, and nervousness all coursed through Emmaline in equal measure. “Need a ride home?”
“I thought I’d make sure that Emmaline got home safely.”
“That’s what we’re here for,” Colin said, although there was teasing in his tone.
