Page 85 of Cowboy Seeks Husband
“What the fuck.” A sense of déjà vu unbalanced him. “Mike? What are you doing here?”
“Hey, babe.” Mike flicked his cowboy hat up and strolled toward Walker like he still belonged here. That easy lope as he neared was still so familiar. His wide and dimpled smile and bright blue eyes shone in the pretty sunlight. “Did you miss me?”
Walker glanced at Roan, who looked completely blank. Walker wanted to say something but didn’t know what. Instead, he bent down, picked up his hat, and dusted it off before tugging it over his eyes.Hiding myself away from the world again, Walker thought, disgusted.From Roan.
“Who’s this?” Roan whispered. Two more boom mics lifted over their heads.
“This is—”
“Mike Defalco.” Mike held out his hand, and Roan automatically took it. “I’m his boyfriend.”
A vein began to throb in Walker’s temple as he stepped into Mike’s space, forcing him away from Roan. “Hey now, you haven’t been my boyfriend in years. What are you up to, Mike? What the hell are you doing here?”
Mike grinned. “Your good friend here”—he patted Molly on the shoulder, and she arched her brows savagely with a nasty gotcha grin—“she invited me. Thought it might be fun.”
“Fun? You mean—” Walker’s jaw clenched. He turned to Roan. “I’m sorry, I had no idea that—”
“That’s okay.” Roan put up his hands, which were obviously shaking, backed away. “You two clearly need to catch up. Um, I’ll see you later. And thanks for the date.”
“Roan…”
Shaking his head, Roan waved him off as he stepped more or less carefully back toward the gate and the parked trucks.
Molly had a shit-eating grin on her face as she called out after Roan. “Didn’t I tell you I’d get you two making out on camera? I always win, Roan.” Her eyes went blank as she spoke into her headset. “John, pull a team together and intercept Roan for an in-the-moment about our new contestant.”
Walker decided to ignore her. “What the hell, Mike? What’d you say you were my boyfriend for?”
Mike laughed and slipped a hand around his shoulder, but Walker pushed him off. “Aw, c’mon, man. It was just a little fun. Molly wanted some drama.” He nodded her way. “She seems like an interesting person.”
Molly tuned back in to the conversation. “Please try not to address the crew directly or mention them when on camera.”
Walker glared at her, then back at Mike. “She’s an asshole.”
Mike’s blue eyes twinkled. “Yeah, I figured. Look, are you really mad? Don’t tell me you take this whole thing seriously. Everyone knows you’re doing this for the money, which is pretty much the only reason you’re not being laughed out of the parish.”
“Been talking behind my back, have you?” Walker aimed for his truck, barely noticing when the camera crew followed.
Mike shrugged easily and fell into step beside him. “I’m a vet. People talk. What am I supposed to do? Plug my ears?”
Walker ripped his hat off and tore a hand through his hair, gazing to where a producer and two camera guys had cornered Roan. “You don’t get it all. You have no idea what you’ve done.”
“So tell me.”
They’d reached the truck, and Walker was itching to go bust into Roan’s in-the-moment with an apology and explanation, but he couldn’t. That would play into Molly’s desire for drama. He didn’t want to let her win. “This show messes with your mind, and now Roan thinks I’m messing with him too.”
“Roan, huh?” Mike propped one hand against the truck and smiled down at Walker. He was still the same brick of a guy he’d been when they started dating, but now crowfeet and laugh lines around his mouth gave his face the depth and maturity he’d missed when they were in their early twenties. “Looks like a little twink to me. You always did have a wandering eye for guys like that.”
“I never wandered,” Walker snapped, instantly regretting it. He didn’t want Mike to think he was getting to him. And hereallydidn’t want Molly or the other producers to think Mike was getting to him.
“Neither did I, honey,” Mike said softly.
Walker let out a deep gust of a breath and whipped his hat off his head. “No,” he said, resigned. “But you wanted to.”
“That was a long time ago. I was young and stupid, and I wanted to explore.”
“And what are you now? Why are you here?”
Mike’s easy smile faded a little. “Molly’s been calling me, asking me to come on the show. I got the feeling I wasn’t the first person she called, and I figured if I kept saying no she’d call someone else. And then who knows who’d have shown up here. I figured I’m better than some random ranch hand.”
