Page 12 of Healing Her Cowboys
It was her fault for letting it happen. She should have been the one to stop it first. When he ended it, a rush of rejection flooded through her.
Even though he was a jerk to her most of the time, she knew it was a front for other things she couldn’t even imagine. Both men had things they’d brought back home with them after serving. Maybe she was in over her head this time.
Why had she asked Brik for two weeks? At the rate they were going, they weren’t going to last through one.
“Mind some company?”
She jumped, not realizing she wasn’t alone anymore.
Atlas’s serene smile filled his sharp features. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He held out a steaming mug to her. “I figured you could use some tea.”
She smiled after getting her breath back and taking up his offering. “Thanks.” She brought the cup to her nose, and the familiar fragrant smell mixed with undercurrent sweetness calmed her right away. “Chamomile?” she asked.
Atlas nodded before taking a sip from his cup. “Mixed with honey. It’s usually a good way to relax after a stressful day. Mind if I join you?”
“I don’t mind,” she said.
“Thanks.” He took a seat next to her, and she realized his size even more by sitting next to him on the swing. He looked like he was all lean muscle wrapped inside jeans and a denim coat with fur lining. He seemed masculine, with a softer side that intrigued her.
He was so different from Brik, and she wondered how they ever became friends with such unique personalities.
“What made you think I'm stressed?” she asked, taking a sip of her tea and stealing a long glance over at him.
Atlas laughed, and the sound of it seemed to fill the porch area around them. “Brik has a way of bringing it out of everyone. It’s like a rite of passage to see how long it takes before he pisses you off.”
“You mean he’s that warm and fuzzy to everyone?”
“It’s a personality trait of his you adapt to. It can take some time. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but he’s a good guy deep down. He just puts people through the ringer before they can see it.”
“Here I was thinking I was special.”
“Oh, you’re one of a kind, Reese Divine. There’s no doubt about that.” His eyes met hers, and the soft brown glimmer of them made her think of caramel candy.
The way he said her full name made her insides tingle and heat up hotter than the cup of tea she held. Her eyes drifted to his lips without thinking. They looked strong but soft. She wondered if he would taste sweeter than the candies his eyes reminded her of.
“Thank you, Atlas Collins.” He had the right name because her body reacted to him like he was true north.
“My pleasure,” he said. “I have an idea.”
“An idea. Should I be worried?” She wondered if he was thinking along the same lines as she was.
“Let’s go out.”
A part of her deflated, since she had high hopes for something she probably shouldn’t want. “What do you mean?”
“Tonight is the start of the fall festival. It’ll give you time to see what some locals do for fun.” He leaned in, and the scent of him consumed her.
He smelled like nature and exotic spices combined to make a heady scent.
Reese focused on his words to avoid inhaling deep and making a fool out of herself by sniffing him. She really needed to get ittogether. “I don’t know. I’ve never really been a festival girl. It feels like they are all made for families and kids. Not for single people like me.”
“Not a festival girl, huh? What if I promised you’d have a good time?” He smiled at her in a way that would make any woman change her mind.
“That’s a big promise. Can you guarantee I’ll enjoy it?” she asked, wanting to believe him but not there yet.
He held three fingers up and widened the grin already on his face. “Scout’s honor, ma’am.”
Reese shook her head. Of course he was a Boy Scout. She sighed and finished the rest of her tea.
