Page 49 of The Best Friend's Billionaire Brother
“Hey,” he said. “We’re home.”
Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and lifted her head. “Wow, I can’t believe I slept the whole way.” She dropped her arm from around his neck and covered her mouth as she yawned. “I didn’t mean to do that. I just wanted the headache gone.”
“Is it gone?”
“Yeah.”
“Then I guess you slept the right amount.” He studied her face as the last little bit of light streamed in through the windows. She was so beautiful…and kissable. Is this what it would be like to wake up next to her? He’d never thought about that before, but now that he was, he sure liked the idea.
With a chuckle, she lowered her gaze. “I guess so. I bet your arm is numb from me sleeping on you.”
As she started to put space between them, he tightened his hold on her. The involuntary response took him off guard, but at the same time, he wasn’t ready to let her go. “My arm is fine. I’m just glad you’re feeling better.”
“I am. Thank you. I’m sorry I wasn’t more fun.”
Wyatt tipped her chin up with one finger, and whatever he was about to say was lost on its way from his brain to his mouth. Her lips were so close and full and perfect. The most kissable lips of any woman he’d ever known. It’d been a huge mistake last time, and nothing about her relationship status had changed. She was in a relationship, and nothing about that had changed on the drive back from Lubbock.
To keep himself out of trouble, he pressed a kiss to the side of her face and whispered, “I had fun because I was with you.” He’d thought it would help, but the second his lips touched her skin, he was in trouble.
He skimmed his fingers along her jaw as his lips parted, leaving feathery kisses all the way to her lips. They were just as incredibly soft as the last time. His hand cupped the back of her neck, and he brushed his lips across hers. The cab of the pickup was so quiet that he could hear her breath catch when he caught her top lip in his teeth, coaxing her lips open.
A soft moan came from her as he deepened the kiss, and her arms circled his neck. He moved from her lips, leaving a trail of light kisses along her jaw. Her head fell back, allowing him to taste her delicate skin. Again, she moaned, and he trailed kisses back to her parted lips.
There had never been another time he’d felt like this. Kissing her was magical. Better than magical. Better than riding a bull, a cheering crowd, or winning buckles. It was perfect.
He left her lips again, pressing kisses from one cheek to the other. “Gabby…”
With the whisper of her name, she pulled back and held his gaze. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I need to go.”
He panicked. “No, this was my fault. I’m sorry. We’re family, and I guess…Well, I don’t have a good excuse.”
Gabby opened her door, and it looked like she was going to say something then thought better of it. “Yeah.” She moved to jump out, but he grabbed her hand.
“Wait.” He couldn’t just come right out and say what he was thinking. If she was single, it would be a different story, but she wasn’t. There was nothing simple about this whole situation. “What if I quit the rodeo? I’d stay here. You could stay and run the paper. We could…fix up the orchard together.” Surely she’d understand what was he was trying to say. He wanted to figure out what this was because no matter what he tried to tell himself, this was more than friendship. “I could settle down.”
“Settle down?”
“Well, yeah, I mean, you’d be here, and we’ve got this opportunity to fulfill a dream.” Only his dream had broadened in the last few weeks to include her.
For a breath, she just stared at Wyatt. “Whydidyou kiss me?”
If he said because he wanted to, it would make him sound like a horrible person. “I don’t know. You were there, looking up at me, and…” He raked his hand through his hair.
She blinked a few times. “That’s it?”
“Yes, I mean, no. That’s—” How did he say what he felt without coming across as selfish? “We’re friends. Good friends…and you’re with Bandit.”
She yanked her hand away. “That’s all I’ll ever be to you, isn’t it? Carrie Anne’s best friend. Your friend. Family. Nothing more.”
Geez, he was messing this whole thing up. “You are those things, but—”
Gabby held up her hands, cutting him off. “I’m done. I can’t do this anymore.”
Before he could make a move, she was out of the truck and in the house. He’d never seen her move so fast. His heart hammered against his ribs as he tried to make sense of what had happened.
Yes, she was his friend and she was family, but she was more than that. Only, it wasn’t so simple as just stating it. Not until he had a chance to come up with a way to approach Bandit about it. It was bad enough that he’d already kissed her—twice—but to butt in without even having a conversation with the man she was dating?
He scrubbed his face with his hands. What a gigantic mess he’d made, and all because he was being selfish and self-centered. He wasn’t the center of the universe, but he’d sure behaved like it. Taking liberties that he had no business taking.
