Page 1 of Fool for You
Prologue
Wyatt
Therewasnodoubtin my mind that Quinn Compton was the most beautiful girl I had ever laid eyes on. And I have seen—and been with—a lot of girls. But Quinn Compton,man,she blew them all out of the water. This barrel racer who had been spending all her time in my rodeo arena…there was something about her. And I wanted—no,needed—to find out what it was.
She was sitting at the opposite end of the bar top, a smile on her pretty lips as her laugh carried through the room. My brother, Rhett, and his wife had already made their way tothe pool table. My overbearing cousin, Lachlan, was occupying himself with a solo game of darts. My sister was—well, I wasn’t sure where she had gone off to. Scanning the room for Abi, I couldn’t see her or Cash Callahan anywhere. Maybe it was for the better that my family wasn’t around…I could get Quinn to talk to me then.
I had tried. Lord, had I tried. But she was making it hard. She would raise an eyebrow at me, roll her eyes, and heave a sigh of annoyance that forced her chest up in the air—which only distracted me more. But now with everyone out of my way…she was mine.
My mouth twitched as I watched her pull her drink to her lips, a smile escaping as she talked to Jason, the only bartender at the local joint in Alpine Ridge, The Steel. Quinn’s brown hair was pulled into a tight ponytail, and her emerald eyes pulled me from my seat. I made it to her in record time, nothing in my line of sight but her.
Leaning against the bar top, cocking a hip as I crossed my ankles, I gave her a lopsided smirk—the same smirk I knew put so many others on their knees. Quinn’s head turned slowly, her drink still lingering at her lush, kissable lips as she eyed me up and down. Her lips pursed as she swallowed, her eyebrows pinching in the cutest way.
“Quinn,” I slipped her name from my lips, using the back of my fingers to run up and down the skin on her arm. “How long are we going to tiptoe around each other?”
Her eyes blinked, her face stoic and completely void. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Come on,” I gave a laugh, stretching my neck, making sure to flash her some skin. I kept my hair short for a reason. The girls loved my neck. They would kiss and lick it every time. It was their weakness. “I see the way you look at me.”
“The way”—she stammered, her finger pointing to her chest—“Ilook atyou?” The same finger pointed at me.
A chuckle left my lungs. “I see it, I”—I raised my thumb to my bottom lip, rubbing a line down to my chin—“feel it.”
“You feel it?” she repeated.
“Don’t you?” I leaned in, my voice dropping so only she could hear me. She was so close to me, I could kiss her. All I had to do was—
She coughed. “No.”
Quinn stood, taking a long drink of her beer before heading to join Rhett and Kyla at the pool table. Without missing a beat, Quinn picked up a pool cue, did a sexy little dance with Kyla, and then joined their game with ease.
She really was making this hard, wasn’t she?
My family hustled around the arena to put our little makeshift rodeo together. I situated myself on the gate, locking the heels of my boots to the rail. Adjusting my baseball cap, I watched Cash—who was still hanging around, even though I’d rather he leave—sticking near my sister as they gathered everything for livestock rides. Lachlan was pulling in the calves, Rhett was leading horses to the chutes, and Stetson was rolling out the barrels with Quinn…
Quinn.
It had been less than twenty-four hours since she turned me down at The Steel, and since then, she had been taunting me. She would walk by me with a sway in her hips. She would flip her hair as she passed, her coconut scent filling the air aroundme. She would lick her lips, and her eyes—which still pulled me towards her—would meet mine.
Like I said. She was taunting me.
And it was working.
I couldn’t keep my eyes off her.
There was just something about her…
“Compton.” I hummed as she passed me for what felt like the tenth time. I had no idea what to say; I just needed her to look at me, needed her tonoticeme. “You belong on the dirt, don’t you? Watching you ride…” I tsked my tongue.
“I mean…” she started, not letting me finish my sentence. “I’m a barrel racer, and I own two horses, so…yeah,” her eyebrows pinched. “I belong on the dirt.”
“You fit right in with the Hartwells. It’s about time we make it official.”
Oh, that was bad.
Play it cool, Hartwell.
“From here, it looks like everyone fits in but you.” She tilted her head and gave me a puzzled expression. “Now, if you don’t mind.” She turned, her ass in those Wranglers the only thing I saw.
