Page 66 of Riding the Storm
“You gonna keep pretending I’m invisible?” I ask.
She doesn’t look up. “Depends. You gonna behave yourself on this trip?”
“Define behave.”
She turns then, eyes flashing. “You know what I mean.”
I lean against the doorframe, arms folded. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you, Charli.”
Her jaw tightens. “I’m not talking about that. I mean at the rodeo.”
“I will, but that’s not what you’re pissed about, and we both know it.”
“You are so arrogant. You think I’m still pissed at you about the hickey.” Her voice echoes off the wood and metal, sharp enough to make the horses in the stalls shuffle. She takes a steadying breath, lowers her tone. “You don’t get it, Bryce.”
“Then what am I missing?”
“I’m pissed at myself that it happened at all.”
That stings more than it should.
“Well, fuck. That’s a first. I don’t usually leave a woman with regrets.”
Her eyes cut to me. “If people find out, they’ll talk.”
“Let ’em.”
She glares. “You really don’t care, do you?”
“About what people say? Fuck no.”
She shakes her head. “Matty’s just getting this place back in good standing. I can’t be the reason our reputation takes a hit.”
What the hell is she talking about?
“I think you’re making a bigger deal out of it than you should.”
That stops her cold. Her eyes flicker with something, hurt maybe, before she looks away. “You’ve got a plane to catch.”
“Tomorrow,” I say softly. “Wehave a plane to catch.”
She busies herself with a bridle, pretending not to hear.
Ipack light. Jeans, shirts, hat, boots. I tuck the contract folder from Dry Canyon Distilling in my duffel. On the table by the bed, my phone buzzes—a text from Shawn with flight info for both me and Charli and the hotel name.
He was thrilled when I told him she’d be accompanying me. Relieved even. Like nobody believes I can handle my damn self anymore.
I look through the information, then pick up the phone and click on his contact.
“Yes?” he answers cheerfully.
“You only sent the confirmation number for one hotel room,” I say.
“Yeah, well, you know how it is when the rodeo’s in town. Everything has been booked up for months. I was lucky to get you a room when I did,” he says. “The best I could do was have the king room switched to a double queen since they had someone who had originally requested a king wanting to upgrade.”
Shit.
“She’s not gonna be happy about this.”
