“All right, if Hannah’s off limits, what about Lauren?”
“What about Lauren?”
“She was looking for you right before Tucker and Lottie took off. I think she’s hoping you two will have a private party back at her place.”
I grunted a laugh. Lauren hadn’t been subtle the whole night. She’d attached herself to me every chance she got. And had it been any other night—one where Hannah hadn’t made a reappearance in my life—I would’ve taken her up on it. The truth was, seeing Hannah made me remember how good it felt to have more than just a superficial hook-up. Hannah may have been a one-night occurrence, but something about that night felt like more.
“Been there done that,” I responded before taking another swig of beer.
“Doesn’t stop you from chasing after Hannah again. Or should I say eyeing her ass all night.”
I rubbed a hand over my mouth to hide my grin. Hell yeah, I was eyeing her toned ass. She had mesmerized me all night, the same way she did that first night I met her. There was only so much restraint a man had—apparently in my case, not enough. I should’ve refrained from dragging her into that bathroom. “What makes you think Hannah and I ever did anything?”
“Call it a hunch.”
“A hunch?”
“Yeah. A hunch.”
I shook my head, unable to hide my grin this time when thinking about my night with Hannah. “There’s no comparison between Lauren and Hannah.” Hannah was in a league of her own.
Aaron perked an eyebrow. “Does that mean you’re gonna make a move?”
I gave him a non-committal shrug, not wanting to admit I’d already tried. And failed. Miserably. My eyes were still glued to the spot where she stood, talking and laughing with my sister and Wes.
My skin heated as I watched, and I felt the tightness in my jaw and muscles once again. Wes Monroe had been by her side most of the night. He’d called her his and she hadn’t argued. With my fists clenched, it took everything in me to walk away from them earlier and not punch his smug face on the spot.
I needed to set things straight with her before she left for Seattle in the morning. It was my last shot to make things right. I’d screwed up royally in the bathroom, letting my dick do all the talking when I should’ve been apologizing. But I couldn’t help it. Having her alone for the first time since that night, smelling her sweet perfume, remembering the soft whimpers she made as she came. All I could do was think about re-enacting the best damn night of my life.
“I guess if you don’t, Monroe will.”
“Screw Monroe.”
“That’s the spirit,” Aaron chuckled, smacking me on the back. “It’s not over, yet.”
I took a seat on the open tailgate of my truck. Leaning forward, I rested my elbows on my knees as I lowered my head to stare at the nearly empty bottle dangling between my fingers. “I’m pretty sure it is. She leaves in less than twelve hours and wants nothing to do with me.”
He took a seat next to me, tossing his empty in the bed before responding, “Not true.”
I looked over at my friend, a triumphant smile on his face, waiting for him to continue.
“She’s here for a couple more weeks. She’s gonna look after the store for Lottie while they’re gone.”
“Fuck,” I grumbled, roughly dragging a hand down my face.
“I thought you’d be glad to hear that.”
Yeah, I was. But it would’ve been nice to know before I basically offered her another one night of riding my dick.
I lingered at an empty table as the reception dwindled, waiting for the moment I could pull Hannah aside—again. I was going to get it right this time. Third time’s a charm and all that shit. At least, I hoped. A man could only stick his foot in his mouth so many times in one night, right?
When I saw her giving Lily a hug goodbye, I knew it was my chance. I stood from my chair. Following a few steps behind her, I waited until we were far enough away from prying eyes and ears.
“I’m sorry about what I said.”
Hannah hesitated a moment, her back stiffening at the sound of my voice before she continued forward, picking up her pace.
Desperate, I continued to explain to her back as it moved farther away from me. “I didn’t realize you weren’t leaving tomorrow.”
She stopped, spinning on her heels, eyes thinning into slits as she zeroed in on me. “I see.” She nodded her head, her lips pursing. I didn’t like the wild look in her eyes, like she could easily stab me at any moment. “So, that’s all I’m good for, right? One night of fun? You wouldn’t want to hang around me for too long in case I got attached.”
“No. Shit,” I mumbled to myself, knowing she was referring to the words she’d said that morning. This was taking a turn for the worse, if that was even possible. “That’s not what I’m saying.”
“Then what are you saying?” She crossed her arms, hip popped to the side. Even with her murderous stare, she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.
Studying her, I rubbed a hand against the light scruff on my face, at a loss for how to explain all the shit I needed to.
She was worth so much more than a one-night stand. She was the type of woman you wanted for the long haul. One you couldn’t wait to hold after a long day of work. One you looked forward to spending lazy Sunday mornings with. One you wanted to introduce to your parents. She was a take-back-home type of woman. A keeper.
Hell. I didn’t know why I couldn’t just say all those things out loud.
Scratch that.
I did.
Because I was too much of a chicken shit. She’d be leaving and going back to her life in Seattle sooner rather than later. And I couldn’t compete with the life she had. I had nothing to offer her. I was nothing more than a hired ranch hand. I knew for sure, spending one more night with her beautiful eyes staring up at me would only make me wish I was something more. Someone worthy of her.
With sadness in her eyes and a fierce posture, she shook her head at my lack of response. “That’s what I thought.”
Her last words rung in my ears as she turned and marched away.
Fuck. Strike three.
Lifting the hem of my T-shirt, I wiped the sweat from my brow. I gripped the wire of another bale of hay, tossing it into the bed of my truck. It’d been almost forty-eight hours since I struck out with Hannah, and I still couldn’t scrub the look of hurt she’d had out of my damn mind. I’d done that to her, put that hurt in her eyes. All I wanted to do was haul her close to my chest and hold her for as long as she’d allow me to.
I loaded the last bale of hay then removed my work gloves, tucking them into the back pocket of my jeans. I slammed the tailgate closed before climbing into the truck. Windows down, radio cranked, I drove down the dirt road toward the horse stables as the wind blew through the cab.
I slowed the truck to a stop, backing it up into the barn. I went through my daily tasks—restocking the hay in the stables, turning out the horses, making sure they had enough water—before moving on to my latest project: mending fences. Being a hired hand didn’t necessarily take a ton of skill, but it was a job I’d enjoyed over the years.