PAIGE
“Here’s another blanket,”Rhett says as he slips his thumb through his belt loop on his jeans.
I now have four. “This is great. Thanks.”
He scans my side of his bedroom like it pisses him off. “When I get that loan, I’ll buy you a better couch. This one’s crap.”
“It’s really okay.”
He motions to the bathroom. “Wanna use the facilities first?”
“Sure.” Ugh, this is so weird. We’re married. We’ve seen each other totally naked. We’ve gotten each other off. But we’re acting like two people on a blind date.
One thing is clear. I don’t understand Rhett Walker at all.
As I go to brush my teeth and wash my face, I’m still not sure what to make of tonight. Rhett had every opportunity to go live his best married life—as a single man. I tried to give him space. I offered to only come over if he needed me to meet with him and Harlan. I kept my emotions at bay so he wouldn’t feel bad or guilty.
And he still wanted me to return home with him.
I consider the man in the other room. He’s covered in mud, hasn’t slept in forty-eight hours, and he spent the last fifteenminutes fussing over me and my sleeping situation. My heart melts a little.
Awkward Rhett is adorable, but I definitely prefer asshole Rhett. Because that version of him will be easier to leave in six months.
When I’m done, I head back to our bedroom.
I find him passed out, muddy boots and all, on his bed. He’s leaning against the oak headboard with his arms crossed over his chest, like he was so tired he needed to sit down while he waited for me and fell asleep.
His thick hair looks like he raked his dirty fingers through it more than once today. He has sexy scruff on his chin like he hasn’t shaved in a few days. He’s wearing an open long-sleeved button-down over a t-shirt I suspect might’ve started out white.
Does he really want to sleep like this? He’s going to get mud everywhere.
“Rhett.” I gently shake him, and he doesn’t budge. “Rhett,” I say a little louder.
Nothing.
Poor guy. He’s exhausted.
Now that I know what he was up against last night and today, I feel bad I wasn’t more understanding. I still think he was wrong to leave me at the cabin by myself, and I was humiliated he sent his brother this afternoon, but I get it. The Amber situation was really bad, and the boys were so upset, her yelling made Austin physically ill. Or at least that’s what their pediatrician explained to Rhett when it happened before.
I’d been stewing all night and morning, and when I saw Beau at the cabin, something in me snapped. I don’t do well with humiliation. I suppose no one does, but after what happened in high school where the whole town made fun of me, it’s definitely one of my buttons that’s easily pushed.
I let my eyes wander over Rhett. Even when he’s asleep, he’s sexy. His arms are roped with muscle. His waist is lean, and underneath his clothes, I know it’s stacked with ridges. His thighs are perfectly encased in those worn jeans.
Let’s not forget about that loaded weapon in his denim.
Why does he have to have a perfect body? Now that I’ve seen every square inch of it, keeping some distance will be harder. Heaven help me, I can’t be lusting over this man for the next several months, or I’ll go crazy.
I head to the foot of the bed and tug off his boots before I fold the comforter over him and turn off the lights. Then I sit on the couch a few feet away.
“Goodnight, husband. Sleep tight.”
Bright sunlight pouringthrough the window wakes me close to ten. Yawning, I look for Rhett, but the bed is made. Maybe he’s in the kitchen. After I use the bathroom, I grab one of his long-sleeved flannels from his closet and throw it on. Then I wander down the hall. I find him and his brothers speaking in somber tones at the kitchen table.
“Morning. Can I make y’all some breakfast?” Might as well make myself useful.
Rhett gives me a soft smile, then shoots Jace a dirty look when he laughs and says, “Breakfast was hours ago.”
I tuck my hands deeper into the sleeves of Rhett’s flannel. “What time did you get up?”
