“Did you really come all the way up here for my birthday?” Alana hooks her arm through mine and leads me to a chair as Levi twists the top off a beer and hands it over.
“Thanks, Levi. And,” I say to Alana, “your birthday was the perfect excuse to take a day off and get out of the office.” It’s not really a lie. After my meeting with Jeff, I couldn’t wait to get away, mostly so I’d be gone when he talks to Spencer. I also need time to consider whether I might actually want to pursue the open position Jeff mentioned.
“Well, I’m excited to see you. And now I know why Holden’s been acting so weird.” She climbs onto an empty stool while I do the same, though I choose the one directly across from Dean.
“So, your drive was good?” he asks privately with a soft smile to match.
“It was perfect.” I cross my legs, and the toe of my boot grazes his shin. Before I can apologize, he reaches down and discreetly grabs my leg. He curls his big hand around my calf while his thumb strokes almost intimately over my knee. “How was your week?”
“Good. Better now that you’re here.” He winks, and heat fills my face. What I wouldn’t give for one of his hugs right now. To feel those big arms wrap around me and make everything in the world feel right.
Alana rolls her eyes. “Did you ever talk to your manager about that guy who’s been harassing you?”
“I did. I think Jeff was going to talk to Spencer today.”
Dean’s jaw tenses. “He should’ve talked to him as soon as you told him what’s been going on.”
I shrug. “We’ve been busy. Jeff’s assistant is leaving soon, too, so he’s had that on his mind.”
“And you’ve had this shit with Spencer on your mind for longer.” He shakes his head. “He’s lucky you didn’t tell me the truth at the wedding.”
“Dean…” I try to laugh it off, but part of me wishes I had told him. Not only so he could set Spencer straight, but so I could watch him do it. I hate when my brothers pull the overprotective card, but with Dean, it’s downright sexy. “It’s going to be fine. And Jeff might’ve mentioned the assistant manager position to me, too.”
Alana’s brows lift. “As in…?”
“As in he thinks I’d be a good fit.”
Holden turns from his conversation with Wilder and Levi to catch the last of my statement. “A good fit for what?”
“To bump up from the creative team to assistant manager.” I pull my shoulders back and smile. My brothers have always been skeptical about my career choice, claiming there’s no real stability in artistic jobs. As if there’s no risk in ranching either.
“Really.” He nods slowly, almost like he’s impressed, which, of course, makes me grin ever wider.
“And you doubted I’d do anything worthwhile with a marketing degree.Psh.” I take a sip from my beer as the lead singer of the band on stage takes to the mic.
“Hey, hey, Mason Creek. How’s it going tonight?”
The crowd erupts into whoops and whistles, and Alana hops off her stool when the familiar opening chords of a classic country song dance through the speakers.
“Dance with me, cowboy?” she begs my brother, and he doesn’t so much as hesitate. Just sets his beer down on the table and pulls her toward the dance floor. Wilder and Hallie follow, with Levi and a woman I’ve yet to meet on their heels.
I sigh as I watch them so naturally falling into each other’s arms.
“You want me to twirl you around, too, sweetness?”
Goose bumps rise on my skin at the sound of Dean’s husky voice. “You know I’d love that, but we’d better not.”
He dips his chin when I glance back at him. Instead of the simple jeans and T-shirts he’d worn in Vegas, tonight he’s dressed like the rugged but charming rancher I fell for back in December. A navy Henley stretches across his shoulders and arms, unbuttoned just enough to show a little chest hair, and his Stetson is black and simple. His eyes look darker tonight, too. Or maybe it’s because he’s studying me like he wants to touch me again as badly as I want to touch him.
“Probably for the best,” he says, shifting his focus to the band. “I finally heard back from the lawyer. He’s having the papers sent to me. They should be here next week.”
“Oh. Okay. Great.” Thank god he’s not looking at me, because the smile I force into place is so fake I cringe.
We need to fix what we screwed up in Vegas. I know that. But annulling our spur-of-the-moment wedding feels like we’re nixing the prospect of anything more happening between us. I mean, that’s what usually happens when two people get divorced, but in our case, we haven’t really even dated. We had a couple of nights together, and the thought of never having another? It makes me sad.
“What’s that look for?”
I glance up from the coaster beneath my beer to find Dean studying me. “Just thinking, I guess.”
