“That’s probably not a good idea,” I say, counting the beer bottles on the counter. I’m nowhere near drunk, but we’ve both had enough that neither of us should be driving.
“I heard your brother, Rhett. I’m not welcome to stay here, and for the record, I wasn’t going to ask.”
“I don’t care what my brother said, you’re staying.”
“Rhett—”
“It’s not up for discussion, Nikki. You’ve been drinking, and I’m not going to let you drive.”
“You’re sure? Because the last thing I need is your brother getting all pissed off at me. You two look way too much alike, by the way.”
I laugh. “We’re identical twins.”
“I know, but I’ve haven’t been around him much. I thought I’d be able to tell you apart, but it’s really hard. When he answered the door earlier, I cussed him up one side and down the other for not returning my calls before I realized it wasn’t you.”
“How’d you figure out it wasn’t me?”
“He told me if I didn’t shut my mouth, he was going to bend me over his knee.”
Yup. That sounds like Coop. “Interesting.”
She pulls at the collar of her blouse. “Tell me about it.”
“You got a thing for my brother, Nikki?”
She mumbles something I can’t quite understand and clears her throat. “Not at all.”
“Good. Come on. You can have my bed tonight. I’ll sleep on the couch.”
“What? No.” She shakes her head. “Your shoulder…I can’t do that to you.”
“It’s not as bad as everyone’s making it out to be. Plus, I won’t sleep much anyway.”
“If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure.”
Rhett
I startle awake to find Coop hovering over me.
“What the hell, dude? That’s creepy.”
“Why are you on the couch?”
Honesty is always the best policy. That’s what my mother says. In this case though, I’m exhausted, and it’s way too early to listen to my brother piss and moan about Nikki, so I decide to tell him a little lie in hopes that he’ll be long gone before she crawls out of bed.
“Must’ve passed out watching TV.” I pull the cover up and roll over. “Thanks for waking me up, asshole.”
“Where’s Nikki?”
I don’t answer right away, and Coop nudges me in the back.
“Don’t know. Don’t care,” I mumble.
“I’m going to take a shower.”
Coop walks down the hall. I hear the bathroom door shut, latch, and a few minutes later the shower turns on. A few minutes after that, the door to the spare bedroom opens and Nikki walks out. Her hair is an absolute mess—half of it plastered against the side of her face—and there’s something about seeing her rumpled that takes away from her usual edge.
“You look like shit.”
“Back at you, cowboy. Does Coop know I stayed?”
“Nope.”
She purses her lips and shrugs. “What’s for breakfast?”
“Whatever you’re making, I guess.” I wiggle the fingers of my left hand. “Can’t do much with my good hand, remember?”
She grunts and disappears into the kitchen. I hear her rustle around in the refrigerator and then the cabinets, and within a few minutes the sizzle and smell of bacon and sausage fills the house.
I listen for the shower to turn off, and then a minute or so later the bathroom door opens.
Three.
Two.
One.
“It’s about time you get your gimp ass up and cook me something for a change,” Coop says, sauntering into the kitchen in all his naked glory. If he’d only looked over, he would’ve seen me on the couch, but Coop’s always had a thing for food, so it’s no surprise that his nose and belly led him straight to the kitchen.
I watch from my perch on the couch as Nikki turns around. “I hope you like eggs, bacon, and—” Her screech nearly pierces my eardrums. “Oh my gosh!” She flounders about, trying to look at anything except Coop’s dick. “You’re naked, Cooper.”
Coop has no shame. “This is my house, darlin’, and I wasn’t planning on you being here. You don’t like my sausage, get out.”
Nikki’s eyes drop down Coop’s body and widen as he walks toward the stove, his dick swinging back and forth without a care in the world. He eyes the breakfast Nikki was cooking.
“Maybe I was wrong. Looks like you’re about to eat my sausage.”
Nikki takes a deep breath and turns toward him. “It’s a little small for my liking, but I can see that’s a common thread in this house.”
Coop’s jaw tightens, and I realize I should probably intervene before they beat shit out of each other.
“Everything okay in here?” I walk into the kitchen and grab some plates from the cabinet.
“Your brother is an asshole.” Nikki pushes Cooper out of the way so she can rotate the bacon and sausage.
Coop shoots me a she’s crazy look, and I sigh.
“Nikki, could you please play nice with my brother?” I’d swear I’m talking to a room full of four year olds.
She doesn’t answer, just continues cooking the food. After a minute she plates the meat, along with scrambled eggs. She sets a plate on the table in front of Coop, and I frown.
“I want some.”
Nikki ignores me and looks at Coop. “I was making you breakfast so I could apologize for the way I acted toward you yesterday and thank you for letting me stay the night. But I can see now you don’t deserve the apology or the gratitude. Enjoy your breakfast, Coop.”
Nikki turns away, wipes down the counter where she was working, and heads for the hallway.
I kick Coop in the shin under the table. “I think that was her way of saying I’m sorry. She’s my manager, bro. At least play nice.”
Coop rolls his eyes and looks at Nikki’s retreating form. “Where do you think you’re going?” he hollers.
She stops but doesn’t turn around. “Don’t worry, Coop, I’ll be out of your house by the time you clean your plate.”
“Shit.” He looks at me like I somehow caused this. “Get your ass back in here and eat breakfast with us.”
Nikki looks over her shoulder.
“Now’s not the time to let your pride get in the way,” I warn. “Get in here and eat. Whoever eats the fastest eats the most.”
She ponders my offer but ultimately gives in. With a huff and a little quickness to her step, she comes back into the kitchen and makes herself a plate.
We eat in silence, which is totally cool with me, and once our plates are empty, Nikki starts to clean off the table.
Coop stops her. “You cooked; I’ll clean.”
“See?” I chastise. “Look at us getting along. That wasn’t hard, was it?”
They both answer at the same time: Nikki with a rolled-up napkin aimed at my head and Coop with a fuck off.
“You got any plans today?” Nikki asks, looking at me.
“Umm…” I glance at Coop. He holds up his hands.
“Count me out. I’ve got to go to Dirty Dicks this afternoon and work on inventory.”
“If you’re not busy, I was thinking you could take me out to your parents’ ranch and show me around.”
“Yeah, I guess we can go out there, check out some spots for the shoot.”
Nikki places her hand on my arm and smiles. “As long as you don’t mind spending the day with an old friend.” She winks.
Not at all. You’re just not the old friend I was hoping to spend it with. “If I have to.”
She slaps my arm and stands up. “I’m going to take a shower. I’ll be ready in an hour.”
Coop watches her ass as she walks away.
“You got a thing for her?” I ask.
“Hell no,” he assures me. “She’s too prickly.”
“Then why are you staring at her ass?”
“It’s a great ass. Plus, it’s not me she ha
s a thing for.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I always knew I was the smart one.” He pushes away from the table, but before he stands, he levels me with his eyes. “And for the record, she remembers—everything, if I had to guess, and she’s probably hoping for a repeat performance. Just make sure you think long and hard about saddling up for that ride.”
“You’re full of shit.”
He lifts an eyebrow. “Am I?”
“Are you sure you don’t need anything?” Mom asks, following Nikki and me to the car.
“Viv, leave the poor boy alone. He’ll let you know if he needs anything,” Dad says, rolling his eyes behind Mom’s back.
“I’m good, Ma.” I brush a kiss across her cheek as she wraps me in a hug. “Sorry I didn’t call or come by sooner.”
“That’s okay. Just remember that I worry about you.”
“I know.”
“You’re still my baby, even if you spend most of your time off riding bulls.”
“I know—” I try to pull back, but she tightens her grip.
“And a call every once a while would be nice. Since you’re in town, you can come over for dinner and visit.”
“Maybe next week sometime.”
“I’d like that. Let me know what day, and I’ll make your favorite.”
Mom finally lets go of me and moves on to Nikki. “It was so nice getting to see you again.”
“You as well, Mrs. Allen. And thank you again for agreeing to let us use the ranch for the photo shoot. I’ll reach out to you as soon as I have some tentative dates.”
“Anytime, dear.”
I wave bye to my parents and climb into the car. Leaning back against the soft leather seat of Nikki’s rental, I let out a deep breath. “My mother is exhausting.”
“She loves you.” Nikki pulls down the lane and turns onto the two-lane highway.
She lied this morning when she said it would take her an hour to get ready. It took her two. By the time we got to my parents’, my mom was cooking lunch, and of course she insisted on feeding us. After lunch, we hopped on the Gator, and I gave Nikki a tour of the property. I took her along the bank of the creek, down by the pond, and we stopped at the various barns. We hopped off a few times to stretch our legs and enjoy the scenery, and when we made it back to the house, my dad insisted on getting Nikki on a horse.
There are some people who should never get on a horse. Nikki is one of them. The damn woman almost fell off a dozen times, but she loved every minute of it, laughing and carrying on as though she’d been born on a farm rather than a posh New York penthouse.
Several horrid childhood stories and five hours later, and we’re finally on our way home. I’m hungry, I’m tired, I need a beer, and I want to see Mo. Most of all, I want to see Mo. My original plan had been to surprise her at Animal Haven with lunch, but Nikki put a chink in that.
“Now what?”
I look at Nikki. “Excuse me?”
“What do you want to do now?”
“I don’t know about you, but I’m going to go meet Coop for dinner.”
“Great. I’m starved. Mind if join you?”
Son of a bitch. “Sure.”
Monroe
I spent last night watching the front door, certain Rhett would come in. He didn’t. Foolishly, I thought maybe he’d be waiting for me at work this morning with a hot cup of coffee. That didn’t happen either, and now I know why.
“Who’s the hot chick with Coop and his brother?” Sean asks, sidling up next to me behind the bar.
“No clue,” I lie. I knew who she was the second they walked in the door. I’d recognize her face from a million miles away. That pretty little blonde is the reason I lost the love of my life, and I can’t even be mad at him for bringing her here, because he has no idea the part she played in our demise.
“She’s been cozying up to Rhett all evening. Do you think they’re together?”
“Has she? I didn’t notice.”
Rhett and Coop walked in with her about two hours ago. They parked themselves in a corner booth—Rhett in the middle with Coop and her on either side—and they haven’t gotten up since.
Several times I’ve caught Rhett watching me, and each time he’s offered me a smile that I’ve politely returned despite the urge to spit in his drink, which is absolutely absurd because the man has done nothing wrong.
There’s no reason for me to be jealous. He and I aren’t together—haven’t been for quite some time—and my feelings for him are strictly platonic. Well, except for that fire in my belly I’ve been getting when he’s in the same room—which I’ll totally chalk up to indigestion related to my horrible diet—and the way my heart fluttered the other day when he took off his shirt. But any woman would react that way if she were staring at a half-naked Rhett, so I really can’t count that one.
“You’re a horrible liar,” Sean whispers.
“So I’ve been told.”
“He’s not touching her,” Sean adds. “Maybe they aren’t together. You think I’ve got a shot at that?”
He might not be touching her, but she can’t seem to keep her hands off him. Touching his arm while talking, leaning in close, brushing her thigh against his in the booth. That’s why I insisted Sarah take their table. I couldn’t watch it up close and not want to rip Blondie’s hands off of her pretty little body.
And she does have a pretty little body.
“Well?” Sean asks. “What do you think?”
With my hand on the tap, I turn a dry look to Sean. “Really?”
“What?”
“Men,” I mumble, grabbing the two glasses of beer for the ladies at the end of the bar. Once I check on all of my customers, I make a quick run to the bathroom. On my way back out, I spot Rhett sitting at my end of the bar. I’m shocked to find him alone. A quick look at the booth shows the woman talking with Coop, but her eyes are still very much on Rhett.
“What’s your poison?” I ask, nodding to the empty glass in his hand.
“Bud Light.” Rhett looks me in the eye. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?” I ask, refilling his mug.
“I don’t know. You just seem…off.”
He’s always been able to read me. Pisses me off as much now as it did when we were younger. “No, not at all.”
He nods, accepting my answer, but the uncertain look in his eyes remains. “Long day at Animal Haven?”
“Always,” I say, casting a glance down the bar. We’re relatively slow tonight, and my customers all seem to be drinking happily, which makes me not feel so bad about stealing a few seconds to talk.
“I was going to stop by this morning, but I got sidetracked.”
“I can see that.” I look over his shoulder, and he follows my gaze. It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask who she is, but I don’t want to be too obvious. She must be important if she’s been in his life for the last six years.
“Yeah,” he says, looking me in the eye. “She made a surprise visit yesterday, stayed the night last night, and we spent the day at the ranch.”
I spent the day shoveling manure while she spent the day at his parents’ ranch. I love that ranch, and if I know Rhett, he probably took her to all his favorite spots—spots we used to sneak off to when we were wild, horny teenagers who wanted nothing but to be alone.
Oh God, what if they needed some alone time?
I grab a yellow rag and busy myself wiping down the top of the bar. “That was nice of Coop to let her crash on the couch.”
Rhett smiles. “Nah, she slept in my bed.”
“Oh.”
He watches my face fall, and his eyes widen. “No. No, not like that. She didn’t sleep in my bed with me. I offered her my bed because it was the polite thing to do. I slept on the couch.”
I stare at him.
“She’s my manager,” he says, as if that will justify why she spent the night with him. And then he blinks, probably reminding himself that he doesn
’t owe me an explanation. “And she’s a little drunk right now. I need to get her out of here.”
She’s the manager? “I thought your manager was a man?”
Rhett nods. “Bill Atwood was my manager when I joined the PBR; that’s his daughter, Nikki. She sort of took me under her wing when I moved to Houston, and she eventually took over for her father.”
Holy shit. I know she’s the woman I saw him with at the anniversary party, but is she the woman I talked to on the phone? No wonder she wanted me out of the picture.
“Is that a normal thing, for managers to stay with their clients?”
Rhett’s lips twitch. “She didn’t stay with me. She stayed at Coop’s because she had too much to drink and I didn’t want her driving. And no, it’s not a normal thing.”
“That was very chivalrous of you.”
“You jealous, Mo?”
“No, not at all. Why would I be jealous?” I say, not even believing myself. “Are, uh…are you two close?”
Rhett’s playful smirk dies, and for a second I’m not sure he’ll answer.
“Mo, table two needs a fresh round,” Sean hollers.
I lift a finger to Rhett. “Hold that thought. I’ll be right back.”
I make quick work of replacing their drinks and take care of a few other people at the bar. When I make my way back to Rhett, he’s sipping his beer.
“Sorry, where were we?” I ask.
“You asked if Nikki and I are close.”
“Right. Are you?”
Rhett takes a deep breath, runs a hand through his shaggy hair, and nods. “We’re friends, Mo. She isn’t just my manager.”
That still doesn’t answer my question. Swallowing, I look down.
“That wasn’t the answer you were looking for, was it?”
I look up. “No, it wasn’t.” I want to know if you’re still sleeping with her. But it’s not really my business, is it?
“Mo.” Rhett shakes his head, and though he doesn’t say anything else, it’s written all over his face.
“It’s okay.” I push away from the bar. “I shouldn’t have asked.”
Leaning across the bar, he grabs my wrist. “She meant nothing to me. It was one time after you and I broke up. I was lonely and drunk.”
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