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Reeve tapped a finger on my chin. “You’re overthinking this, Em. She came back for protection. She’s not looking to pick up where we left off.”Then I realized what his assurance was missing – what he wanted. “Would it make a difference if she did?”He opened his mouth to answer, but there was a knock on the door followed by it being swung open.“The group from Callahans is here,” Brent declared without invitation. “I got them set up near the fire so we can start the branding, but there’s a new guy in charge, and he won’t do shit without you.” It seemed it was only then that Brent saw me. “Ah, sorry. Didn’t realize I might be interrupting.”Reeve threw a glare at his ranch manager. Then he let out a huff of air. “I’ll go down there then.”I slid off his lap to let him stand. His brow was furrowed as he donned the jacket that had been on the back of his chair. “A new guy? First I’ve heard about it. What’s his name?”“Grabrian, I think,” Brent said.Reeve nodded then turned to me. Threa
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I stood and crossed to the sink to get a washcloth to wipe her mouth, but also to busy myself because I didn’t know how to respond to her comment. Such a good nurse. I knew what it really alluded to – that I was good at being attentive. Good at pleasing.I was good at it, and I loved that it was what she’d thought of when she’d thought of me. But there was so much baggage attached to the role I’d played with her, and dwelling on it would only make it more difficult to separate the person I’d been then from the person I was now. The line had already blurred so much since Reeve had rekindled my old desires. One poker in the fire was all I could handle.Her eyes stayed fixed on me. “I missed lots of things about you,” she said, misreading my retreat. “Not just that.”I forced my gaze to hers. “I missed a lot of things about you, too.”She smiled, and I noticed she could do that now without grimacing in pain. “Anyway,” she said, “I only got hooked on the oxy because Micha fed them to me l
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I brushed a strand of hair off her forehead. “Okay. We don’t have to. We can talk about something else.” Perhaps it was the wrong time to segue into my relationship with Reeve, but the weight of his expectations sat heavily on me.Amber shook her head. “I don’t think I feel like talking at all right now, if that’s okay.” She peeked up at me. “But will you stay with me? You can help me back to bed and then we can turn on bad soaps and make fun of the plots just like old times.”I hesitated only a second before my lips slid into a smile. “Whatever you want.” Just like old times.CHAPTER 8I stayed with Amber until she drifted off to sleep late that afternoon. Then Joe came to take his shift with her.“You been here all day?” he asked. “Have you even eaten anything?”As if on cue, my stomach grumbled. “No, I haven’t. But I really just want to take a nap right now. Will you be good with her?”He nodded. “Make sure you make it to dinner. You heard we’re out on the deck tonight, right?”“No
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Conversation was casual and easy – easier than I’d expected between Joe and Reeve. They chatted about the land and the ins and outs of ranching and the luxury hotels that Reeve owned. Though, while each question from the investigator seemed in line with typical small talk, I could practically hear the gears turning in his head, processing each of Reeve’s answers and filing it away for later in categories with labels like Suspicious, Follow-up, and Miscellaneous.It was hard to guess whether Reeve caught it as well. He didn’t give any indication that he was on guard any more than usual, but that was the thing about Reeve – he was subtle in the way he held his cards. So subtle, it was almost impossible to discern whether he was even playing the game.As had been the case in Palm Springs, dinner was served from a warming cart, our plates having already been dished up in the kitchen so a staff member could place them in front of us still piping hot. Another server poured wine for each of
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For the moment at least, she was unaware, and arguing with Reeve would only draw her attention. So I let his hand remain, and, truthfully, I liked it. Liked how he touched me when she was sitting so near.Maybe I liked being a pawn after all.“How are you feeling?” I asked as the server laid a plate in front of Amber and filled her empty glass with water.“I’m actually feeling pretty okay at the moment. Much better than this morning. Jeb gave me my evening dose about forty minutes ago, which helps. I figure I have an hour or two before I start spiraling downward.”She looked pointedly at Reeve’s wine as she picked up her water. “I definitely think I’m ready to not need babysitting anymore.”I lowered my gaze again to my plate. The underlying discord between Reeve and Amber was palpable, and it shook me up. It would be easy to decide that the contention meant that their relationship was entirely in the past, but I was smarter than that. I understood intricacies of human relationships,
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I’d just set down my fork when Amber jutted out her chin and declared, “I have something to say.” She cleared her throat. “This might not be the best moment for this, but who knows when I’ll be feeling this good again, and with your busy schedule, Reeve, it might be the only chance I get.”I bristled at her use of his name, as if it were mine to use and she had no right to it. Which of course was ridiculous.Reeve placed his napkin over his empty plate and cocked his head. “I’m listening.”“I want to say that…” Her lip quivered, and it hit me that she was nervous, that she’d been nervous through the entire meal. And why wouldn’t she be? This was the first time she’d spent any time with her former love at length.She cleared her throat again, then plunged forward with slightly more confidence. “I want to say I’m sorry for how I left things between us.” She paused, and my pulse jolted up in speed. “And about how I reacted. Running to Micha—to Michelis – was one of the worst decisions I’
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He gave a skeptical shrug. “Seems like she’s the one taking the guy from you considering that you are the one who was here when I brought her back.”“I was only with him because of her.”“No, you weren’t.” He knew me better than I’d thought.But the reasons I’d been with him didn’t matter either. Nor did it matter that I would bend to him the way he liked. Because the more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that it was Amber’s backbone that was what attracted Reeve to her. “He’ll take her back.”“Don’t be so certain of that. You’re too blinded by her to see it for some reason, but she’s a tragic mess.”“Doesn’t matter. Reeve was in love with her.”Joe shook his head. “Not anymore.”As if he knew Reeve. As if he knew anything.“He loved her so much he wanted to marry her, Joe.” Saying the words out loud was liberating. Admitting the truth I hadn’t wanted to face. That Reeve had loved Amber deeply, and that kind of love didn’t just go away. “He loved her so much he kept her he
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Hoping I would be better equipped to handle the situation after a good night’s sleep, I retreated to my own room with a sigh of resignation.Though it was late enough to go to bed, my emotions were too frazzled for sleep. And I was cold. My evening walk had set a chill in my bones that lingered even in the warm house. While I wished it was Reeve warming me up, a hot shower would be just as effective at raising my body temperature and would also calm my nerves.I stripped, tossing my clothes onto the chair in the corner of my room, then went to start the shower. I turned the water on without getting in, sticking my hand under the stream until it was hot enough. Then I crossed to the linen closet at the other end of the bathroom and picked out a couple of towels. When I shut the door, I turned back toward the shower and nearly jumped out of my skin.“Reeve!” I patted my breastbone, trying to calm the thudding in my chest. “Goddammit, you scared the hell out of me.” Between his sneaky ar
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