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“Oh, we know.” Ryder grinned. Troy glared at him. I swore sometimes, Ryder had a death wish. “What?” he asked innocently. “She cooks like a dream! Where is my future sister-in-law? I’m starving still.” He patted his flat belly.
“You’re an endless pit,” I joked and noticed Troy’s lips twitched. Whatever was up his ass couldn’t be that serious.
“You weren’t even here this morning,” Travis accused Ryder, and that stopped me.
“You weren’t?” I asked, but he shrugged.
“I got all my shit done yesterday, and I might have stayed in town.”
“Stayed in…” That’s when I noticed he was wearing the same clothes from the day before.
“You’re going to be a walking STD, you keep going on like you do,” Troy scolded, but once again, Ryder didn’t say a word. He simply blew us a kiss and walked toward the barn.
“You think he’s seeing someone?” Troy asked.
“I don’t know.” I frowned.
“How’d you find him?” Troy questioned as we watched him disappear.
“He came into the Rose Diner,” I shared.
“Huh, with Luke?” my big brother guessed, and I nodded.
“Yup.”
“Wonder if he found him somewhere, too?”
“Maybe… I’m not sure.” I turned and found Troy’s attention on me.
“So, you ask her out yet?”
“Jesus!” I shook my head and grabbed my hat from the truck. “Not you, too?”
“Just saying, Mel and I have a bet going. If you could claim her before the new year, you would be making my day.”
“You’re a dumbass,” I muttered before walking away from a chuckling Troy.
Thankfully, it seemed my brother’s mood had improved, and even though it was at my expense, he wasn’t as grouchy as he’d been. A pissed-off Troy was a headache I never wanted to deal with.
I went on with my day of checking the fencing around the property before going in to help feed the horses. As I worked hard, Emi and her beautiful red lips and dark eyes were never far from my thoughts. I thought I’d been going crazy with desire before, when I just saw and talked to her. But fuck me, after not only knowing what she felt like in my arms but knowing what she felt while being the one she could count on? Fuck, that was the last nail in the coffin. The final shot to the heart. And I couldn’t wait to claim her as my own.
My beautiful little diner owner had no idea what she’d done today. Talking to me. Smiling. Thanking me. Almost flirting? But she’d turned me down, and when I didn’t push her to go out with me on a different night, she sealed her fate with her reaction. I’d seen the disappointment in her beautiful eyes. She might have tried to hide it, but I had seen it.
And with that, she’d fed my heart the hope it needed. She had shown me her cards. She was into me like I was into her.
The day was long, and after eating the dinner Melody cooked for everyone who worked on the ranch, I had a plan set in mind.
I just hoped like hell December would give me a chance.
Emi
Ikicked off the heels Maya made fun of me for wearing and plopped down on my couch. I was exhausted. I still needed to make something to eat and shower, but I was more than tempted to stay right where I was, shut my eyes and drift off.
Owning a diner was not for the weak of heart.
It took a lot of work. Usually, I had help, but one of my girls had called off, and because of that, I had not only opened but closed, too. And I had to turn down Clay when he finally asked me out.
“Just my luck,” I muttered under my breath. My eyes drifted to the kitchen. The apartment above the diner wasn’t huge, but it was a good amount of space, and the open floor plan made it feel bigger. I flexed and relaxed my feet and sighed. My feet were killing me.
