AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But I wasn’t going to get on my fucking knees and beg that bastard for acceptance. Shit, that was the last thing I was going to do. So, if that meant going with a different contractor, so be it.
What I couldn’t handle was how last night had affected my girl. How the moment we left the hallway and got inside my room, she stripped off her dress and climbed into bed and went right to sleep.
Except I knew she wasn’t sleeping.
She was breathing too hard and too fast.
She just didn’t want to talk. She didn’t want to dissect what had happened. She didn’t want to open up about her feelings even though she’d told me she was falling in love with me just minutes before.
Rowan Cole was in love.
With me.
Words I hadn’t expected. Feelings I hadn’t anticipated.
Yet here we were, and things were messy as hell.
The Spades would come around. They already were. I just had to deal with the random shit that Brady gave me. But he could toss as much as he wanted my way; I’d handle it.
As for the Coles, that was an entirely different story. A story that Rowan didn’t even know about. The only reason I did was because Jo had called and told me.
Fuck.
There was so much going on behind the scenes that went far beyond us.
That was going to make things extra heavy.
And they were things I couldn’t stop.
Couldn’t control.
Couldn’t protect her from.
What I could do was be here when she needed me—and she would—and ensure that Rhett wasn’t going to ruin things between Rowan and me.
That motherfucker was unpredictable, unhinged, and rowdy as hell. If he thought he could change the future I had with his sister, he had another thing coming to him.
He was allowed to have an opinion. I didn’t have to agree with that opinion. But the moment he fucked with my relationship—if it ever came to that—was when I’d interfere.
Rhett Cole wasn’t someone I was afraid of.
In fact, I would happily put that fucker in his place.
But that had nothing to do with what was happening right here, right now, and the look on Rowan’s face.
While the contractor began to measure the soil, I put my hand on her waist. She was on her phone, focused on whatever was on the screen, and she slowly glanced up at me.
“You want to talk about it?” I asked.
She’d spoken similar words to me last night when I returned to the bar after my conversation with Jo. A discussion I wasn’t able to have with Rowan, which was why I hadn’t said anything. But Rowan could talk about what was bothering her. She could express how she was feeling. And getting it out would only help since it certainly couldn’t make things worse.
“I’m just so upset with Rhett,” she said softly. She tucked her hair behind her ear. “The way he acted, the things he said, the accusations that made no sense. He doesn’t even know you, Cooper. Why would he say such things?”
“He wasn’t listening to you. He doesn’t know the timeline of us. And I’m sure he’s well aware of my reputation when it comes to women.” I tightened my grip on her hip. “And in some roundabout, fucked-up way, he’s just looking out for you.” When I released air, it came out so hot that it almost whistled. “I don’t like what he said, but if that was his way of trying to protect you, then a small part of me can understand.”
Her head shook as she glanced up at the sky and took a long, deep breath. “It’s none of his business.”
“You’d protect him. I know you would.”
