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Eryn's fists clenched at her sides, and her nostrils flared slightly—a wildcat cornered but ready to strike. “Are seriously you accusing me? Of sabotaging my own work after all I’ve done to get this started? I?—“
She was adorable as hell when she was angry, but I couldn’t focus on that now. I took a chance and set my hands on her shoulders, coaxing her to calm down.
“No, Jesus. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that. I’m just pissed.”
“Yeah, well so am I.”
She pouted and refused to look me in the eyes, but her body leaned into my space the smallest bit. And I took that as a win.
“Look, Eryn—“ I started, but the words tangled like barbed wire in my throat. The suspicion was there, but so was the pull to reach out and unravel the tension knot by knot.
“Save it, Gray.” She cut me off, then softened, confusion lacing her tone. “I thought we were . . . well, not friends, but not enemies either.”
“Life's never that simple, is it?”
“No,” she agreed, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Then what are we doing here?” I asked, the frustration evident.
“Trying to figure out if either of us is to blame, or if we're both being played for fools.” Her eyes held mine, and I felt the heat rise—not from anger this time, but from something far more primal.
“Would you believe me if I said I had nothing to do with it?” I searched her face for any sign of trust.
“Would you believe me?” she countered.
“Damn it, Eryn.” I slid my hands from her shoulders down to her arms. I didn’t dare move them anywhere else because I didn’t trust myself worth a damn to not grope her right here against the fence. “Yes, I believe you.”
“Fine. I believe you, too.”
“Then why can't we just—“ I started, but the words hung unfinished in the air between us.
“Can't we just what?” she prodded.
“Can't we just find a way to . . .” I struggled to find the right words, “to coexist without tearing each other down?”
“Because it's not just about land or work, Gray.” She leaned forward, grabbing my belt loop like I’d done with hers the other day. I could smell the faint scent of her shampoo—something floral and completely at odds with the dusty ranch air. “It's about us, isn't it? And whatever this is that keeps pulling us together.”
“Pulling us together?” I echoed, my voice a husky whisper now.
“Admit it, Gray.” Eryn's eyes sparkled with challenge. “There's something here, and we're both too stubborn to deal with it properly.”
“Maybe,” I conceded, the word feeling like a surrender and a declaration all at once.
“Maybe,” she repeated with a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, still shadowed by doubt. “You seemed awful possessive the other night. And now you’re not sure?”
It drove me crazy I couldn’t just admit my feelings for her. Probably crazier than it made her. But I’d been stuck in this rut for so long. Not letting anything or anyone else in.
I knew that needed to change. And this was the first step.
“Come on,” I said, taking her hand and pulling her behind me.
“What? Where are we going?”
I turned back to her, my eyes scanning over her face. She was beautiful and kind and stubborn and I wanted to make her mine.
“You trust me?”
She squeezed my hand. “Yes.”
