You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. How cliché.Had he taken lessons from Lincoln? The sonofabitch wielded that name like a weapon when it came to Josie, and now they were likely fucking somewhere in the barn.
Lennox flicked her gaze to mine, curling her lips at the annoyance I knew showed on my face. Subtlety was never my strong suit. I couldn’t hide shit.
“I’m not a cheap date,” she said, curling her hand around his bicep.
He blushed a deep shade of red. “That’s okay with me.”
I tipped my head back with a groan. God, help me. It was an open bar. No one was buying anything.
Their whole interaction was like watching a newborn horse try to stand. Lennox would chew him up and spit him out without giving him a second thought. I didn’t want to deal with the fallout when he got his heart broken.
At least, that’s what I told myself, anyway.
She needed a man, not a boy. One who could put up with her shit and give it right back. Who was older and had experience and?—
“Probably best not to get drinks with the boss’s daughter,” I said, stopping them before they could make it to the bar tent. “Don’t you think?”
The kid gulped, looking up at me. I could see the hopes and dreams of settling down with a Hayes sister dying in his eyes. Ifit wasn’t so damn sad, I might pity him. “I was just gonna buy her one drink, sir. Nothing else. Honest.”
Lennox tightened her hold on his arm, digging her nails into the fabric of his button-down shirt. She was gearing herself up for a fight, preparing her body and mind for those sharp-tongued words she loved to wield. “I don’t see how this is your business, Bishop. You don’t have a say in how I spend my time or who I do so with.”
“Itismy business when you lead this poor kid on, leaving him high and dry. I don’t have time to watch him mope around like a puppy. I need all the hands thinking sharply, party be damned.”
And maybe because I didn’t want to watch him slobber over her like he had a chance. He would never know what it felt like for her to press her lips to his. To be consumed by the thought of her kiss.
But I did. And God help me, I wanted to do it again. I wanted to bend her over the nearest surface, to feel her body shudder under my touch as I brought my palm down on her ass. She had folded when I’d done it last time.
A perfect little brat.
The boy straightened up, stepping away from Lennox as she glared daggers my way.Maybe he’s got some smarts after all. “Sorry, sir.” He turned to Lennox, barely meeting her eye as he tipped his hat toward her. “Ma’am, have a good night.”
We both watched him scurry back to his friends, who were already entering the arena to watch the first event. I couldn’t help but laugh as he cleared the corner. Judging by the furious jab against my chest, it was the wrong thing to do.
“What the hell was that?” Lennox hissed, turning on me in an instant. “You had no right?—”
I tipped my chin in his direction. “You really wanna be with someone who scares so easily? He scurried away like a little mouse.”
“For fuck’s sake, I wasn’t going tobewith him,” she said, crossing her arms. “He was going to buy me a drink?—”
“At an open bar?”
“—and then I was going to find my friends and watch cocksure cowboys like you fall on their asses and lose their money.” She barreled through like I hadn’t said a damn word. “But you had to go and ruin it.”
I let her insult slide because we both knew I wouldn’t lose. She was grasping at straws, trying to come up with the smallest jab to fuck with my head like she always did. “You don’t need anyone to buy you shit, killer. You’re more than capable of doing that on your own.”
“Doesn’t mean I have to,” she shot back. “Besides, he was cute! I liked the way he blushed when I touched his arm.”
“Maybe for a puppy,” I said dryly. “Doesn’t really seem like your type.”
She scoffed. “What would you know about my type?”
“I know enough,” I said, stepping forward. Her sweet, honeyed scent filled the space between us. “And we both know a kid like that wouldn’t be able to keep up with a hellion like you.”
“What is it about him that you’re opposed to,Grandpa?” she said, challenging me.
I gestured toward the arena. “He looks like he’s twelve and, by the sounds of it, has never talked to a woman before. That’s all I need to know.”
“You’re so stupid,” she said, shaking her head. “It was about pleasant company and some innocent flirting, a concept I’m sure is completely lost on you.”
