“I was out with Autumn and Scarlett, and they basically dumped me on Rhys, but the girls were with us.” I gasped, horror somersaulting through my bones. “Were the girls photographed?”
“Nothing like that yet, but they’re named. A single dad who’s an old flame. Everyone’s wondering if you’re ready to settle down. They’re wondering if you’re retiring to have a family. Some comments are calling him... uh, a hot mountain daddy.”
“I can’t argue with that.” I fiddled with the ends of my hair. It needed a trim and a new color. The blue was fading and I wanted a new tint to put the old times behind me. New tour, new color.
Until then, I had a bigger issue. “So, his face is scattered all over social media?”
“Just that image, from what Ruby could see, and his graduation picture. Weird seeing him again without a beard,” she mumbled.
“And the girls weren’t in it?”
“No.”
That must’ve been when they had gone to the bathroom. “Good. At least there’s that.” But their names were out in the world. Rhys was so damn private. This wouldn’t go over well, and I couldn’t blame him.
“Tell Ruby thank you and to keep an eye on everything for me.” Maybe she had some ideas about how to deflect the situation. A just-friends post?
A friend whose dick I’d had my hand around last weekend.
What a mess.
After I hung up with Wynter, I called Rhys. As soon as the call connected, I didn’t wait for him to answer. “Did you see the news?”
“That gas prices are going up again? Or that you’re having romantic dinners with your high school sweetheart?”
I squeezed my eyes shut. “You saw it.”
“I’ve seen it, songbird.” His tone wasn’t light, but there was no longer an edge hard enough to crush diamonds.
“When? Why didn’t you say anything? Why weren’t you hammering on my cabin door, demanding answers?”
“Figured I already did that.”
And we’d kissed. But we’d done more together since then.
“The girls came home yesterday beside themselves and asked if we were dating. Then Hannah asked if that’s why you slept over—while Annette was trying to ask me about a playdate next weekend.”
I could high-five Hannah. I was a little too territorial around Rhys. Except her comment would only create more speculation.
“Don’t worry,” he continued. “I said that you were tired after they’d invited you to watch a movie. Then they argued that it wasn’t a movie and started to discuss whether two episodes of a TV show counted as a movie.”
The chill from minutes earlier diminished but didn’t recede. “Aren’t you upset?”
An exhale blew over the line. “I’m a little worried. Irritated too, but not at you.”
“Maybe a little at me?”
“No. Someone posted what should’ve been a private moment. But whoever it was didn’t include the girls.”
“Their names are out there. People know you’re a single dad in Bourbon Canyon.”
“I think the term that they’re using is Hot Mountain Daddy Rhys.”
Surprised laughter bubbled out of me. “Are you serious? You’re okay with this?”
“I’ll take Hot Mountain Daddy Rhys if it means Bethany and Hannah’s name don’t get tossed around. The comments seemed more interested in me than the girls. And I think the town will rally around Bethany and Hannah’s privacy like they have with you.”
“Wait—what’s being said?” So much for inspiration. My muse would pace in the corners of my brain until I scoured the internet for hours to find every comment regarding Rhys and his kids.
