“Yeah. It is.” He pauses. “He wants us to sponsor the main event. Good PR for the ranch after all this.”
“Are you going to do it?”
“Probably. Billy will want to.”
I detect a hint of something in his voice. Observation. Seth is always the observer.
We head back into the barn. The sun is higher now, streaming through the high windows. Dust motes dance in the light.
Seth sets his bucket down, reaching for the hem of his shirt. He grabs the fabric and lifts it, using it to wipe the sweat from his brow.
My breath hitches.
The movement exposes his stomach. A strip of taut, golden skin. The V-shape of his hips cuts deep, disappearing into the waistband of his jeans.
He has a trail of dark hair that leads down, pointing the way. His abs are defined, not bulky like Billy’s, but lean and cut.
My stomach does a strange, queasy flip. Not sickness.Want.
I look away quickly to stare at the hay on the floor.
When I look back up, he’s let the shirt drop. But he’s staring at me.
He caught me looking.
Heat floods my cheeks, spreading down my neck.
Seth’s eyes are dark. He doesn’t look away. He holds my gaze, a question in it.
I smile. It’s a nervous, shaky smile.
He laughs and runs a hand through his hair, displacing the messy strands.
“I…” he starts.
“I…” I say at the same time.
We stop. We stare at each other.
The air in the barn feels thick. Charged.
“You go first,” he says.
I take a breath. I need to say it. I need to clear the air.
The secret is out, thanks to Joey’s big mouth yesterday. Pretending it didn’t happen is just going to make things weird.
“I heard what you said,” I say quietly. “Yesterday. To Joey.”
Seth freezes. The tips of his ears turn red. He looks away, kicking a piece of straw with his boot.
“Yeah,” he mutters. “I figured you might have.”
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop,” I say.
“It’s fine,” he says. He sounds embarrassed. “I didn’t mean for you to hear that, though. It wasn’t… it wasn’t how I wanted you to find out.”
“Find out that you…?” I trail off.
