His gaze narrowed. “Don’t make decisions when you’re angry.”
Her lips quirked. “You just said you were going to disappear somebody. I can say I need to take a break from making films.”
He licked his bottom lip and let out a breath with a short laugh. “Okay. Fair.”
“Maybe I just step off the treadmill and wait for whatever really speaks to me.”
He squeezed her hand. “Whatever you want.”
Rhys Callaghan was what she wanted.
A knock sounded on the door. Heavy boots walked in as Rhys stood up. An older man narrowed his eyes, glancing from Rhys to her to Rhys again. “Viv said you might need a hand.” He cleared his throat. “Looks like you’ve got it handled.” He strode over and handed Rhys an ice pack but said to her, “Gage Thorne.”
“Nice to meet you.” Her cheeks warmed under his scrutiny. “I had to catch my breath.”
With another quick once-over, Gage nodded. “I’ll let you two be.”
Rhys let out a long breath and rubbed the back of his neck. She didn’t need to ask what was wrong. They were probably the worst-kept secret in Titan.
Chapter Thirty
Burgers sizzled on the grill. Clyde and Pickles zoomed around the backyard. Callum and Grace Hale’s crowded deck buzzed with Rhys’s colleagues and friends. They were funny and friendly, and no one wanted anything more than casual conversation from Jules. Good thing, too, because she couldn’t stop stealing glances at Rhys leaning against the deck rail. With a beer in his hand, chatting with Dean and Gage, he was more relaxed than she’d ever seen.
This was him at home, off the clock, with no worries or headaches, nothing but a burger and a beer, his dog and his friends.
And her, the client he shouldn’t be sleeping with, hidden far away in Granite Creek, Virginia, a storybook small town she couldn’t seem to get enough of.
Her tongue darted over her bottom lip as he tipped back the beer. His throat bobbed as he took the long drink. Yes, she wasnow the kind of person who stared at the thick column of a man’s throat.
And his forearms. She couldn’t steal her eyes away from the way his rolled sleeves hugged the muscles in his arms.
He glanced to the side, his eyes catching hers. Their gazes stayed locked as he pulled another drink from the bottle. Then he said something to Dean and ambled her way.
Her heartbeat picked up the pace. If he didn’t want his coworkers knowing something was happening between them, Rhys needed to change the possessive way he stared.
“Never seen him look like that before,” Alicia, Grace’s friend, muttered only loud enough for the women to hear. “Like he’s the big, bad wolf ready to eat a certain someone alive.”
Jules flushed.
“I think that was a PR stunt.” Grace elbowed Alicia.
“Might’ve started that way.” Alicia eyed Jules over her glasses. “But that’s not what I see.”
“We’re just friends,” Jules offered.
Were they actually friends, though? Between the days alone in bed, petting his dog, and hanging out with his friends, it probably did make them friends.
Rhys stopped by her chair, lifting his chin in greeting to the women Jules sat with, and rested his elbow on the back of her rocker.
“Are you two a thing?” Alicia asked with zero compunction.
A smirk that made Jules squeeze her legs together danced on his handsome face. His eyes dropped on her. “Her people have paid a lot of money so that you think so.”
Alicia shook her head as if he’d disappointed her. “I’m not talking about that bullshit.”
He winked.
“Now he’s screwing with me.” Alicia laughed.
