Page 29 of Danger

He studies me for a second, his blueish gray eyes still stormy from the Rylee mess.

Then, like it’s the most obvious solution in the world, he says, “Then tell them you’re with me.”

I almost drop the stack of glasses in my hands. “With you how?”

“With me, with me,” he says, reaching out and steadying the wobbling tower before it tips. His fingers brush mine. Warm and solid. Way too comforting.

A nervous laugh slips out. “That’s hilarious.”

“I’m not joking.”

I blink up at him. He isn’t. Not even a little.

I shake my head. “They won’t believe that. And even if they did—what would people think? You dating your brother’s ex-girlfriend?”

One shoulder lifts in a lazy shrug. “You think my reputation can get any worse than it already is?”

…An annoyingly fair point.

“You want respect? The Stetson name comes with that,” he adds. “People think twice before they mess with us. If they believe you're with me… they'll think twice about messing with you, too.”

“What would your brothers think?”

“I can deal with them.”

“No,” I say too quickly. “I can’t do that. I won’t. Why wouldyoueven want to do that?”

Something shifts in his expression. Less edge. More truth.

“You’d be doing me a favor.”

“How?”

“It gets Rylee off my back.” His eyes flick toward the door, then back to me. Focused. Protective. “I don’t know why she’s intown, but I don’t trust it. And I need her to stay away from me. Away from Fisher.”

The way he says his son’s name, it pulls at something deep in my chest.

“And you think I’d be the right person for that job?”

His gaze drifts over my face like he’s noticing things he hasn’t let himself see before.

“Yeah,” he says quietly. “I do.”

“She’s basically a model. An actress.”

He shakes his head once, slow.

“She’s stunning—gorgeous,” I add, softly.

“And what do you think you are?” he asks.

I gesture to myself. “Not that.”

He shakes his head again like I’m the one who doesn't make sense. “You really don't see it, do you?”

I frown. “See what?”

“That you don't come in second to anybody.”