Page 9 of The One Who Saw Her: Boone

Vivi opened her mouth to protest but managed only a helpless laugh. "This is not what it looks like."

Rea scooped loose tealeaves into a tea-holder and dropped into an elegant cup. "At this point I don't even want to know what it looks like."

Eli leaned toward Colter and whispered, "Pretty sure Boone’s gonna love this story."

Rea shot them both a warning look over her mug. "Don't you dare. That boy's about as relaxed as someone waiting for a kettle to boil with guests watching. Best not prod him unless you fancy bleeding. If he thinks you two scared off the help again, you'll be mucking stalls until Christmas."

Vivi blinked. "Again?"

Colter coughed. "Long story."

"Speaking of stories," Rea said with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. “You, darling, look like someone who has stories to tell. Care to share?"

"Oh. We didn't sleep together if that’s what you’re thinking. Well, we did. But our clothes were on."

Vivi froze the second the words left her mouth, heat crawling up her neck. She watched three sets of Callahan eyes widen in varying degrees of amusement.

Eli let a chuckle loose. Colter was biting back a grin. And Rea looked positively gleeful—like she'd just been handed front-row tickets to the best village scandal of the season.

Vivi's hands fluttered uselessly at her sides before shoving them into her robe pockets, wishing she could rewind the last ten seconds of her life. Scratch that: the last twenty-four hours. She could practically feel the mortification radiating off herself—half the town probably could. Of all the explanations she could have offered, she'd chosen the one that was entirely too specific and made her sound guilty.

"I wasn't asking about that," Rea said. "But go on."

"Never mind." Vivi swallowed hard. "What I meant to say is—I rented the place. Legally, I might add."

"Of course you did, I wouldn't expect less."

Her cheeks still warm, Vivi ran a hand through her hair, which felt like it was an electrocuted squirrel’s tail. "I rented the place and Boone didn't know. His ex put the ranch up for rent without telling him."

Eli leaned a massive, tattooed shoulder against the wall and shook his head. "Oh man. Boone is going to lose his shit when he finds out."

"He already knows. He's on the phone with her now," Vivi said and an unexpected pang of guilt twisted through her the moment the words were out.

She hated betraying someone's confidence. She'd always bristled when people did it to her, and now she'd done the same thing to Boone. The thought of him somewhere in the barn, pacing with his phone pressed to his ear and already furious, made her stomach knot. She hadn't meant to make his private business public, but the damage was done and the weight of it pressed down on her like a stone.

Eli snorted, a crooked grin spreading across his face. "He's going to invent a whole new level of pissed just for this occasion."

Colter pushed off the wall and elbowed his brother on his way to the table. "Maybe we get popcorn and watch the fireworks."

Eli laughed. "Nah. We're not that cruel." A beat. "Well, not entirely."

"He's mad enough already," Vivi said. "Like trying-to-kick-me-out mad."

Rea blinked, then let out a low, amused laugh. "Oh my, that boy never changes. So let me get this straight. You rented his family's land and he thinks he can throw you out?"

"Yes!" Vivi groaned. "I mean, I've only known him one night, but I can already tell he's grumpy and stubborn. Should I wait for him to come around, or⁠—?"

She gestured helplessly.

"Darling, you're not a gardener, stop watering dead plants," Rea said, voice smooth as silk. "You must take what you want. Tell him you're not going anywhere. You rented the place, that makes you a guest of the Callahan estate. Guests stay. Callahans honor their word. And my grandson?" She let the words hang with a smirk. "He may be stubborn, but he's lucky as hell to have someone bold enough to stand her ground."

Vivi stared at her stunned. "You're serious?"

"Dead serious," Rea said, her eyes sparkling with a mix of mischief and authority. "Now come along. I'll show you your room—the master bedroom."

"That's Boone's room," Vivi said. "That's where I slept last night."

"I bet that got interesting," Rea said, already moving. "Consider yourself officially part of the family."