Page 57 of Hometown Hottie

She didn’t ask the question to anyone in particular. I shrugged, Cassidy and Jesse nodded, and Harriet shook her head. Amber sighed. “I might’ve taken a shot at him if I didn’t know that his heart already belonged to Nova.”

“It doesn’t,” I protested, but I had to admit that it was nice to be able to talk about this without having Ryan throw a temper tantrum about even just the possibility. “No part of him belongs to me. Least of all his heart.”

“Pity,” Harriet said thoughtfully. “It’s a good heart. I’d take it anytime if I could. That’s part of what makes him so dreamy, isn’t it? The fact that he’s actually a good guy?”

I hummed my agreement.

None of them even knew what he was trying to do for us with the ranch, and I preferred to keep it that way, considering that I didn’t know yet what my parents were going to say. But the girls weren’t wrong about him.

The low hum of an approaching engine alerted us to the presence of another craft, and the next thing I knew, their boat came into view. Ryan was at the helm, with Vance lounging in the back. I hadn’t even known my brother was coming with them, but I shouldn’t have been as surprised—or as disappointed—as I was.

Then I saw him.

Carson was behind them on a jet ski and I tried not to stare, but his abs were on display and his smile had never looked whiter. His wet skin glistened in the sun, highlighting the hard lines of his arms and chest.

He soared over their boat’s wake, jumping through the air with his strong legs braced for impact and his tanned arms expertly maneuvering the jet ski back to the surface of the water. Fully aware that my friends were going to have to mop up my drool if I didn’t stop staring, I suddenly couldn’t stop thinking about that moment in my kitchen yesterday.

I kicked myself for letting that moment pass us by without seizing it.

He pulled up beside us. Warmth and joy filled my entire being now that he was here, the picture finally feeling complete in a way it hadn’t before.

I knew Ryan would feel betrayed if Carson and I got together, but I was starting to realize I would be betraying my heart and Carson’s if we didn’t at least give it a shot.

Now I just had to decide whether I was going to be selfless or selfish—and I already knew which of the two I wanted to choose.