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“Only with the prettiest girls,” he says and winks. His gaze drifts over my shoulder. I don’t think anything of it until I see a gleam of mischief. He slings an arm over my shoulder, and I jump in surprise and then relax.
This is how he talks to everyone. All day, his contribution was keeping the people waiting in the incredibly long lines in a good mood. And he's good at it. Charming, funny, and very nice to look at. It made me feel better. Now that we’ve rejected the settlement offer, things with Kingdom are moving at a snail’s pace. But, this week there was a break in the clouds for our clients whose homes were beyond simple repairs. Remi took me to the land on the outer barrier of Rivers Wilde where Habitat for Humanity is going to be building homes for the residents.
A shiver passes over me and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and I feel Hayes before I see him. Before I can turn around, I hear him.
“Remi,” Hayes says in greeting and his voice ricochets through me like a canon’s boom.
My heart leaps into my throat. His proximity is frying my circuits and I can’t even remember what I was talking about or doing two minutes earlier.
“Ty.” His voice is less friendly when he addresses Tyson.
Remi slides over and says, “Join us, Rivers.”
He does and sits down right next to me.
“Confidence,” he says quietly, and I shoot him a sidelong glance. I wish I hadn’t.
The annoyed expression in his eyes is tinged with longing and it hits me in the center of my chest. His light gray T-shirt blends with the color of his eyes, and with the dim lighting of the restaurant, they look almost green today.
His gaze moves to Tyson who has moved closer to me since Hayes sat down. He lifts his eyebrows in his classic what the fuck do you think you’re doing? look.
I give him a why do you think you have the right to ask? glare.
“Rivers, I have to tell you, I think I’m in love with her, so I might need you to back off,” Ty says good-naturedly. “You gotta watch out for him. He’s the most committed bachelor in town,” he whispers to me.
“Tyson, please remove your arm from my woman’s shoulder,” Hayes says in a deceptively calm voice. I bristle at that.
“I’m not his woman,” I say.
His body tenses and he growls, “Like hell.”
“Well, one of you is clearly very confused.” Remi laughs.
“It’s not me,” I say.
The next second, Hayes’s hand wraps around my bicep, and he’s pulling me out of the booth.
“What in the world are you doing?” I yelp.
“You two don’t break anything,” Remington calls after us. I turn around and give him a look of complete bewilderment.
&nb
sp; Why is he laughing?
Why isn’t he calling the police?
“Hayes, let me go.” I slap at his hand. He doesn’t even look at me.
He pulls me down a long corridor, pushes open a door and switches on the bathroom light.
“What the fuck was that?” he asks.
“What the fuck was what? I’m not the one who just dragged me through a restaurant.”
He crosses the small room in two strides and pushes me up against the sink. Not to intimidate or scare me. He’s never been able to do either. Not since the night we met.
“You’re not my woman? Are you fucking serious, Confidence?” he asks angrily.
