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“I can see that.” I look over his shoulder, and he follows my gaze. It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask who she is, but I don’t want to be too obvious. She must be important if she’s been in his life for the last six years.
“Yeah,” he says, looking me in the eye. “She made a surprise visit yesterday, stayed the night last night, and we spent the day at the ranch.”
I spent the day shoveling manure while she spent the day at his parents’ ranch. I love that ranch, and if I know Rhett, he probably took her to all his favorite spots—spots we used to sneak off to when we were wild, horny teenagers who wanted nothing but to be alone.
Oh God, what if they needed some alone time?
I grab a yellow rag and busy myself wiping down the top of the bar. “That was nice of Coop to let her crash on the couch.”
Rhett smiles. “Nah, she slept in my bed.”
“Oh.”
He watches my face fall, and his eyes widen. “No. No, not like that. She didn’t sleep in my bed with me. I offered her my bed because it was the polite thing to do. I slept on the couch.”
I stare at him.
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“She’s my manager,” he says, as if that will justify why she spent the night with him. And then he blinks, probably reminding himself that he doesn’t owe me an explanation. “And she’s a little drunk right now. I need to get her out of here.”
She’s the manager? “I thought your manager was a man?”
Rhett nods. “Bill Atwood was my manager when I joined the PBR; that’s his daughter, Nikki. She sort of took me under her wing when I moved to Houston, and she eventually took over for her father.”
Holy shit. I know she’s the woman I saw him with at the anniversary party, but is she the woman I talked to on the phone? No wonder she wanted me out of the picture.
“Is that a normal thing, for managers to stay with their clients?”
Rhett’s lips twitch. “She didn’t stay with me. She stayed at Coop’s because she had too much to drink and I didn’t want her driving. And no, it’s not a normal thing.”
“That was very chivalrous of you.”
“You jealous, Mo?”
“No, not at all. Why would I be jealous?” I say, not even believing myself. “Are, uh…are you two close?”
Rhett’s playful smirk dies, and for a second I’m not sure he’ll answer.
“Mo, table two needs a fresh round,” Sean hollers.
I lift a finger to Rhett. “Hold that thought. I’ll be right back.”
I make quick work of replacing their drinks and take care of a few other people at the bar. When I make my way back to Rhett, he’s sipping his beer.
“Sorry, where were we?” I ask.
“You asked if Nikki and I are close.”
“Right. Are you?”
Rhett takes a deep breath, runs a hand through his shaggy hair, and nods. “We’re friends, Mo. She isn’t just my manager.”
That still doesn’t answer my question. Swallowing, I look down.
“That wasn’t the answer you were looking for, was it?”
I look up. “No, it wasn’t.” I want to know if you’re still sleeping with her. But it’s not really my business, is it?
