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Reyes forced his gaze away from her mouth. Since their trail ride when he’d argued she could show jump and do something else, she’d gone all in on the rescue route. “I can put you in touch with him, if you want. For when you start your own thing.”
“That’d be great.” Her gaze lifted, hazel eyes bright with a glimmer of excitement that dimmed slightly as she added, “My dad’s probably going to freak out when I tell him what I want to do, but it’s not like he can stop me.”
Her words said one thing, but there was a hint of a question in her voice, as if she were asking him to back her up.
“You’ve seen the financials,” he reminded, unable to offer false reassurance. “Adoption fees barely cover the cost of the horses and feed. You’re going to need your dad’s barn—and his staff for when you’re away at events.”
She was quiet for a long moment. “Not if I buy my own place and hire my own staff.”
He arched his brows in surprise. “You could afford that?”
“I have a trust fund,” she said nonchalantly.
Right. Of course she did. All the Diamonds probably did.
Raine stood up a little straighter, her shoulders squaring. “I’ll put together a detailed business plan and he’ll see I’ve thought it through—that I’m not just jumping in blind. Dad loves a good business plan.”
“You ever created a business plan before?”
“Ah…no. Have you?”
He shook his head.
She grimaced, her shoulders drooping before she perked up again. “We’ve got a whole week to figure it out if you’re willing to help me?”
The hope in her voice sent the word sure to the tip of his tongue so fast he barely caught it from slipping out. Crafting a business plan would throw them together in close quarters for whole hell of a lot more hours and resisting her was getting harder by the second. But she’d be gone in a week, and the tightness in his chest told him he needed to maintain distance if he wanted his heart intact when she left.
Giving Taz’s hind quarters a final swipe, he headed for the stall door as he stated, “Loyal’s the one to ask.”
Her older cousin was a financial wizard in charge of his own accounting firm and the Cole-Diamond Veterans Foundation, and he’d advised both Shelby and Dev while they were setting up their businesses this past spring.
“Yeah, I guess,” Raine agreed.
His chest tightened at the disappointment in her voice, but he avoided her gaze as he waited for her to exit the stall before sliding the door closed.
“I’ll ask him tonight at Asher and Honor’s. Hopefully he’ll have some time before I leave.”
Reyes clenched his jaw against a wave of guilt and took the brush she thrust in his direction. Her boots sounded behind him on the way to the tack room.
“You know, we’re all getting together for dinner tonight. You should come with me.”
He admired her tenacity while simultaneously cursing it. The overwhelming desire to take every second with her when he knew it would only hurt him in the end was frustrating.
“I already have plans.” To do absolutely fucking nothing, but she didn’t have to know that.
“Oh, okay, then.” Her voice sounded tight after his curt retort. “Have fun.”
He kept his back to her as he straightened the brushes in their bins. “Yep. You, too.”
The moment she was gone, he cursed under his breath and swiped up a cloth to start cleaning saddles. They didn’t need it, but most of the time on deployment, his guns hadn’t either.
He was still at it an hour later when his cell phone vibrated on the office desk. Reyes grimaced when he saw his brother’s name.
“What exactly are these plans of yours?” Dev demanded when he answered.
“Hello to you, too.”
“Yeah, hi. Now, why did I hear Raine telling Shelby you’re too busy to bother with family?”
