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“What? She does look beautiful, and me stating that doesn’t mean a damn thing, Blayze.”
“If you say so, little bro.”
I cleared my throat and adjusted my tie. I was dressed in a black suit with a bright blue tie. Courtesy of my own wardrobe lady, Winnie, who said the tie brought out the blue in my eyes.
Turning to one of the crew, I asked, “How long until we go live?”
“Fifteen minutes, sir,” she stated before she rushed off to go do God knows what.
I hit Blayze on the back. “I’m going to go say hi to Kipton really quick and make sure she’s okay.”
All he did was give me a smirk.
As I made my way over, I couldn’t help but smile as I overheard her talking. Clearly someone was speaking to her through an earpiece.
“I can hear you fine. Yes. I know—you’ve told me at least a dozen times.”
Laughing, I stopped just a few feet away. She smiled when she saw me.
“Hunter.”
“Hey. You look beautiful.”
Glancing down at herself, she looked back up and let her gaze do a complete body scan of me. “Wow. You’re going to make a great first impression.”
I held out my arms and did a little spin. “My mother said I shine up well.”
Kipton giggled.
“You ready? Nervous?”
She shook her head. “I was at first, but I think I’ve got this. Georgiana and Morgan helped me practice last night, while Lily and Rose FaceTimed us and pretended to be the live audience. What about you? How are you feeling?”
“Truthfully?”
“Always,” she said with a nod.
“I feel like a lab rat.”
She screwed up her face as she said, “You kind of are, if I’m being honest.”
I slipped my hands into my pants pockets. I’d give anything for a fucking jacket. It was freezing outside. “Yeah,” I said on a sigh. “I guess I am.”
With a sweet smile, she said, “You’re going to be great. And who knows, you might meet someone you really like.”
At her words, it felt like someone had stabbed me in the chest with a knife, and a wave of sadness swept over me. Honestly, the last thing I truly wanted was a girlfriend. Most of these women didn’t even live in Montana, so if I did fall for one of them, it would likely be a long-distance relationship, which was something I wasn’t interested in at all.
It wasn’t like I never dated. I did. Just not long term. Or even close. My first year of college, I dated a girl named Sam for about a month, but every girl since—including Sam, herself—wanted something from me. To be seen on the arm of a championship roper. To get closer to my brother. Even my family’s money. None of them really took the time to get to know me. And Sam, the one girl I’d dated more than a couple of times, did nothing but complain that I was more interested in roping than her.
This was my last semester of college, and I hadn’t made up my mind if I was going to keep team roping or make my way back to the ranch. I’d know the answer when it was time for me to decide. Until then, rodeos were a part of this cowboy’s life, and there was no room for a woman.
Except, at Kipton’s words about meeting someone…that feeling of sadness? That was new to me.
“Kipton! Kipton! We need you in place!”
Kipton winked at me. “Good luck.”
“You too. You’re going to do great.”
