Page 12 of Head Over Spurs

“Okay good. I’m glad.” She didn’t sound very sure of herself. But she straightened her shoulders and stood her ground, nonetheless. “And…”

“And?”

She crossed the room and plucked a pale gold can from the trough. Dragging her fingers down it to remove the slivers of ice, Jules cracked it open and lifted the cold drink to her lips. He waited, his eyes studying the way she tilted her delicate chin back and exposed the sensitive lines of her throat.

“And…” she dropped her head back down after a long drink, meeting his gaze. “I was hoping we would keep our—historyjust between us. Unless—did you tell anyone here that we hooked up that night? Do you talk with people at the ranch when you do that?”

“You say it like I regularly go around having sex with women I meet at the rodeo,” Riley chuckled.

She held up her hand to stop him. “It is none of my business.”

“Jules. I’m not that kind of guy.”

She nodded, as if storing away the information in a tidy corner of her mind. Then, “But does anyone know about me?”

“Know that I’ve met you before today?”

“I guess. But mostly, does anyone here know that we’ve slept together,” she corrected with a pointed look.

“No, I haven’t told anyone who you are to me,” he replied carefully.

“Do you think we can keep it quiet? I really don’t want to be seen as some buckle bunny, just here to chase cowboys for the summer. I have this… code of ethics you could say, when it comes to the places I visit for work. And if people think I’m more interested in hooking up than focusing on the integrity of my work, it would complicate everything. And I have enough complicated going on in my life right now.”

Something in his chest loosened with her admission. This wasn’t about hiding him. Maybe she had made an exception, done something out of the ordinary that night too. He sucked in a breath before asking, “Why did you go with me that night then?”

It felt as if his ability to breathe again hung on her response. His lungs constricted as she fidgeted with the tab on her can.

“I saw you and it just felt like something I needed to do. I don’t have a better answer than that.”

Air rushed back into his lungs, and he didn’t bother smothering the grin that split across his face. “So, it was because you couldn’t resist me.”

“Are you going to keep this a secret or not?” she huffed.

“If that’s what you want, of course I’ll keep it a secret.”

She nodded, her expression relaxing with his words. “Thank you. I think it’s better this way, we could maybe just… start over?”

What he wanted to do was take her in his arms and continue what they started earlier today. He wanted to tell her that he had yet to stop thinking of her since that night. And not just the sex, but every way they interacted with one another. He hadn’t felt an instant closeness with someone like that. Ever.

But she was so determined, and her serious expression was adorable. So instead, he held out his hand and said, “It’s nice to meet you, Jules.”

A slow smile unfurled across her lips as she reached out and slipped her hand in his. “It’s nice to meet you, Riley.”

For a moment, neither of them made a move. They remained with their hands clasped together in the center of the tack room, cool sweat dripping down the beer in their other hands. It was a stark contrast from the warm, soft feel of her skin and he hypnotically dragged his thumb back and forth across the back of her hand.

“Well,” she started, withdrawing her hand once again. “We should get going, it might be weird if we stay in here too long.”

Without waiting for a response, she turned, her fiery blonde hair flipping around from the sudden movement. She strolled out with purpose, each step of her boots meeting the ground determinedly. Jules certainly had tenacity, and he couldn’t get enough of it.

He threw back the remainder of his beer, crushing the can on the table behind him and moving towards the trough. He was going to need quite a few more of those tonight. With two fresh cold ones stacked in his hand, he stepped from the tack room.

This didn’t have to be so hard. After all, he didn’t really know her. They had one night together—practically strangers.

Stepping back into the orange glow of the setting sun, he turned towards the team just as Jules was swinging her leg over a bench to take a seat next to Maddie. She was here to be with her friend, and once the summer was up, she would disappear from his life once again. No past, no future. There was nothing to hang his hat on there.

Then she laughed. A full, throw your head back kind of laugh that sent a ripple of warmth through him. Her eyessparkled in the setting sun, same as the sparkle in her voice. And Riley couldn’t look away.

“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath. Maybe he wasn’t as over things between them as he thought.

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