Page 38 of Backed By You
Beau huffs before returning his gaze to me. His hard exterior slips to something softer. He gestures to the spot Rhett just vacated. “You mind?”
I shake my head. “No, no. Sit.”
The silence between us is both awkward and comforting at once.
“So, you, uh…” he starts, but doesn’t finish.
I peer at him out of the corner of my eye and note the way his thumb picks at the label on his beer bottle. He looks tortured attempting to find the right words to say. It’s almost cute how hard he’s trying.
Okay, fine, itiscute.
Rhett calls out to a few of the girls still lingering by the fire and suddenly it’s just me, Beau, and the dogs sleeping soundly beside the dying fire.
I decide to break the silence first. “How was the bar?”
“Good,” he says with a slight nod. “How are you feeling?”
I bite my lip to keep from smiling at his concern. “Headache is gone. Ankle feels better. I might take the boot off tomorrow and see how I fare.”
“Doctor said to keep it on for a week minimum.”
I roll my eyes. “At my discretion.”
His grin is slow and wide as he looks at me. “Stubborn.”
I giggle. “You would know.”
He laughs, his gaze dancing over me. The glow of the fire illuminating his face in a way that reveals every hard angle I’ve come to memorize. The flickering shadows play across his features, highlighting the small scar above his eyebrow and the slight curl at the corner of his mouth as he looks at me. “Hulk settling in okay?”
I shift my attention to the two sleeping boys beside us. “He’s doing okay, I think. I actually need to bring him in soon and give him his pain meds for the night.”
He nods, taking a swig of his beer as we fall into another amicable silence.
“Callie,” he starts. “I want—”
A loud whistle catches us off guard as one of the men Beau came in with puts his hands in the air. “Let’s go, kids! Bro night continues.”
“Bro night?” I say, laughing lightly.
“Cigars and poker, apparently,” Beau grumbles, pushing to stand with a bit more care on his left knee than I’ve seen from him.
The urge to ask him if he’s feeling okay teeters on the tip of my tongue. Instead, I say, “Have fun.”
He looks down at me. His eyes—a rich brown that reminds me of warm whiskey—hold mine with an intensity that makes my breath catch. The corner of his mouth twitches. Not quite a smile, but close.
“Yo, Beau, you coming or what?” Levi calls from the doorway, his words slightly slurred and only a third of the block of cheese remaining in his hand.
How the heck did he eat so much so fast?
“Yeah,” Beau responds, not taking his eyes off me. “I’ll see you in a few hours,” he tells me, his voice dropping low in a way I’m not prepared for.
My heart skips in my chest and heat flashes between my thighs.I will?“Okay,” I say, attempting lightness. “See you soon.”
This time, his smile transforms his stern face into something handsome and…boyish. He’d probably be mortified if he knew I thought he was puppy-dog-cute over anything rugged and manly. He joins his brothers, leaving me with a strange flutter in my chest.
He passes Cassidy and her group of girlfriends returning to the fire with cups and a bottle of tequila. Maci nowhere in sight.
“Well,thatwas interesting,” Lily says, dropping onto the chair opposite me with an eager expression.
