Page 5 of Cowboy of Convenience
Grady cocked one brow at the indignant sneer in the man’s tone. "I'm Officer Haynes with the Moss Creek PD. Who are you?"
The man ignored the question, his sharp gaze moving to focus on a spot just over Grady’s shoulder. "Evelyn?"
Evelyn made a tiny sound of distress, one that was so soft only Grady could hear it, as she grabbed onto his arm, keeping most of her body behind his. "What are you doing here, Sasha?"
The man, Sasha apparently, straightened the line of the jacket layered over that ridiculous shirt, looking bored by the whole interaction. "I came to get you. To bring you home."
Evelyn snorted, the sound more strangled than amused. "I'm not going back to New York."
Sasha rolled his eyes to the night sky. "Stop being ridiculous. Of course you’re coming back to New York. You have to.” He refocused on his nails, inspecting them as he continued. “I’ve decided I can forget everything that happened. We can pick right back up where we left off."
“What?” This time Evelyn’s snort did sound amused. And a little shocked. "No. We can't." She shook her head, hands still gripped around Grady’s arm. "That is not happening."
Sasha chuckled, but there wasn't a hint of humor in his laugh. "You can't honestly tell me you'd rather stay here.” He spun in place, arms stretching as he curled his lip at their surroundings. “You don't belong here. You belong in New York." His expression hardened. "With me."
"No. I don't." Evelyn sounded a little more confident this time. A little more angry at this guy’s sudden appearance. “I will never be with you, so you just might as well move on. I know I have.”
Sasha's brows lifted, and for the first time the hard line of his mouth curved into what might be considered a smile. "You don't honestly expect me to believe you've met someone better." He gestured around the single street of downtown. "Especially here."
Evelyn’s chin lifted. "Maybe I have."
Sasha propped his hands on his hips, looking genuinely amused. "I don't believe that for a second. I know you. I know how difficult you are. I know you demand certain things. You would never be satisfied with someone from a place like," his nostrils flared, "this."
"Then you don't know me as well as you think you do." Evelyn stepped out from behind him, spine straight and stiff. "Because Ihavemet someone from here." She paused, hesitating just a second before adding on. "And we’re engaged."
It took everything Grady had to keep his face neutral. He didn’t miss much in Moss Creek, and Evelyn getting engaged would have hit the gossip mill like a sledgehammer, which meant—
"You're lying." All amusement slipped from Sasha's face as his eyes dropped to Evelyn’s hand. "You're not wearing a ring."
He took a step closer, continuing to act as if Grady wasn't even there. And, even worse, as if Evelyn wasn’t telling him no. "Come on. We’re going to collect your things and then we’re flying out. My plane’s waiting."
Evelyn stepped back, shrinking away from him. "No. I told you. I'm engaged to someone else. Go back to New York and leave me the hell alone."
Sasha laughed again. "Right. The infamously single Evelyn Warwick is engaged to a cowboy." Sasha waved around. "Well, where is he? Shouldn't he be here with you now?"
"He is." Grady didn't realize it was out of his mouth until he heard his own voice. Even then, he didn't regret it. This prick needed to get the fuck out of Moss Creek and he needed to leave Evelyn the hell alone. Offering up the evidence he was so sure didn’t exist would ensure both of those things happened.
And it would piss him the fuck off, so it was a double win. Triple if you counted the fact that Grady hadn’t thought about all the bullshit he had to deal with for at least five minutes.
Sasha's chin dropped and his eyes moved from Evelyn to focus on Grady for the first time. "You?" His gaze went back to Evelyn. "I don't believe it."
"Believe it." Evelyn slipped into Grady’s side, tucking against him like she’d done it a thousand times, wrapping both arms around his waist and resting her head against his chest. "We're getting married. The ring’s at the jewelers because they're making a custom wrap for it."
He had no clue what the fuck a custom wrap was, but Evelyn seemed to know what she was talking about, so he just let her run with it.
Sasha looked between them, his expression one of disgust and disbelief. "I should've known this would happen when you came here." His lips pressed into a flat line. "You did always prefer spending your time with the simple people, like that artist you followed here."
"Amelie isn't simple." Evelyn tried to pull away, eyes flashing as she zeroed in on Sasha’s face.
Grady pulled her closer, pinning her in place under the guise of affection. "Relax, darlin'."
The flash of jealousy in Sasha's eyes only egged him on, and Grady leaned in, resting his lips against her ear. "He's not worth your time."
Sasha stared them down, nostrils flared, lip curled in disgust. "Wait until your grandmother hears about this." He spun away, storming down the sidewalk.
Grady watched him go, looking for any hint of what Evelyn might have seen in the pecker. It sure as hell wasn’t personality, or the way he looked in a pair of jeans.
Once Sasha was out of sight, Evelyn pulled away, turning to face him. "I'm really sorry about that."
