Page 56 of Playing Dirty
The sound of our boots filled the space between us as we started down the trail toward the truck. My breath puffed out in little clouds, matching the rhythm of my racing heart. The cabin loomed behind us, its windows glowing faintly in the fading light, but with each step, it felt smaller, less important.
I glanced at Rhett, his jaw set, eyes forward like he was still ready for a fight if Matt dared to follow. “Thank you,” I said quietly.
His gaze flicked to me. “For what?”
“For… saving me. For showing me what I couldn’t—or maybe wouldn’t—see.” I swallowed hard. “I think I knew, deep down. But you didn’t let me keep lying to myself.”
He gave a short shake of his head. “You saved yourself, Callie. I just happened to be there when you decided you’d had enough.”
We rounded a bend, the wind cutting sharper here, tugging at my hair. His hand brushed mine, and without thinking, I laced my fingers with his. He didn’t hesitate.
“I’ve always been here,” he said after a beat, his voice lower now, like the words were just for me. “Always watching you chase what you thought you wanted. And maybe that’s why none of the women I’ve been with—” he paused, a half-smile tugging at his mouth “—and there have been plenty, I’ll be honest—ever seemed to fit. None of them were you.”
The truth in his tone hit harder than the cold air.
I looked at him, my chest tightening in a way that had nothing to do with the climb or the wind. “Rhett…”
He stopped, turning toward me fully. “I’m in love with you, Callie. Always have been. Maybe I didn’t say it before because you weren’t ready to hear it. But I’m saying it now, because I’m damn sure not letting you walk into another man’s life as his second choice.”
Something in me loosened, a knot I hadn’t realized I’d been carrying for years.
We stood there for a moment, just breathing in the cold air, until he squeezed my hand and nodded toward the truck. “Come on, let’s get you home.”
“Can we go shopping first? I don’t have much to wear but work clothes.”
Chapter Seventeen
Claiming Her
Rhett
The mountain road stretched out before us, sun spilling through the windshield in warm, lazy rays. My hand rested on the wheel, the other draped over the back of Callie’s seat as if it belonged there, which, hell, it did.
I was still feeling the rush from this morning—the thrill of watching her face down Matt and walk away with her head held high. Felt like a knot I’d been carrying for weeks had finally loosened, and the relief sat heavy in my chest in the best way possible.
She sat, turned slightly toward the window, eyes following the passing sweep of pasture and fence line. Every now and then, I caught the smallest curve at the corner of her mouth—quick little smiles she didn’t even seem aware of.
I smirked. “You’re awfully quiet for someone who just ditched the biggest mistake of her life.”
Her head whipped around, eyes narrowing, but there was a flicker of play in them. She swatted my arm. “Don’t push it, Rhett.”
“Just saying.” I let the grin spread slowly, dragging my gaze from her face back to the road. “You could at least do a little happy dance. Or whistle. Something to mark the occasion.”
“Maybe I’m saving the happy dance for when I’m sure you’re not the bigger mistake,” she shot back, though her lips twitched like she was trying not to snicker.
I barked out a laugh, loving that spark in her voice. The air between us hummed with something hotter, sharper. Now that she wasn’t wrapped up in Matt’s lies, every glance, every accidental brush of her hand against mine felt charged.
I caught her watching me from the corner of her eye as I steered into town. “No questions,” I said. “I’m taking you somewhere you’re gonna love.”
Her brow arched. “Should I be nervous?”
“Only if you hate being spoiled rotten.”
That earned me one of those quiet little smiles she couldn’t hide, and it told me everything I needed to know.
I pushed open the glass door with a flourish, the bell overhead chiming like it was announcing something big.
Her gaze swept the racks of denim and boots. “Okay… what’s the catch?”
