Page 45 of Austin
It hadn’t happened to Braden.
Which made her wonder what was going to happen to Austin. He was twenty-six—old in this game. He didn’t seem all that concerned about life after bull riding. She’d been guilty of the opposite—she’d spent so much time plotting and planning the future that she hadn’t enjoyed the moment she was in. The only mistake she’d made was in thinking her job was secure and not socking away enough money for the future. And again, Austin was the opposite. He had money socked away, but she couldn’t help believing that he probably would have been just as satisfied with his life if he didn’t.
She headed for the elevators, glad that the young bull rider had gone the opposite direction—hopefully steering clear of the security guy. The door to the elevator that had taken her and Austin on the wild ride the day before opened and Kristen stepped back to let the people move past her.
“Hey,” one of them said coming to a stop next to her. “I know you.”
Her stomach fell as she met the eyes of the Brazilian bull rider who’d been with Austin that night at the Silver Bow. The one who’d taken such great interest in her costume. The upper part of it anyway.
She felt the frozen deer-in-the-headlight feeling coming on and did her best to stave it off with a weak smile. “Yes. I remember.”
“That was a helluva trick you pulled on Austin,” the bull rider said, pushing his hat back. His dark eyes were dancing with amusement. “He fell for it.”
“For a while anyway,” the other guy, whom Kristen also recognized from the casino, said. “He figured it out pretty fast, but damn, girl. Good one.”
Kristen found that her smile was becoming more genuine at the bull riders’ earnest congratulations. “I regretted it afterward.”
“Austin needs shit like that.” The Brazilian extended a hand. “Gustavo Santos. Gus.”
The other bull rider also leaned in for a handshake. “Josh McIntosh.”
“Kristen Alexander.”
“Salt Lake City is a long way from Reno,” Gus said.
“I’m on my way home to Montana.”
He gestured with his head in the direction of the bar. “You want to join us for a quick drink?”
Her first instinct, as always, was to say no and escape, but she was trying to do things differently, so why not? A quick drink. It wasn’t like her microwave popcorn would go bad, and she was curious about these guys. More bad boys of the cowboy world. “Sure.”
“We’re not keeping you from anything?” Josh asked as they started across the lobby.
“Not a thing.”
“Pretty girl like you?” Gus asked going into such exaggerated lady’s-man mode that Kristen had to laugh. She was still smiling when they navigated around a marble column and ran smack into Austin, who was also heading for the bar.
The look on his face when he saw her with his friends was almost comical, and then his expression cleared and his jaw muscles tightened.
“Austin, look—we found your friend. The one with the rattlesnake,” Gus said as if Austin would need a hint as to who she was.
“Yeah.” He shifted his attention to Kristen. “I was up in the room looking for you a few minutes ago.” He was wearing a freshly ironed and starched shirt, so yes, he probably had been.
“I was down here.” She held up the plastic bag. “Dinner.”
“I thought you were going to charge dinner to the room. Like a real dinner.”
“Changed my mind.”
The two bull riders exchanged looks, then burst out laughing. “You two?”
“I’m taking her home,” Austin said, his voice clearly indicating that he wasn’t in the mood to take any crap off them.
Josh reached out and patted Austin on the shoulder. “I guess you guys made up.”
“Guess it’s none of your business,” Austin countered pleasantly, but there was an edge to his voice.
“We were going to have a quick drink before your function,” Kristen said.
