Page 39 of The Best Friend's Billionaire Brother
He narrowed his eyes. “You didn’t date?”
As she looked down, she shrugged one shoulder. “A little, but none of them went anywhere. One date here, maybe another there. I was focused on my career.”
“I can see you doing that. You set your mind to something, and it’s a done deal. You have determination in spades.”
“Maybe. I think it’s sometimes a bad thing. I don’t know when to give up.”
Wasn’t that a good thing? Never giving up on your dream or goals? “I wouldn’t think that’s a bad thing.”
Again, she shrugged and lifted her gaze to his. “I tend to get my heart broken. It gets tiring after a while.”
Man, he hated thinking of her getting hurt. That didn’t settle well with him at all. “You could have called someone. Carrie Anne, your sister…me.”
Why hadn’t she called him? He’d called her a few times. Mostly just after she left, but then his career took off and time got away from him. Eventually, he didn’t even think about it. Not that he didn’t think about her or care about her, just…life got in the way.
“I needed to stand on my own. I’d leaned against someone my whole life.”
“You can be independent and still lean on people now and then. That doesn’t make you weak. I sure had to lean on people when I had my accident.” It had been a humbling experience. That was a lesson he’d needed, though. He wasn’t invincible, and the broken bones proved it.
She took a deep breath, seeming to consider his words. “I know, and you’re right. I guess at the time, I felt like if I did, I’d never figure things out on my own.”
“That stubborn streak of yours…it hasn’t lessened a bit.” He grinned.
Her head tipped back as she laughed. Boy, did he love the sound of it. Even more, he loved being the source of it. “Yeah, I guess it hasn’t.”
He spun her around and pulled her back, and she laughed again. As the song came to an end, he dipped her. Again, her head fell back as she laughed, and all he could think was that he didn’t want it to stop. He straightened, bringing her with him.
The smile on her lips lit up her entire face and made her simply…breathtaking. As his gaze lingered on her lips, he leaned forward. He could kiss her. Just as a way of proving all his errant thoughts were off the mark. That he wasn’t attracted to her or found himself wondering what it would be like to feel her lips on his.
Not more than a breath away, she stepped back, breaking the moment. “I guess we should, um, go sit down. Unless you want to dance to the faster songs again.”
That wasn’t what he wanted at all. He wanted to whisk her away, find a quiet place, and spend a few hours memorizing the softness of her skin and the taste of her lips.
Then his heart took a dive as Bandit came to mind. Her great night on the town was supposed to have been spent with another man. That Wyatt was even thinking romantic things about her wasn’t right. Bandit deserved a better friend than that. Still, Wyatt couldn’t shake the feeling that she didn’t fit with Bandit. He’d felt that way for the past week and a half, and now, after spending the evening with her, the feeling was even stronger.
It didn’t feel wrong to be with her. Everything about the evening was right. This vivacious woman with him was exactly where she was meant to be. Did she see that? Feel it? How could she not? Their friendship was comfortable. It was easy and effortless. They…worked. They always had.
Slipping into the seat next to her, he wondered what he could do to make her see that. He didn’t want to be disloyal to Bandit, but Wyatt couldn’t picture himself with anyone but her. The thought hit him like a sledgehammer. Why did his epiphanies have to have such bad timing?
“Yeah,” he said and cleared his throat. “Let’s sit this one out and cool off a little.” Most likely, that wasn’t going to happen. The cooling off part. Not when she was so near.
Inwardly, he groaned. Bull riding was so much easier. It was simple. Sit, hold on for eight seconds, done. No deep thoughts. No questions. Why couldn’t everything be like that?
Chapter 15
Tossing off the covers, Gabby sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. It was pitch-black outside, and she hadn’t had a wink of sleep yet. She had too much on her mind. Going out with Wyatt that night had been fun and a dream come true. She could have sworn he’d almost kissed her again, but she’d stopped it. It had taken every ounce of will power to do it, but somehow she’d managed. Besides, what if he’d kissed her and then apologized again? That would have been worse.
She trudged to the door and peeked out to make sure no one was up. There was no noise floating up from the first floor, and if her family was still up, there would be. Quiet was not one of their attributes.
Once she was sure she was in the clear, she tiptoed downstairs. As she passed the living room, she startled. “Daddy! You don’t sit in a dark room at night. You’ll give someone a heart attack.”
He turned on a nearby lamp. “Me? How about you? You’re out sneaking around. I’m older and have more risk.”
She wandered over to the closest chair and turned it to face the window like her dad’s. “Anything interesting out there?”
“I think I saw a few rabbits, but other than that, it’s been uneventful.”
“Well, weareout in the middle of nowhere,” she said with a chuckle.
