Page 18 of The Hearts We've Broken
She nodded, although suspicion was still written all over her face. “Call me if you need anything, okay?”
“I will. Promise.”
“Goodnight, then. Bye, June. Mikey…” She side-eyed him as she brushed past us to head to the car.
My eyes tracked her until she got in the vehicle and drove away, tires kicking up dust and headlights disappearing into the night.
“Your friend doesn’t like me, does she.” Mikey’s words came out more as a statement than a question.
“It doesn’t matter.” I pursed my lips. “She just worries about me. It’s fine. I’m sure she’ll warm up once she gets to know you.”
Ironic, considering I hardly knew him. I knew his reputation, though, so it didn’t come as a shock that Natalie was wary of him. I expected nothing less.
“Seems like we’ve got our work cut out for us, then. Add her to the list of people to convince, I guess.” He took off his backward ballcap, running his fingers through his hair before placing it back on his head. “Are you ready to head home?”
We hadn’t been there for very long, but I didn’t know anyone else here since my friends had all left. Considering I agreed to come to the bonfire for Nico and Liv, I didn’t see any reason to stay longer. “Yeah, let’s go.”
“How do you feel about meeting the guys later this week?”
“I guess it’s now or never.”Why the fuck not?“Let’s do it.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
mikey
All right, so we’ve got the team ropers: Colter, Reid, and Hayden. Colter and Reid are roping partners, and Hayden is the youngest of the group. He’s also pretty quiet, so don’t let it surprise you. Jake is a tie-down roper and bulldogger—which is just another name for a steer wrestler.” I ran through the guys’ names once more as we drove down the gravel road toward Colter and Ellison’s house. “Ellison is Colter’s wife. Honestly, you’ll probably get along with her. You’re both firecrackers.”
Juniper tapped her fingers against the back of her other hand and hollowed out her cheeks. On instinct, I reached over and took her hand in mine. She gave me a puzzled look, but I didn’t pull back.
“What are you doing?” Her eyes narrowed. “We aren’t in public, you don’t need to hold my hand.”
“You’re nervous.” I pointed out the obvious.
“Yes, and? I stand by the fact that we aren’t in public. We don’t need to pretend right now. Rule number two, remember?” She pulled her hand out of my grasp.
Juniper fell silent for a few moments, but then spoke up, her voice barely a whisper. “What if they don’t like me?”
I turned my head toward her and blinked a couple times, trying to process her question. “Don’t like you?”
“Yeah. What if they don’t think I’m good enough for you?”
I couldn’t help but scoff. “Not good enough for me? June, they’re probably going to say the opposite. That you’retoo goodfor me.”
Her expression fell blank, and the urge to reach out and find the reason pulled at my chest, but I didn’t pry. We were still getting to know each other, still strangers. I didn’t expect her to pour her heart out to me, but when she was ready, I’d be there to listen.
“I think I’m just nervous. It’s been a minute since I’ve had to impress anyone,” she admitted softly.
“I’ve got your back, Peach.” I gave her leg a reassuring squeeze then turned my attention back to the winding road and the endlessly sprawling Montana landscape.
When we arrived at Colter and Ellison’s house, I killed the ignition and raced around the pickup to open Juniper’s door for her. She threw me a suspicious glance, and I winked in response. Just because there weren’t people around to judge our fake relationship didn’t mean I couldn’t show her basic decency.
Was this a bit out of character for me? Yes.
But something about Juniper made me want to turn over a new leaf. At least for the duration of our arrangement.
“Ready?” I asked her.
“No, but I don’t have a choice.” She swallowed and took a deep breath. “Let’s do this.”
