He swallows and watches his hand massage my neck. “I can understand that.”
“Good.”
“So are you going to talk about it?”
I simply laugh because this is ridiculous. I’m sitting out here, in the dark, with the hottest man I’ve seen in… ever, and he won’t take a simple no for an answer.
“Let’s just say that sometimes the past comes back around to bite you in the ass.”
“I’d like to bite your ass,” he says casually. My eyes widen and my heartbeat speeds up, but before I can respond to his declaration, he continues. “And if anyone has done anything to hurt you, I’ll kill them.”
“No one has done anything.” My voice sounds shaky to my own ears. Rhys pulls my face toward his again and pins me in his gaze.
“I mean it.”
“So do I.”
He nods. “Okay then.”
“I should go to bed. I have an early morning tomorrow.”
“You have an early morning every day,” he replies, and if I’m not mistaken, there is concern in his voice.
“Not on Mondays. I don’t keep guests Sunday nights, so I can catch up a bit around here, have dinner with the family, and sleep in on Monday. So, FYI, you’ll have to fend for yourself Monday morning for breakfast.”
“I can handle that. Why don’t you hire more staff?”
“Because I don’t need more staff. I have the girls who come clean for me every day. I can handle the rest myself.”
“Yes, but you don’t have to.”
“It’s my inn.”
“Your family is beyond wealthy, Gabby. You could afford to have more staff so you don’t have to work yourself and your son to the bone.”
I blink rapidly, push his hand off my neck, and stand to face him.
“Yes, my family is wealthy, but this inn is mine. If and when I need more help, I’ll hire it, but I don’t right now. And if you have a problem with how I’m raising my son—”
“Hey, calm down. I didn’t say that I have a problem with how you’re raising Sam. In fact, your kid is awesome.”
Yeah, try to dig yourself out of your hole.
“Except I’m clearly abusing him by expecting him to have chores and pay for things he breaks.”
“That kid is not abused by any stretch of the imagination, and teaching him a work ethic is a good thing.”
“I’m pretty sure you insulted me back there.”
“No, I’m worried about you.”
And now I’m irritated all over again.
“I don’t need you to worry about me. You’re a guest. Just enjoy the inn and don’t give me another thought.”
“Impossible,” he mutters and rubs his hand over his mouth. The rough sound of his skin on his whiskers is loud in the quiet of the evening, and my own hand itches to touch him there.
To touch him everywhere.
Which means I need to get the hell out of here.
“Is there anything else you need?”
He watches me for a beat, then shakes his head. “No, Gabby, there’s nothing else I need.”
I nod. “Good night.”
Chapter Three
~Gabby~
He’s been here a week. You’d think I would be used to him by now, that the shine would have worn off, but no. No, I’m still perfectly aware of where he is, what he’s doing, and dear God, I even know what he smells like: clean, spicy and like heaven.
And after he leaves a room, that smell lingers for what feels like forever, as if to remind me that he isn’t far away.
Which, trust me, I’m not likely to forget. If he’s not offering to help me with something, he’s outside playing with my kid. Or my kid is telling me all about how great Rhys is.
As if I don’t already know.
“Earth to Gabby,” Charly says, snapping her fingers from across the table. “Where’s your mind, baby doll?”
“Sorry,” I murmur and turn back to my two sisters and Kate, my brother Eli’s girlfriend. The girls came out to enjoy Saturday lunch at the inn. I have a beautiful gazebo in the back yard with a table that we often take advantage of. “How are things with Eli?” I ask Kate, purposefully deflecting the attention from me.
“Things are great.” Kate wrinkles her freckle-covered nose and grins. “He’s…” She shakes her head back and forth, as though she’s trying to come up with the word.
“Stupid?” Savannah offers.
“Ridiculous?” Charly adds.
“A pain in the ass?” I say with a giggle.
“Sexy,” Kate replies with a belly laugh.
“Ew,” Savannah says with a shudder. “He’s my big brother.”
“Yes, he is big,” Kate replies¸ still laughing, knowing that she’s grossing us all out.
“Stop it right now,” I demand, covering my ears with my hands. “I’m too young to know this.”
“Right.” Charly rolls her eyes. Charly is the eldest sister. She decided a long time ago that the family business of running Bayou Enterprises, a multi-billion dollar ship building enterprise, wasn’t for her, and instead she owns an adorable shoe boutique in the Quarter called Head Over Heels. She’s classy, put together, and smart as can be.
“I think we’re all too young to know this,” Savannah adds. Van is the middle sister, and Declan, our youngest brother’s twin.
There are a lot of us.
“Why do you ask if you don’t really want to know?” Kate asks and takes a sip of her sweet tea.
“Because Gabby was trying to get the attention off of her,” Charly replies with a sweet grin, her hazel eyes pinned to me.
“You’re not nearly as sweet as you’d like us all to believe,” I inform her.
“Yes I am,” she replies. We all carry the sound of Louisiana in our voices, but Charly’s seems to be the thickest. It always makes me smile.
“Hi Mom!” Sam calls from the barn that he and Rhys just came out of. He’s waving wildly until I wave back, then turns his attention back to the tall baseball player at this side.
Who happens to be grinning this way.
“I think the better question is, how are things going with Rhys?” Savannah’s eyes are lighter than the rest of us, and they are lit with more humor now than I’ve seen from her since she left her husband a few months ago.
That abusive piece of shit.
“What do you mean?” I shift in my seat. Do not look at him. He’s just a man.
“Oh stop,” Charly replies and watches the baseball player unabashedly, licking her lips when he begins pushing some kind of heavy sled thing across the pasture. “He’s a prime specimen of man. Surely you’ve noticed.”
“Ew,” Kate says with a frown.
“Turnabout is fair play.” Van laughs and watches Rhys with calculating eyes while sipping her sweet tea through a straw.
“So spill it,” Charly insists and leans forward in her seat. “Has he kissed you?”
“He’s a guest!” I cover my face with my hands and lean back in my chair. “I’m running a business here.”
“Oh, please,” Kate says with a flick of the wrist. “I mean, yes you are, and it’s awesome, but it’s okay to have a private life too.”
“I have a child.”
“Who loves him,” Charly says and gestures with her head for me to look.
Rhys has taken all the weight off the sled and is helping Sam push it, encouraging him with every step.
And my heart melts, just a little more.
“Yeah, he’s good with Sam.”
I’ve told Sam to leave him be, but every time Rhys insists that he enjoys Sam’s company and that when he needs a break, he’ll tell Sam.
“Rhys loves kids,” Kate says with a smile.
I keep my mouth shut for a moment, and then decide, screw it. These are my sisters. I trust them more than anyone in the world.
“I don’t do the flirting thing well,” I admit and fold a pink napkin into eighths.
“Why not?” Kate asks with a frown.
“Because,” Van replies softly, her light eyes on mine, “she had a baby when she was very young and hasn’t had the chance to flex her flirting muscles since she got pregnant.”