Page 15

Yeah, I’d had two women that I’d hooked up with occasionally in Billings and Bozeman. Like me, they hadn’t wanted any romantic entanglement.

Eventually, we’d just gone our separate ways.

One of them had ended up in a committed relationship even though she’d always sworn that it was never going to happen, and the other had moved to New York.

Truth was, it had been a while since I’d gotten laid, but it hadn’t bothered me enough to seek out another arrangement.

The rumors about me being some kind of a playboy were highly inflated.

I was no angel. I’d had a few brief flings in my travels, too, but I hadn’t done that in a long time.

My sex drive was still healthy, but those experiences were kind of empty and pointless once the sex part of it was over.

Maybe I’d grown up and realized that there was more to life than getting laid every single night.

My attraction to Reese had surprised me.

I hadn’t felt this attracted to a woman in a long time, and it was disconcerting that it just happened to be a woman who was completely off-limits.

“Why would you never date someone who lived here?” Reese asked curiously.

“Not happening,” I grumbled. “I’ve known most of the single women here since we were kids. We’ve been friends forever. There actually aren’t a lot of single women here that are my age.”

I had to remind myself not to tell her that almost every single female in Crystal Fork wanted a commitment, marriage, and kids.

If I wanted Reese to think that I hadn’t settled down because I’d never met the right woman, that wasn’t a comment I wanted to come out of my mouth right now.

“Just bring your suit and a change of clothes on Saturday,” I added. “You’re definitely not going to be running into any company at my place. Spending time with you is something I want to do, Reese. It’s not an inconvenience.”

She worried her bottom lip with her teeth as she looked at me like she was trying to figure me out.

Fuck!I knew she still didn’t trust me, and that bugged the shit out of me for some reason.

She was actually a smart woman, and probably right not to trust me since I wasn’t exactly being honest with her, either.

I hated the relief I felt when she finally nodded slowly in agreement.

I also hated the fact that I wasn’t sure if I was relieved because I wanted to pry information out of her or if I just wanted to spend the day withher.

Today was Thursday.

I had two days to get my priorities straight and my dick in check so I could focus on my real objective.

Iwouldget over this attraction to Reese, and I’d definitely get the information I wanted.

Reese

“Iheard that you had dinner with Devon at your place last night,” Anna said in a teasing voice as we had lunch with Lauren and Hannah the next day at Charlie’s.

I really liked Anna, but I still wasn’t quite used to seeing her over a lunch table in rural Montana.

She was one of the most famous pop stars on the planet, and the adjustments she’d had to make to marry Kaleb and live here with him in Crystal Fork hadn’t been easy.

Strangely, she seemed to love it here, and she seemed incredibly happy.

She had to go out of town fairly often for appearances, but she wasn’t doing big tours anymore, which she’d told me had completely burned her out anyway.

It was pretty apparent to me that she and Kaleb belonged together, and she fit right into the town and was embraced as one of their own.