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But I pulled back.“Speak for yourself.”

He made to chase me, but I ran to the hallway, pulling the room key off the desk on my way out.

When we made it to the hallway, he lowered his voice, speaking in my ear. “You are so paying for that later.”

I couldn’t fucking wait.

We rode the elevator to the level with the pool and walked outside. There were twinkle lights hanging around the pool area, a bar, and even light blue lights in the water. “It’s so pretty,” I said.

“You are.”

My cheeks warmed. “Oldest line in the book.”

“What book?” he asked. “If it’s about us, I’d love to read it.”

I smiled. “How would it end?” I asked.

“Probably with me fucking you senseless in a hot tub.”

“Let’s get in then,” I said, smiling. We walked over to the hot tub, and I held on to the railing to step in while Rhett easily lowered himself from the side.

He looked so damn good in his green swim trunks. “How do you not have a farmer’s tan?” I asked him.

“I work shirtless. The ladies like it.” He winked.

I rolled my eyes at him. “I’m sure Coop does too.”

He laughed, skimming his fingers along the top of the water. He didn’t have his normal smile like he had moments ago. Something felt... off.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

He shook his head, looking up at me. “I haven’t been honest with you.”

56

RHETT

I saw her features fall,the way her breath hitched. “What do you mean?”

I rubbed the back of my neck, water sliding down my forearms. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about for the last week, and I’ve been to chickenshit to do it.”

“Tell me,” she said quickly. Forcefully.

I knew she had to be imagining a million different things, each new one worse than the last, so I hurried to get it out. “I got in touch with your mom.”

Her face went blank. “What? How?”

“I had a little help from your dad.” At the hurt, confused look in her eyes, I wrung my hands under the water. “I think I’ve been clear with my intentions, Mags. I’m in this for the long haul. That means dating. It means marriage when we’re both ready. And if you’re up for it, I’d love some babies running around that look just like you.”

Her eyes studied mine, guarded.

“But when I think about our life, there’s one thing that has me worried,” I admitted, the words harder and harder to say out loud.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“I mean, Maggie, a relationship takes a lot of forgiveness. I’m not perfect, I’m gonna mess up, and from what I’ve seen, you throw these walls up around you the second someone hurts your feelings.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but I hurried to get out what I needed to say.