Page 70 of Rhett

A few minutes later, Rhett strolled over to us.

“Hi, Nova. Hi, Jacob.”

Jacob grinned. “Hey, Protector. Nova and me just cleared up the whole photo thing. Despite what Grandma says, I like her.” He stared up at Rhett. “She’s my friend now, and I think she needs protecting. When are you going to hire me as a deputy?”

“I’m not.” Rhett ruffled his hair. “Now go on. I want to dance with Nova.”

He grinned. “See ya, Nova.” He ran away.

The band started playing slow music.

“Can I have this dance?” Rhett asked in a low, rough voice.

“Yes.”

He pulled me into his arms, and we swayed to the music.

He tilted his head and studied me. “So you’re staying and opening a clinic?”

“That’s the rumor my grandmother, Piper, and Freya have been spreading.”

He smiled, and my heart skipped a beat. “Well, everyone’s happy, especially me.”

“How happy?”

“This happy.” He leaned down, brushing his lips against mine before his tongue darted into my mouth. I sucked on his tongue, and he growled low in his chest before he broke off our kiss.

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I clung to him, wanting this moment to last forever.

“I’m still deciding whether I’m staying. But I can be bribed with food.” A smile curved my lips.

He chuckled deep in his chest. The sound was delightful and sexy. “Well, I better feed my female.”

Rhett grabbed my hand, lacing his fingers through mine as we sliced through the excited crowd. When we finally made it to the red-and-white booths that lined the massive grassy area, we saw Josie yelling from her booth, “Piping-hot biscuits!” But no matter how loud she got, there were no takers. In fact, pedestrians seemed to be deliberately giving her booth a wide berth, as if they were trying to avoid contact with her and her biscuits.

“Her biscuits must be horrible,” I commented. “Because everyone loves biscuits.”

“According to town gossip, they’re the worst,” Rhett confirmed.

“Then how is she still in business?”

“She’s an heiress. She doesn’t need to make money from her business. Her biscuit shop is some weird hobby.”

We stopped at a booth with a Thornbern Brewstillery sign. “Nova, this is Brody, my brother-in-arms. He’s also a member of the Bane pack.”

Brody winked at me. He was incredibly attractive, with a physical perfection that made him model-worthy. “Wowee, she’s definitely a looker.”

Rhett frowned at him. “Just serve up the BF Home Brew, and stop eye-fucking my woman.”

“All right. All right,” Brody said. “Just remember, all I have is strong, stronger, and strongest. Which would you like, Nova?”

“After all the Brew shots I drank last night, I’ll take the strong.”

“Here you go.” He handed me a small cup. Shooting back the amber liquid that burned my throat going down, I felt my eyes start to water. “Holy hell,” I choked out. “This stuff is stronger than what I had last night at Mama June’s.”

Rhett and Brody laughed.

“June tends to water down the Brew so the ladies don’t get too drunk and tear her place up,” Rhett confided. “After that, you need something to eat.” Placing a hand on the small of my back, he gently nudged me away from Brody’s booth.