Page 48 of The Arrogant One

“I should be, but the weather held us up. What do you have going on that you only have ten minutes to talk?”

Damn it, that fucking smile was sweeping across my lips.

“Sadie. She’s coming over. I don’t think I’ve told you about her.”

He chuckled. “Is she the woman from Horned?”

Since Beck had had practice and not been at the family meeting that Walker had dragged us in for, when he brought up my night with Sadie, I knew someone had talked.

“Which one of our siblings told you?”

Even if there hadn’t been a meeting, there were no secrets in this family.

“Who do you think?” he asked.

I bit my lip. “Walker.”

“Bingo.” He laughed. “Hold up. You said she’s coming over?”

“Yeah.”

“Bold move for you, isn’t it?”

I stared out the windows, looking at the homes that sat on the edge of the canyon. “The first date to ever walk through my door.”

“Jesus, Hart, who the fuck are you?”

“I don’t know,” I exhaled. “There’s something different about her. We click in a way I haven’t felt before. And she calls me Lockhart—all the rest called me Hart. There’s something about it that feels bigger. Special, I guess you could say.” I placed the drink down, my eyes closing as I added, “I like this one, Beck. A lot. And I don’t even know her as well as I want to, but, fuck, there’s just something so addictive about her.” Myeyes opened. “She’s got me thinking about her nonstop, and if I’m not awake, I’m dreaming about her.”

“You’ve got it bad, my man.”

The feeling in my chest told me he was right; there was no reason in denying it.

“I think so, and what’s fucking wild is that I’ve only seen her twice. Tonight will be the third. Mix in a bunch of texts and a phone call, and this is what she’s done to me. A month from now? Shit, I can’t even imagine how I’ll be.”

“I remember when the Spade brothers all fell hard for their women. Each one going down that rabbit hole of love, and I recall what they all said to me when they talked about it.”

“And that is?” I asked.

“Sometimes, all it takes is a glance.”

“They weren’t wrong.”

“Are you saying that’s all it took for you?”

I nodded to myself and voiced, “I’m not saying I’m there yet, spiraling down that rabbit hole of love. I need time to reach that level. But I can see the entrance, and I’m open to it for once.”

“I’m happy as hell for you, my man.”

The smile finally faded, and I lowered my drink. “Enough about me. I know that’s not why you called. Talk to me. Tell me what’s up.”

“I’ll keep it simple. I’ve been thinking a lot about Horned.”

“The restaurant?”

“Yeah”—he laughed—“and that’s partly because Walker won’t shut the fuck up about it. And partly because some of my teammates went there the other night and told me how good it was. I spoke to Eden, and from the way she explained things, the restaurant is up for grabs. The Gordons don’t own it, they’re just financing it.”

“That’s right.”