Olivia
“Beau is on his way back now.” I smiled politely at Arya and Eloise as Sadie and I walked back into the living room. “Are you sure I can’t make you a sandwich or something?”
“No, that’s okay, thanks,” Arya said stiffly. “Do you know how long he’ll be?”
“No.” I shook my head. “Sorry.”
I studied her. So this was Beau’s type. She was beautiful. There was a pride to her that made me feel like she was just as uncomfortable as I was in this situation. The way she tilted her chin up every time she spoke showed me that she wasn’t the type to shy away from confrontation. She looked like she was going to go off on Beau when he arrived. That made me feel slightly bad for him—but not that bad. How could he not have known that he had a child?
“Hey, hey. Whose around?” Chet walked into the living room in a cowboy hat and cowboy boots with a huge smile on his face. “Why, howdy, Sadie. Ms. Olivia.” He winked at me and lifted his hat. He really was far too smooth for his own good. Despite the drama, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling back. “Who’s this, now?” He looked at Arya and Eloise on the couch.
“This is Arya. She’s here to see Beau,” I explained.
“He really does get all the ladies, doesn’t he?” Chet chuckled ruefully.
“Oh, Chet.” Sadie hit him in the shoulder. “You’re the Hamilton brother that gets the most ladies.”
“Who, me? I’m a one-woman man.” He grinned.
“Yeah, right!” Sadie laughed and grabbed his hat and put it on her head. “More like a one-hundred-woman man.” She giggled and moved quickly to try and grab his hat off her head.
“What’s going on in here?” Wyatt walked into the room, his face lighting up when he saw Sadie. Then he spied his brother grabbing her hand and frowned. “Sadie, what are you doing?”
“Chet’s just being Chet.” She giggled and pressed the hat down firmly on her head. “I’m just a cool, hot cowboy.”
“I knew you thought I was hot.” Chet grinned before grabbing his hat back. “Now you do look like a pretty cowgirl in my hat, Sadie, but I think you have plenty of your own.”
“Maybe I do.” She went over to Wyatt. “What’s up, grumpy?”
He scowled at her. “I’m not grumpy. I’m just tired. I’ve been in the barn all morning.”
“Aw, okay.” She rubbed his shoulders. “You should meet Eloise and Arya.” She nodded toward the couch where the two guests were sitting and watching Sadie.
I could guess what they were thinking and feeling because I felt the same way. It was clear that all the brothers adored her. I was a little jealous of her relationship with them. I was positive that every single one of them would kill anyone that tried to harm her. She must have felt like the most protected and loved woman in the world. But it didn’t make me hate her, because even though she was gorgeous, she was also the warmest and sweetest woman I’d ever met. If you looked up genuine in the dictionary, you would see her face.
“Hi, Eloise and Arya.” Wyatt nodded. “Friends of yours?” he asked Sadie.
“No, they’re friends of Beau’s.”
“Oh, okay.” He shrugged. “Sadie, come with me real quick?”
“What for?”
“I need you to massage my back. I’ve got some knots I really need to get out.”
“Fine,” she said, rolling her eyes. “But you really do need to get a professional masseuse at some point. My fingers hurt.”
“They’re fine. Excuse us, everyone.” He grabbed her arm and almost dragged her out of the room. I stared at them as they exited, and when I turned back to focus on the room I was in, I realized Chet was next to me.
“You think they’re going to bang, right?” Chet grinned. “But nope, she’s really going to give him a massage. I’ve never seen two more clueless people before in my life.”
“It seems like everyone in your family thinks they should be together.”
“If anyone else even tried, Wyatt would kill them.” He laughed, his light blue eyes dancing. “So, you’re entertaining Beau’s friends?”
“Um, yeah.” I nodded. I wanted to say, “Those aren’t his friends. That’s his baby mama and kid,” but I knew it wasn’t my place to drop that bomb.
“Would you like anything?” He looked at Arya and she shook her head, not even looking at him. “Well, okay then.” He shrugged. “I’m going to go have a shower. I’ll see you later, Olivia.”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “Bye.” He walked out of the room.
I continued to stand there, awkwardly staring at Arya and Eloise.
“Is that your boyfriend?” Eloise asked me.
I walked over to the couch so I could sit down. “No, he’s Beau’s brother.” I chewed on my lower lip, not even sure what to say next. “My best friend, Lucy, is marrying Austin, who’s another one of the brothers. I just came to visit her. I’m from New York.”
“Nice.” Arya looked faintly impressed. “That’s cool.”
“It’s okay.”
It was weird. I usually raved about the city, but being here in Montana was having a funny effect on me. I was finding that I actually quite liked nature and quiet. But maybe it wasn’t really nature that I was falling for. Maybe that had to do with a certain hot cowboy who was about to find out he was a daddy.
Would he want to get back with Arya? It seemed like he hadn’t even known who she was. They must have had a one-night stand or something. Jealousy stirred within me, but I ignored it. It was before he’d ever met me. But what would happen between them now?
“Are you hoping to get back together with Beau?” I asked Arya lightly, trying to act nonchalant. I didn’t want her to know how much I cared about her answer.
“Uh.” She blushed and looked away.
“He’s single, if you were wondering.”
“Look, I . . .” She sighed. “This is an awkward situation. I don’t know what to say.”
“He’s a good guy. I’m sure he’ll do right by you.” As I said the words, I knew them to be true. Beau Hamilton was a standup guy. There was a reason why he was the most eligible cowboy in Montana. He was a bit of a grump, but he was honest and sweet and hot. And he was hung—oh boy was he hung—but I needed to stop thinking about that now. I wasn’t going to tell Arya that I’d had him in my mouth the night before or that we’d been naked together.
I could feel my face growing red. This was too much. What had I gotten myself into? Why did I always have such bad luck with men? As soon as I met a guy I thought I might like, a baby mama showed up. I’d have no luck if it wasn’t for bad luck.
I heard a truck pulling up outside and stood up to look out the window. I saw Beau jump out of his truck and head toward the house, a scowl on his face. He looked pissed. I looked back at Arya and Eloise, and all of a sudden, I felt nervous. I hoped he wasn’t going to be an asshole.
No child should think they were unwanted. I murmured something to Arya and hurried out of the living room to intercept Beau. I ran to the front door and practically fell into Beau’s arms as he crossed the foyer.
“Olivia.” His expression softened, his blue eyes warm as they took in my face.
“Hey, Beau.” I swallowed hard and ignored the urge to kiss him. I certainly didn’t want to kiss him now. This was the last situation I wanted to find myself in the middle of.
“Had a good morning?” he asked, his voice raspy. “I still want to take you to my room and—”
“Beau, your daughter is in the other room.”
“So that wasn’t a bad joke?” His eyes narrowed as he took in my face and sighed. “Fine, take me to this kid and the woman who claims I impregnated her.” He rolled his eyes. “Looks like I might have to sue a rubber company,” he muttered under his breath.
I ignored him and led him to the living room.