Olivia
Beau rubbed his forehead, and for a moment, he looked just like his father. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to rant or anything.” I could see the stress lines on his forehead.
“It sounds like the ranch plays a wonderful role in the community.” I thought for a moment. “And it sounds like you’re not really sure about creating this eco-retreat.”
“You’re right on both accounts.” He sighed. “I don’t know how I feel about a bunch of strangers coming to the land and possibly defacing it, littering the environment, or being a noise nuisance.” He gave me a wry smile. “My family has owned this land for generations, but we consider ourselves caretakers. It’s our responsibility to preserve it for future generations of humans and animals.”
“I understand.” I touched his hand lightly. He looked at me in surprise. “I’m glad you care enough to do the right thing.”
“I’m trying.” He nodded. “So, I wanted to talk to you about the cabins we’re planning on building.”
“Oh?”
“I want them to all have a real cohesive but unique feel, and I’d love your help. I thought maybe tomorrow we could ride—” He paused and then shook his head. “Actually, maybe we’ll drive to the spot I had in mind.”
“When do I get to ride?” I pouted, teasing him.
“Right now, if you want.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me. “You can even do the reverse cowgirl.”
“Beau Hamilton!”
“Am I in trouble?” He sat back and laughed. “In all seriousness, we can ride for fun in the morning before breakfast, and then after breakfast, we can go out to the spot I have in mind.”
“That sounds wonderful.” I wasn’t really sure what to say. “I would definitely love to help, but is it a feasible project for me? Don’t you want someone based in Montana? Someone with experience?”
“Olivia, I have faith in you.”
“But you haven’t even seen any of my designs.” I wrinkled my nose. “Is this because you feel bad?”
“Feel bad about what?”
I blushed. “About what you said.”
“What I said?”
“You know . . . on the phone.”
“Why would I feel bad about the truth?” He shook his head. “I like you, Olivia, I do. I think you’re a beautiful woman, but I’m in no position to get into any sort of relationship right now.”
“But you’re willing to sleep with me?”
“I mean, if you beg.”
“That’s not funny.” I glared at him. It hurt me more than it should have. Obviously, I didn’t know this man well, and he had been upfront and honest from the beginning. He wasn’t looking for a relationship. And it wasn’t like I hadn’t met hundreds of men before him who had been up for a bounce in bed but didn’t want anything more. I hadn’t cared enough to be offended or upset; I’d just sent them on their way.
But Beau was different. He was a good guy, the sort of guy you could depend upon. A guy who was strong, honest, compassionate, caring, sweet, and sexy as hell. He was that one-in-a-million guy. I hadn’t known him long, but already, I knew that. I’d just met him at the wrong point in his life—which was just my luck.
I supposed there was a reason why he’d been named the most eligible cowboy, and it was more than just the net worth of his ranch. I wasn’t going to allow myself to be sad, though; it wasn’t something I could control. We lived in two completely different states anyway.
“Okay, you don’t have to beg. I’ll still do it.” He winked. “And if you’re feeling tired, you don’t even have to be on top.”
“Beau, really?”
“What?” He laughed and leaned over and kissed my nose. “Did you know that when you get upset, you wrinkle your nose up and glare?”
“Stop it.”
“And your brown eyes shoot golden daggers at me.”
“You’re looking at me too much if you know that.”
“I love looking at you.” His lips brushed mine. “I love doing all sorts of things to you.”
“You’re so inappropriate.” I swallowed hard. Why did the room feel like it was closing in on me? Why did I enjoy this flirtatious banter knowing this was going absolutely nowhere?
“But you love it.”
“Olivia loves what?” Sadie said behind us, and I jumped. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to sneak up on you. Or eavesdrop.”
“Did you guys finish your game?” I asked her, changing the subject.
“We did, and Wyatt won.” She made a face.
“I always win.” Wyatt looked proud of himself as he stood behind her. “Maybe one day you’ll win.”
“Maybe one day I’ll be hanging out with my boyfriend, and I won’t care if I win or lose.” She stuck her tongue out at Wyatt like she was a little kid, and he rolled his eyes.
“There’s more to life than men, Sadie. Try and think about things other than guys with six-packs.”
“Whatever. Jerkface.” She turned around and poked him in the stomach. “Oops, not feeling any abs there.”
“Oh, yeah?” He pulled up his shirt and showed off a perfect six-pack. “Might not feel it, but you can definitely see it.”
“Wyatt, put your shirt down.” Beau sounded exasperated. He jumped up off the couch, his eyes laughing, and hit his brother in the shoulder. “These ladies don’t want to see your scrawny body.”
“My body is anything but scrawny, thank you very much.” Wyatt grinned. “I have a black book of numbers belonging to ladies who would agree.”
“You’re such a pig.” Sadie glared at him and sat down next to me. “How can my best friend be such an egotistical jerk?”
“Because he’s a man.” I laughed and glanced at Beau. “They all have big heads.”
“That we do.” Beau winked at me, and I could feel the heat rising in my entire body. Why did he have the ability to make everything an innuendo? “Wyatt, come on and let’s see what’s going on in the kitchen. I do want to watch the end of this episode sometime tonight.”
Once they both left, Sadie poked me in the side, her blue eyes curious. “What is going on with you and Beau?”
I put on my best blank expression. “What are you talking about?”
“Don’t play coy with me.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I might be a country girl, but I’m not dumb.”
“I never—”
“I saw Beau kissing your nose.” She raised her eyebrows. “And I saw him talking to you with his lips pressed against yours. I know these Hamilton men are rough, but they’re not stupid. Men don’t kiss your nose or your lips for no reason.” She winked at me. “So, Olivia, I’m asking you again, what’s going on with you and Beau?”
I groaned and buried my face in my hands before looking back up at her. “I can’t believe it’s so obvious.”
“Well, you were sitting in the living room canoodling.”
How was she so observant about me and Beau flirting but so clueless about her relationship with Wyatt? Why was it that people could never figure their own crap out, yet they were always in other people’s business?
“In all honesty, Sadie, I don’t really have much to say. Nothing is going on.”
“So you’re trying to say that you two weren’t flirting and that he just kissed your nose because you had an owie or something?” She gave me a look. “Come on, Olivia. I wasn’t born yesterday.”
“Okay, obviously there’s a flirtation between us, but it doesn’t mean anything. Men and women flirt all the time. And I guess maybe it’s been a while since he’s had someone to flirt with.”
I gave Sadie just enough information to make her happy, hopefully. And the question I asked—well, the question I wanted an answer to—I’d phrased in such a way that I wasn’t being deliberately nosy. But if she picked up on the hint, she’d be able to answer it.
Sadie smiled. “Are you asking if he’s had a girlfriend recently?”
“No.” I blinked innocently. “Why would I ask that?”
“That’s exactly what I was going to say. If you’re not interested in him, why would you want to know if he’s had a girlfriend recently? But no, not really. At least not one as nice as you.”
“Why are you so sweet?”
“I don’t know, maybe because I’m a Montana girl. I guess that’s not necessarily true; not all of us Montana girls are sweet, trust me. You’ll meet a few of them that aren’t very nice if you stay around long.”
“Oh?” I asked her curiously. “What do you mean?”
“Well, obviously Beau is handsome, right?”
“Yeah.”
“And I’m sure you’ve heard about the magazine feature, where he was named the most eligible cowboy in all of Montana.”
“Yes, I’ve heard about it several times now.”
“Let’s just say that there’s a long line of women who want to take Beau off the market.” She made a face. “I made the mistake of going to 12-Point Buck Bar with the brothers recently, and it was just Beau and me sitting at the table. This one bitch—excuse my language.” Her cheeks turned a little pink.
I laughed. “It’s fine. I say bitch all the time.”
“Okay then. Well, this one beyotch came up to the table and said to Beau, ‘Hey, honey, aren’t you the most eligible cowboy in Montana? You could do a lot better than her.’ Well, Beau’s an amazing guy so he said, ‘I don’t think anyone’s better than her,’ in regards to me.” Sadie beamed. “But who did she think she was? Some of these women really think they’re all that just because—you know what? I don’t want to turn you off to Montana, so I’m going to keep my mouth shut.”
“Don’t worry about that. I think Montana’s great.”
“Yeah, you think it’s great because you’ve been here a couple of days and you’re visiting your friend, but do you think it’s great enough to live here?”
“Why are you asking me that?”
“I mean, if you and Beau—”
“Sadie, really?”
“What? It’s a question I have to ask.”
“No, you really don’t.”
“I’m sure Lucy was thinking the same thing when she got here, but I could tell that she and Austin had sparks right away, just like I can tell that you and Beau have sparks.”
Just like I can tell that you and Wyatt have sparks, I thought to myself, but I didn’t say it out loud. I had a feeling Sadie wouldn’t like to hear that. “I’ll be a hundred percent honest with you. Beau and I have kissed.”
“No kidding.” She rolled her eyes. “That’s pretty obvious.”
“Oh, is it?”
“Yes,” she said. “Like I said—”
“You weren’t born yesterday,” I finished for her, and she giggled.
“I like you, Olivia. I do hope that you stay.”
“That’s not even an option.” I shook my head, though a part of me did kind of want to stay. “But that’s all it was. We’re two consenting adults who kissed.”
“Did you do anything else?” Her wide eyes were eager.
“If you mean did we sleep together, that’s a personal question, Sadie.” I kind of laughed. “But because I like you, I’ll answer it, and the answer is no. No, we did not sleep together.”
“Oh.” she pouted. “That sucks.”
“Why does that suck? It would suck if we had slept together and he didn’t want anything to do with me.”
“But he obviously does want a lot to do with you. As soon as Lucy got up, he came and sat next to you, and he was flirting with you and trying to kiss you—”
“He wasn’t trying to kiss me.”
“Well, he was trying to do something.” She laughed and then sighed. “Aw, man, I wish a guy would look at me the way that Austin looks at Lucy. You can tell they were made for each other. Oh, I know I keep going on about it, but I just really want to find love. Have you ever been in love, Olivia?”
“Have I ever been in love? I mean, I’ve thought I was in love, but it wasn’t true love. I haven’t found my true love yet. And honestly, I know what you mean. When I look at Austin and Lucy, I’m happy for them, but also a little jealous that I haven’t found my person yet.”
Sadie nodded. “We will one day, though.”
“I sure hope so.”
“Do you want to go to the bar tonight?” She looked at the clock. “Okay, it’s too late tonight, but maybe tomorrow night?”
“Sure,” I said. “I’m going out on the ranch with Beau during the day, but maybe we could go after dinner.”
“That would be great.” She nodded. “Maybe Lucy will come—if Austin lets her.”
“Oh, Lucy’s independent. She won’t not come just because of Austin, and I’m sure Austin trusts her. What’s she going to do, hook up with someone at the bar?” I rolled my eyes. “Let’s ask her when she comes back.”
“Oh, sweet. And maybe Arya will come as well, though she might be too nervous about leaving Eloise.”
“No, I think that would be really fun for her, and then Amelia could babysit. I’m sure she’d love that. And the boys can help her. With all of these Hamilton boys, one of them has to know how to look after a kid, right?”
Sadie snorted. “You’d think. But no, none of them know how to look after kids.”
“Who are you talking about?” Wyatt said as he appeared back in the room.
“You and your brothers. Where are they, by the way?” Sadie jumped up and grabbed the beer out of his hand.
“Hey, that was mine!” he objected.
“Well, where’s mine? In the kitchen where you left it? You’re not a gentleman at all.”
“What? I don’t have to be a gentleman with you. You’re my best friend.”
“So? I’m still a lady.”
“You are?” He looked her up and down. “Could’ve fooled me.”
“You’re such a jerkface, Wyatt.” She hit him in the shoulder and he chuckled. I was about to say something, but then Beau, Austin, Lucy, and Araya entered the room.
Lucy was carrying a tray of steaming mugs. “Okay, we’re back. Sorry about that. We wanted to pop some fresh popcorn, and then Arya had the smart idea of making hot toddies.”
“Ooh,” I said. “That sounds good. Hey, Arya and Lucy, Sadie had an idea.”
“Oh?” Lucy said.
“Yeah,” I replied. “We were thinking perhaps we could go to the bar tomorrow. Just us girls.”
“Yeah,” Sadie chirped up. “We can go down to 12-Buck Point Bar. I think Chip’s working tomorrow, so we’ll get half-priced drinks.”
“Oh, I remember Chip,” Lucy said with a little giggle. “He’s the bartender I met on my first day in town. Same day I met Austin. You’ll really like him, Olivia.” She looked at me. “He’s really nice and kind of cute.”
“Oh, yeah?” I wondered why she was bringing up a bartender when she already knew I had a crush on Beau. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Beau frowning, as was Austin, and I wondered if this was her ploy to try to make him jealous.
“I guess I can make it tomorrow,” Beau said.
“Who invited you?” Sadie looked at him. “It’s a girls’ night.”
“I don’t know about that.” Austin looked at Lucy. “I don’t—”
“It’s a girls’ night, Austin.” She gave him a little stare. “I think it’ll be a lot of fun. Arya, you in?”
“Well, I don’t know. I have Eloise,” she said softly. I could tell she was tempted, though.
“I’m sure my mom can look after her,” Austin said with a shrug. “If you want to go.”
“I do,” she said, “but I don’t want to ask your mom that. She’s already done so much.”
“Austin, you can look after her. And Beau and Wyatt,” Sadie put in.
Wyatt made a face. “Oh, no. I’m no good with kids.”
“You can say that again,” Sadie said with a laugh.
“What does that mean, Sadie?”
“You know what it means.”
“No, I don’t.
“Guys, guys,” Lucy interrupted them as she walked and sat next to me on the couch and handed me a drink. “Come on, let’s finish watching this episode of Big Sky. I want to know what happens. How can they not have found the serial killer? The state’s not that big.”
“You’d be surprised.” Austin gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“I guess I would be.” She grinned.
Beau turned the lights off in the room, and we all gathered on the couches and got comfortable again. Once everyone was seated, he pressed the remote and started up the episode again.
I sipped on my toddy, feeling happy and content. I’d never had an experience like this before—being in a room with so many people, just happy to be together. We weren’t having a party. It wasn’t a special occasion. It was just living.
I liked it, and I was excited for the next day and spending it with Beau Hamilton.