“OH . . . MY . . . GOSH,” I WHISPERED.
“What’s wrong, Ryn?” Dodge asked.
I stood staring at Tristan, kissing—Sierra. The girl I was renting the beach house from. Holy shitballs.
I couldn’t utter a word. All I could do was stare at them. Shit. They were walking this way. I felt myself lean in closer to Dodge.
“Tristan,” I whispered.
Dodge looked up and held me tighter.
“Hey, Ryn. Long time no see,” Sierra said in that bubbly-ass way she had about her. Okay, that was mean. I really liked Sierra when I first met her in Austin at the Starbucks down from my house. When I found out she had a place down here, I asked if I could rent it out. She had just separated from her asshole husband and said the extra income would help out a lot. Sierra told me she would be down here painting the house with her father while I was here.
I was expecting to see her the next few days. What I wasn’t expecting to see were her lips pressed to Tristan’s . . . or them walking out arm in arm—together.
Anger filled my veins, or was it jealousy? I really liked Sierra. Even pictured us hanging out together in Austin. She was a runner. She loved going to movies. She had an amazing personality. She was dumped by the man she loved. Ugh. So. Many. Things. In. Common. Tristan messed up my possible friendship with one damn kiss.
So. Angry.
Inhaling deeply through my nose, I got ready to put on a fake smile and try to keep my hands to my sides and not claw her eyes out for kissing my man. Glancing at Tristan, I shot him a dirty look.
Asshole.
Gathering my wits about me, I realized I had no right to be feeling this way. Dodge had fucked me not more than two hours ago and here I was mad because I saw Tristan kissing another woman. At least I knew for sure he was not with Liberty. Sure didn’t take him long to move on.
Dick.
“Hey there . . . um . . . Sierra.” Looking at Sierra, I smiled sweetly. Then I turned to Tristan, who was looking directly at Dodge. Reaching his hand out, I held my breath.
“Tristan Williams.”
Dodge shook Tristan’s hand. “Dodge Walker.”
I couldn’t help but notice the veins in Tristan’s neck jump out as he clenched his jaw together. He was pissed. I knew him well enough to know that happens when he is mad and attempting to hold it in. For some reason, knowing that Tristan was pissed about Dodge made my stomach flip.
“You two know each other?” I asked, looking between Tristan and Sierra.
Tristan smiled that damn panty-melting smile of his. “Yeah. Sierra was a couple years ahead of me at UT.”
Sierra raised her eyebrows and smiled. Then she turned and looked at Dodge. Her mouth parted open slightly before she quickly shut it. Dodge had that kind of effect on women, but I didn’t think he held a candle to Tristan by any means. Tristan was slightly taller but their builds were the same. They were both breathtakingly handsome. If you put them side-by-side and told any woman to pick, they wouldn’t be able to. But Tristan’s smile won out every single time. As did his laugh. Tristan’s smile and eyes, when he made love to me, were like nothing I’d ever seen before. Especially during the time we spent at his parents’ last Christmas. That’s when everything between us changed.
Sex between Tristan and I was never ever bad. Or boring. But that one night was all it took to tip the balance of our relationship.
Tristan had taken me for a drive in the Jeep to get away from everyone. His father had asked to speak with both Lark and Tristan. Tristan left his father’s office and was clearly shaken. Taking my hand, he said, “Let’s go for a drive.”
We came upon a trail. “Where does that go?” I asked as I glanced at Tristan.
Stopping the Jeep, he smiled. “One of our hunting cabins. Want to see it?”
Shrugging my shoulders, I shivered.
“Shit, Ryn, baby, are you cold?”
“A little, but it’s really okay. We can keep going.”
Seconds later I was in Tristan’s arms as he carried me down the path. Using his key, he opened the door and set me down inside.
Picking up wood from the rack that sat next to the fireplace, Tristan began building a fire. After he got it good and going, he reached over and pulled the quilt off of the bed and placed it on the floor.
Motioning for me to sit down, I made my way over and sat in front of the fire. The warmth hit my face and immediately began warming up my body.
“Mmm . . . that feels so much better.”
Glancing over to Tristan, I couldn’t help but notice he was staring at me. He had been doing that a lot the last two days. Clearing his throat, he looked at the fire. “Are you having fun here, Ryn?”