Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Connor

" Y ou looked so lonely over here all by yourself. Figured I'd keep you company."

I turned my head slowly, my expression void of any emotion. "Don't feel you need to do me any favors," I deadpanned.

His grin was smug as hell, showcasing unnaturally-perfect white capped teeth. It was taking everything I had not to knock those teeth down his throat.

He hefted himself onto the stool beside me, the stench of the cheap cologne he'd obviously bathed in giving me an immediate headache. The guy was fucking good on a bull, as much as I hated to admit that. Most of the time we were neck and neck. That was the reason Dusty had taken him on, after all. He wouldn't back a nobody. But on top of being an asshole, he also didn't know how to spend the money he'd been coming into lately if the eye-watering stink coming off him and the tacky veneers were anything to go on.

"Seems like a runnin' theme for you lately, huh?" His grin grew even wider. "Or maybe you just keep strikin' out."

Christ, I really hated this guy.

I waved to get the bartender's attention, pointing at my empty glass when I caught his eye. The smart thing to do was leave, but I didn't want to give this prick the satisfaction of thinking he'd run me out. For some reason, he'd created this competition between us, and it extended beyond those eight seconds in the arena.

Dusty wasn't the only person in my life to throw me over for this piece of shit.

I snatched up the fresh whiskey as soon as the bartender placed it in front of me and drank down half before turning to face the guy. "Do I need to be concerned with how much you're watchin' me, Grimes? I gotta tell you, this shit's getting a little creepy."

His cheeks flushed with anger as his expression grew hard. "Amber says hi, by the way."

It was a well-placed shot, bringing her up, and I fucking hated that it still managed to get to me, even after all this time. Fortunately, I managed to keep my expression neutral and my body loose, masking the raging storm inside of me that was coiling around my muscles and heating my blood to a boil at the mention of my ex's name.

Instead of letting him think he'd gotten the best of me, I allowed my lips to curl up in a smile just as cocky as the one he'd been wearing when he'd sauntered up to me. "Is that right? You might want to try stepping up your game if I'm still on your girlfriend's mind like that. You know, there are books that can teach you how to please a woman."

That flush grew even deeper at the realization that he'd set himself up for that one. "She's not just my girlfriend anymore." He adopted that look of arrogance again that made it so hard not to punch him. "She's my fiancée now." It took all my strength to keep from squeezing the glass in my hand so hard the fucking thing shattered. I would have been lying if I said I hadn't seen this coming. On top of being a bitch, Amber was the most conniving, opportunistic woman I'd ever known. I wasn't surprised in the least. But that didn't mean it didn't feel like I'd had a hot poker shoved into my chest.

But I would be damned if I let that show. Instead, I reached over and clapped him on his shoulder just as my cellphone started to ring from where I'd placed it on the bar when I first showed up. "Congratulations, buddy. Should take the sting out of placing below me tonight, huh?" I said with a saccharine grin as I stood from my stool and fished a few bills out of my wallet, tossing them on the bar—more than enough to cover my tab and his. "This round's on me then. Enjoy my sloppy seconds while it lasts."

With that, I snatched up my phone and swiped the screen, brushing that fucker off before he could get another word out. "Hello," I answered as I turned on the heel of my boot and started toward the exit.

"Glad you aren't so famous you don't answer your phone."

Pushing my encounter with that jackass out of my head, I smiled at the sound of Zach's voice, his humor carrying clearly through the line. I started for the exit, making sure not to limp as I moved through the crowd. Last thing I needed was for someone to get a picture of that shit and post it all over social media, or to give Vance the opportunity to start spreading rumors. My agent was still finessing some of my sponsors that had gotten a little shaky after the first injury, assuring them I was good to go. I made really good money rodeoing, but those sponsorships were key. The underwear ad I'd done a few years back still made me a shitload of cash.

"I try to keep a firm hold on my roots. Keeps me humble."

His bark of laughter rang in my ear. "Humble my ass," he ribbed. "Now a good time? Sounds kind of rowdy where you are. Need to call me back?"

"No. It's all good. I'm on my way out anyway."

I could hear Zach's smile carrying through the line as he said, "You sure? I'd hate to interrupt whatever game you were probably runnin' on those poor, unsuspecting ladies down there."

I managed a chuckle that I hoped didn't sound as hollow as it felt as I pushed out of the bar and stepped into the dimly lit parking lot. I didn't used to mind my reputation. Hell, after everything with Amber imploded, I did what I could to live up to it since I sure as hell wasn't going down that road ever again. But lately it had started to feel more like a heavy weight around my shoulders, dragging me down, than something fun.

Not that I was going to bother saying any of that to him. There was no way I was getting into the fact that there was no woman tonight, or hadn't been any other night for months. Not since before I left his ranch and headed back out on the circuit. And I sure as hell wasn't getting into why . He was friends with both me and Ivy, and I was sure he'd skin my ass alive if he knew I'd touched her.

That was a fight I didn't feel like having.

"Yeah, well, you know me," I said, adopting a non-committal tone. "Just livin' the dream." I quickly moved to change the subject as I closed in on the motel right across the street from the bar. I could have afforded something nicer like a room at the five-star hotel that douche-nozzle Grimes was staying at ten minutes away, but I wasn't picky about where I slept. As long as it was clean and had a bed, I was good. "How is everything goin' over there. How is I—Rae?"

I had to swallow down the desire to inquire about Ivy and quickly covered it up by asking about his fiancée instead. Zach had always been a bit of a grumpy bastard, but when Rae came into his life, she managed to cast light on the shadows of his past. She chased away my friend's demons—literally and figuratively. I might be against commitment like that for myself now, but I was happy for Zach that he'd found a good one.

"Everything's great. Rae's really kickin' ass managing the ranch. Really whipping this place into shape. And speakin' of kicking ass, we watched your ride tonight. You killed it, brother. Proud of you."

I paused halfway through the parking lot. "You guys watched?"

"Of course we did. We watch all your televised rides if we can. Even had a few friends over. Hal, Raylan, Ivy, and a few others. Kind of made a thing out of it."

My chest started to warm at the knowledge that my friends had been watching my rides... at least until I remembered what happened afterward. "Did you watch..." I cleared my throat and tried to swallow down the knot that had suddenly formed. "Did you guys watch everything?"

I knew the answer just as soon as Zach started laughing. "You mean the interview afterward? Yeah, man. We all watched that. I bet that chick's the one you plan on hooking up with tonight, huh? Tell me I'm right. I bet Rae twenty bucks it would be her."

Fuck my life.

I let out a heavy sigh and reached up to rub at the pulsing throb that had started in the middle of my forehead as I crossed the quiet asphalt road between the bar's parking lot and the motel's.

It wasn't out of the ordinary for me to give an interview after a ride, especially when I'd placed at the very top. They had to be my least favorite part of this job, but tonight's was made even worse when an overzealous buckle bunny came running up when I wasn't looking and launched herself at me, grabbing hold of my face and sealing her lips on mine right in front of the reporter and camera man. The jostle had sent a sharp stab of pain through my knee, knocking the wind right out of my lungs, and instead of pushing her away, I ended up holding on to the woman to keep from toppling over, playing off the encounter with a laugh and the charm I was known for. Anything to keep from showing how much pain I was in.

As soon as the cameras stopped rolling I did the best I could to disentangle from the woman without causing a scene. My gut twisted painfully as I reached the door to my room and pulled my key from my pocket. "So... you all saw that then?"

Please say no. Please say no, I silently chanted. Maybe I'd get lucky and Ivy had left early or something.

"Yep," he answered with ease. Goddamn it! "So am I right? Did I win that twenty from Rae?"

I heaved out a heavy sigh and let myself into my room, flipping on the light as I entered. The place had been built sometime in the eighties, and while it was clean, it hadn't been updated in some time. The bedding looked like something you'd find at your grandmother's house. A floral monstrosity that matched perfectly with the doilies covering the ugly yellow pine furniture.

As soon as I shut the door behind me, I let go of all pretenses that I was fine and hobbled over to the bed, plopping down on the edge and straightening out my leg so I could rub at the pain in my knee. "Sorry, man. Looks like you lose this time."

"Damn it. She's never gonna let me live this down."

I faked another laugh while my insides churned like the ocean in the middle of a hurricane. I hated that Ivy had seen that. It was just another thing to add to the list of reasons why I was the world's biggest asshole. There were a million better ways I could have handled things after our night together, but I'd freaked out. She'd made me feel things I swore to myself I was never going to feel again. As I moved inside her, looking down at her writhing body beneath mine, there had been a moment—a flash, there and gone in the blink of an eye—where I could have sworn I'd seen my forever shimmering in her sapphire eyes, and I lost it.

I was sure Ivy already hated me for how I'd bailed on her, and I couldn't fault her one damn bit. But if she didn't, seeing that chick clinging to me like a spider monkey during that interview would most definitely be the final nail in the coffin. Not that it mattered. That one night was all we were ever going to have. I left for a reason. I couldn't give that woman what she deserved. She was too damn good for me in every single way, and I didn't have a doubt in my mind that she knew that now.

We were better off like this. She was better off. And hopefully, if I repeated that in my head enough, I would finally start to believe it. Maybe then I would quit thinking about her. I would stop drafting and deleting text messages to her every damn day.

"Well, I guess I should let you go. Let you get back to your night. I'm sure you have better things to do than talk to me," Zach said after we shot the shit for a few more minutes, catching each other up on our lives. Sad thing was, talking to him was the most enjoyment I'd had in way too damn long. It made me miss Hope Valley and Safe Haven Ranch. Made me miss the months I'd spent there.

It made me miss her .

I preferred talking to him than the silence of my motel room, but instead of saying as much, I made sure my tone was light and casual as I said, "Yeah, for sure. But I'll be seein' you in just a few weeks. Can't get married without your best man, right?"

The smile in his voice was clear as a bell. "Christ, I can't believe the wedding's almost here."

"You get cold feet, I've got you covered," I teased.

He let out a short chuckle. "Not a chance in hell. I feel like I've been waiting my whole life to make that woman mine. I would have married her a million times by now if she hadn't insisted on goin' all out. I can't fuckin' wait."

"I'm really happy for you, brother," I said, a genuine smile pulling at the corners of my mouth. "Really happy. Rae's great. And there's no one better equipped to deal with your grumpy ass."

"Don't I know it," he said jovially. "Well, I'll let you go. See you soon, man. In the meantime, keep kickin' ass out there."

"Will do."

I hung up and dropped the phone onto the bed, falling backward onto the mattress as the silence surrounded me. There were only a few weeks until I'd see Ivy again, and something told me I needed every minute of the time between now and then to prepare to face her.