“Doesn’t change the fact that he shouldn’t have left you.”
I didn’t like this man. I would rather face the crowd than hide out here with him. “Don’t make assumptions about something you know nothing about,” I said angrily, before turning and walking back into the light, just in time to see Mase, his eyes scanning the tables for me. His long strides quickened as he walked down the steps and passed several people who were trying to speak to him. When his gaze finally landed on me, he looked relieved.
I hurried toward him, deciding I wouldn’t mention the guy in the shadows.
Mase
Aida was being dramatic. She’d started dating Heath when she came to visit us last year, but it had meant more to her than to him. She’d broken up with him a year ago because he’d cheated on her with a former friend of hers. I had warned her when she started dating Hawkins’s cousin that Heath Stout was a player. Now, a year later, she was having a dramatic breakdown? She knew he’d be here.
I hated leaving Reese, but I knew Aida wasn’t going to let up until I did. I scanned the crowd for Reese. She wasn’t where she’d said she would be. I heard my name called by several people¸ but I kept my focus as I searched for her. When I turned and saw her walking toward me, I let out a sigh of relief. She was OK.
“I’m sorry about that,” I said, as I slipped my hand back around her waist and pulled her against me. “Aida was being a drama queen.”
“It was fine. I didn’t mind at all. I just walked around and checked things out.”
I glanced back to where she had come from and saw a man walking out of the shadows. He was staring at me with an amused smirk, but I didn’t recognize him. He was dressed in jeans and combat boots and had a more impressive ponytail than I did when I pulled my hair back.
“River, come here, I want you to meet someone,” Arthur Stout bellowed. I turned my head to see Arthur walking up to me as he waved at the man with the ponytail.
River didn’t seem to be in a hurry.
Once he reached us, Arthur slapped him on the back. “Mase, meet River Kipling. He’s been running the Stout and Hawkins Steakhouse in Key West. He added fresh seafood to the menu, and it’s now our most successful franchise location. I’ve brought him here to do the same for the Dallas location. He knows his seafood,” Arthur explained. “River, this is Mase Colt. He’s our main supplier of beef cattle, other than the ones we raise ourselves. Colt ranch is about pure quality. You need to make a visit and see what he’s got going on there.”
“From Key West to Dallas. That’s a big change of scenery,” I said, not liking the way his gaze kept going to Reese or the way she tensed up beside me.
“Some scenery is better than others,” he replied, his eyes fixed on Reese. I didn’t like that shit at all.
“Expect River to come for a visit with me next week. I’ve got a few other people I need to introduce him to. Drink up, and take that pretty girl out on the dance floor,” Arthur said, before he turned to River and led him away. River took one more look at Reese and followed him.
“I don’t like him,” Reese said firmly.
I glanced down at her. “Who?”
“That River guy. He rubs me the wrong way.”
Grinning, I leaned down and kissed her lips. I wanted those lips. I also wanted her up against a wall with her short little skirt pushed up around her waist. The boots could stay on.
“I’m not a fan, either.”
Two hours later, I had forced a smile and spoken to everyone my stepdad would have wanted me to. Reese had been safely tucked at my side the whole time. I’d had to remind myself not to get furious when men’s gazes fell to her legs. She was showing them off tonight, and I had to expect that. But I didn’t have to fucking like it.
Reese had surprised me and chosen the ribs for dinner. I was positive she was the only woman eating ribs. Watching her eat a rib was sexy as hell, and I’d had a hard time focusing on my own plate of food; my eyes kept going to her mouth and the way her tongue kept flicking out to lick the sauce off her lips.
I was ready to head home and looked around for Aida. I wanted to leave her here so I wouldn’t have to deal with her wanting to come back to my place tonight to visit. I had plans for Reese and that skirt . . . and those boots.
“Dance with me,” Aida said, and her hand clasped my arm. She had snuck up behind me.
“I’m ready to go,” I replied.
She pouted. “You haven’t danced with me all night. We always dance at these parties.”
I had started to say no again when Reese stepped slightly away from me. “Go, dance. I’ll wait right here.”
“See? She doesn’t care. Let’s dance.” Aida was in a much better mood than the one I’d left her in. She was a little too happy. Her mood swings the past two days were giving me whiplash. I wasn’t used to having her around for this long; she usually only came for a few days a couple of times a year, though she did stay for a while with us last summer.
I didn’t want to dance with her. I hadn’t even danced with Reese, mostly because I was afraid she would panic at the idea of dancing with all these people here. It was obvious she didn’t feel comfortable among strangers. Dancing with Aida seemed wrong.
“Please, please, please,” Aida begged, drawing attention to herself as she pulled on my hand, trying to tug me forward. “We can leave after one dance.”
We would leave as soon as I was ready.
“Go,” Reese said, pushing me gently.
Dammit. I didn’t want to do this. Aida and I had been taught to dance by my mother when we were kids, and it had entertained Aida when she was younger. She hadn’t liked doing things I enjoyed, like fishing, hiking, and camping. Harlow had loved doing all those things with me. But Aida was always different. She enjoyed attention.
She kept pleading and pulling my arm. I wasn’t getting out of this.
“Fine. One dance,” I replied, and she beamed brightly.
I glanced back at Reese as she pulled me forward. “I’ll be right back.”
Reese nodded and smiled at me.
This was a bad idea.
Reese
“Does he always dance with his cousin like that?” a deep voice asked. Although I had only met the guy once—or twice, technically—I knew who it was without looking.
“Yes,” I replied, even though I had no idea.
They really were something. I had no idea Mase could dance like that. People had stopped talking and were watching them now. One dance had turned into two.