Stealing Hearts (Wild at Heart #1)(12)

He slings his arm around Rhett’s broad shoulders. “You see, Paige, we’ve gotten ourselves in a pickle, but my brother can get us out of it if he’s married.”

“And you think he should marry me?” I ask dubiously.

Jace gives me a smile that I’m sure has charmed the panties off dozens of groupies. “You’d be perfect.”

“Why? Because you think I’m desperate?” I shove my plate away from me. “Look, I know I’m not doing great at the moment, but that doesn’t mean I want to marry some rando.”

Rhett flinches. “I’m not some rando.” But then he sighs. “For the record, I think this is a terrible idea too.”

Jace clucks his tongue and sinks back in his chair. “Y’all, don’t get your knickers in a twist.” He points at me. “You need physical therapy and health insurance. Guess what? We have great insurance. Bet you could get your ankle all fixed up over the next few months, and then you can go back to your cheer camp right as rain.” Then Jace turns to Rhett. “And you need a wife so Harlan loans you that money. Paige is perfect. She’s not gonna rat you out and ruin this for us.”

I wrap my arms around myself. “Why do you need a loan?”

Rhett rubs the back of his neck. “Our father’s nursing home bill tapped us out. His life insurance should’ve covered it, but he canceled it without telling us. Between that, alimony, a second mortgage we didn’t know about, and the regular operating expenses around here, we have a serious cash flow problem. We really just need to gut it out until this fall when we can take our cattle to market.”

“I was sorry to hear that your dad passed.”

“He was an asshole.”

I chuckle. “Well, I didn’t want to say that.”

Rhett stares at me so intently, I look away. I can’t believe this conversation. “So you need a wife. Don’t you have a girlfriend you can ask?” It’s been years, and I’ve spent all of that time fortifying myself against this man, but for some reason, I’m afraid of his answer.

“No girlfriend. Pretty much swore off dating when Amber and I got divorced.”

“What about a friend with benefits?” My heart stops beating as I wait for him to answer.

Jace nudges Rhett. “You said Darlene’s a good lay, and she seems like a nice person. What about her?”

Darlene must be a friend he sleeps with. My heart sinks, and internally, I shake my head at myself. I will not care what Rhett does with his free time or his dick.

Rhett closes his eyes. “Jesus Christ, Jace. Will you shut the fuck up?”

Jace snickers. “What? People are gonna see you and your ‘wife’ around town. This needs to be believable. Darlene always looks like she wants to maul you, so I don’t think it’ll be a stretch. Plus, she’s hot.” He holds his hands out to show us what her boobs look like.

My taco feels like it’s going to surge back up.

Rhett smacks him over the back of the head. “You’re not being helpful.”

Jace just laughs. “Just to recap, we have Darlene, who might bang you through your headboard, or Paige…” Glancing at me, he hums. “Who looks like she might puke. You okay? My brother isn’t that bad, I swear.”

I stare out the window. “I don’t want to be the laughingstock of town again.”

Rhett stares at me hard. “What does that mean?”

I don’t know why I’m being so honest with him, but I can’t bring myself to lie. “On the afternoon I told you about Amber, I was really nervous I would forget what to say, so I wrote down some notes. They must’ve fallen out of my pocket when I jumped out my window. I think Irma found them because she told her friends. People made fun of me for it for years, all through high school. Until I left for college.”

“Shit, I’m sorry.”

I shrug. “Wasn’t your fault I’m an idiot. I should’ve kept my mouth shut. It was none of my business. Trust me, I’ve learned my lesson.”

His gruff voice gets soft. “For the record, you were right about everything.”

Jace sing-songs, “We tried to tell you.”

“Don’t you have someplace to go?” Rhett asks.

He slaps Rhett on the back. “Love you, bro.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Jace wanders down the hallway to one of the bedrooms, and then I’m alone with Rhett for the first time in seven years. He sighs. “My brothers never liked Amber, but I thought she’d grow on them.”

I’m jittery, like I might jump out of my skin, but I force myself to sit still. “I wish I’d been wrong about her. I take no pleasure in being right.”

He sighs again, and the weariness of it makes my heart hurt. “You tried to warn me, and I didn’t take it well. I want to apologize for how I responded. I would’ve done this sooner if you’d picked up the phone when I called.”

“I pretty much thought I might avoid you for the rest of my life.” I finally have the courage to look at him. His soulful dark eyes pierce straight through me, and I tighten my arms around my waist. It pains me to admit this, but I want him to know. “You don’t want to marry me. I, uh, I’d be a terrible wife. Maybe your friend Darlene is the better option.”