…she had been sure she was going to let him.
7
Athena slept poorly that night and was more than a little grateful for the next day being Sunday. Ever since Nate had come to town, it felt like the world was permanently stuck on hyperspeed. The idea of having a day with no work, a day when she could shut herself up in her little apartment and try to make sense of everything, was definitely appealing. She was intent on getting her head right and almost didn’t answer her phone when it began to ring. It was only when she saw that it was Nate calling that she answered, her heart jumping into her throat. After the way they had parted the day before, she didn’t know whether to expect him to be friendly or to chew her out.
“Hello?” she asked, hating the sound of her own nerves but incapable of eradicating the tremor in her voice completely.
“Hey, Athena. What are you up to right now?” he asked, his voice crisp with excitement.
“Um…” she stalled, looking around her woefully empty apartment for inspiration and finding none, “nothing?”
“Good, that’s what I was hoping to hear. Any chance you’d like to go on a hike?”
“A hike?” she echoed, almost laughing with surprise, “Are you serious?”
"Of course I'm serious. I never joke about a thing like that. I'm staying at Ian's place, and I thought it might be nice. Kind of a throwback to when we were kids, you know? He's on my parents' old property now."
“I know,” she answered, her mind going back to the time she had spent scrambling up those Grant hills when she was young.
"Anyway, I thought it might be good for us to get some time around each other when it's just the two of us before things start to get really crazy with this damn show. If you're not interested—”
“No!” she interrupted, a little faster and louder than strictly necessary, “I mean, no, it’s not that I’m not interested. You just caught me off guard, is all. I think a hike sounds great, actually. Nothing like some time in the outdoors to clear your head.”
“My thoughts exactly,” he answered. She imagined that she could hear the grin in his voice, and she couldn’t help but smile.
"It's a plan, then. I'll meet you at the property gate. And don't keep me waiting, Nate, or I'm likely to start this hike without you."
* * *
“I haven’t done this in years, you know? I used to go hiking all the time. I miss this kind of thing.”
“Yeah,” Athena answered, looking at Nate carefully as the two of them ascended the hill they had climbed all the time as children, “me too.”
“Really?” he asked with surprise that sounded genuine, “I would have thought you’d be out here all the time.”
“What, you think I sneak onto your brother’s property to go for long walks?” she laughed, pleased to see the way he blushed at the sound.
“Well, no, not here specifically, but you know. Around. It’s one of the perks of living in a place like this, isn’t it?”
“That’s true,” she agreed, “it is. Assuming you have enough free time to get out and enjoy it. Sadly, most of the time, I don’t. I work two jobs, Nate. Two jobs with unpredictable schedules. Sometimes, I’m lucky to have time to watch a TV show, let alone go for an extended stroll through nature.”
“Right,” he said softly, “sorry.”
The two of them walked in silence for a while, the glory of the afternoon sun washing over them. As they moved, Athena struggled to decide what she thought was really going on here. She couldn’t figure out if he had invited her because he genuinely wanted her company, or if he had some other, less desirable motivation. She almost wanted to believe that it was the latter. It would have made matters easier—drawn the lines between them clearly. It would have made it more believable when she told herself that her little bursts of pleasure over their exchanges were nothing more than folly. She was starting to think that she had him all wrong, though. Everything he had done since meeting her at the gate felt genuine. It didn’t feel like he was trying to work an angle, to get her to throw the competition or anything. It felt like he was interested in getting to know her again, and she didn’t think there were many people in the world that wouldn’t like that feeling at least a little.
“So where is it?” he asked, finally breaking the silence.
“Where is what? What do you mean?” she replied, startled and confused.
“The gym you run,” he said gently. “Where is it?”
She must have looked started, because he started to laugh, “But how do you know that? I didn’t mention it, did I?”
“No, you didn’t mention it. I might look at your profile every once in a while on social media. You know, just to see what kind of trouble you’re getting yourself up to.”
"You do, do you?" she asked, trying to hide how flattered she was. Nate didn't strike her as the type of man to admit to things like online stalking easily. Now that he had said it, he looked uncomfortable, to say the least. She searched her mind for something to say, and when she couldn't come up with anything, reached out and hit him lightly in the arm.
“Ow!” he cried in mock pain, “What’d you go and do a thing like that for?”
“To get your attention, so you’d have a fighting chance.”
“Well,” he answered with a devious grin, “that sounds interesting. A fighting chance for what?”
“To win the race to the top, dummy!”
She took off running before the words were all the way out of her mouth, launching herself forward with the graceful ease of a gazelle. Behind her, she heard Nate curse and laugh at the same time, then take off running too.
Trying to figure out what in the hell was going on with Nate might have been confusing, but this? This was something she could understand. Pure physicality, the feel of the air filling her lungs almost to the point of bursting. With every stride, her muscles loosened up a little more; her reach grew longer. This was her at her finest, and still, she knew that Nate was going to win. They were moving fast now, the top of the hill rapidly approaching and the hill’s trees thinning out considerably. While they were still in the thick of the growth, Athena had had the advantage because she was smaller and more able to make her way through it. Now that things were opening up, he was overtaking her. Not easily, she was making him work for it, but overtaking her still.
When he passed her, she made a quick decision. She had no idea what was going to happen when it came to the rodeo competition at the Strawberry Fest, but she could do something to stop him from his victory now. She reached out, catching hold of his shirt and using it to pull herself forward. The move set him off balance, and he tripped over a protruding root. He pitched forward and threw out a hand to the side and grabbed hold of her, bringing her down with him.
“Oh!” she exclaimed, laughing and trying to get up, “Oops! I didn’t exactly mean it to go that way.”
"How did you mean it to go?" he laughed, trying to get up. She rolled off of him onto her back, but he was still holding onto her. He wound up half on top of her, his strong arms positioned on either side of her. She looked up into his face, the laughter dying on her lips. He was close to her, so close they were sharing the same breath, and suddenly things didn't seem so funny anymore.
“Nate, I—”
"Stop talking, why don't you?" he growled before dipping forward. He kissed her, and everything inside of her felt loose and warm. For a second, she thought about breaking away, but only for a second. The feel of his lips against hers, the spicy taste of him, it made him too irresistible for her to refuse. She was sorry when he finally pulled away, and she thought she saw the same regret on his face as well.
“Shit,” he said unsteadily, “I guess that happened.”
“I guess it did,” she agreed, her face scarlet as he helped her to her feet, “sorry about that. I’m not exactly sure what came over me.”
“Sorry? Are you kidding me?”
“Um, no?” she answered uncertainly, wrapping her arms aro
und herself protectively.
“Well, there’s nothing to apologize for. That was one hell of a kiss, and in my favorite spot in the world.”
“Seriously?” Athena asked, “I’m sure you’ve done plenty of traveling. You’re telling me that out of every place you’ve been in the world, this is your favorite?”
“Most definitely,” he answered with zero hesitation. “There’s no other place quite like it. Seriously, come here. Look at that view.”
He held his arm out to her, and she went to him, allowing him to pull her in close to his side so that the two of them could look out onto the Grant land. The climb had been gradual and even having seen it before, Athena was surprised by how high up the two of them were. She breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly, loving the feel of the wind on her face and his skin against hers.
"This was always my favorite place on the ranch, you know?" he finally said, "When I was young, I’d come here all the time. Of course, it's a whole new view now, if you catch my meaning."
“Glad I could spice things up,” she said with a smile.
“Me too,” he laughed, “although I do want to talk to you about something while we’re up here.”
“Oh, okay,” she answered uncertainly. Whatever it was, she didn’t want it. Not after that delicious kiss. She didn’t want to have been right about him asking her here to work an angle. Still, she couldn’t exactly tell him she was unwilling to listen, and so she stood quietly, looking out at the land and waiting for what came next.
“I’m not sorry about that kiss, Athena,” he started, no hint of humor in his voice now.
“That’s good,” she said slowly, even less sure now than she had been a second ago.
“But we need to be careful here. With this. With whatever this is between us.”
“Is there something here? Something more than just a kiss?” she asked, surprised but happy all the same. Hearing him say those words, she understood that she wanted to experience that kiss again.
“I don’t know,” he answered truthfully, “not yet. But I do know that I’ve been wanting to kiss you since the moment I got here. I don’t think I’d like it if that kiss turned out to be the last one.”
“But we need to be careful…”
"Yes, that's right, we do," he said, "because what we're about to get into is no joke. We're going to have people filming us all the time, and as much as we might want to, we won't be able to control the narrative. At least not completely. I want you to be prepared for it. It has the potential to get ugly, you know?"
“Sure, I know,” she said, grinning up at him, “but it won’t.”
“You’re that sure, are you?” he asked, smiling back at her despite the worry still there in his eyes.
"I'm that sure," she asserted, "people are interested in our rodeo abilities. They want to see the talent, and at the end of the day, that's what's going to matter. The sponsor isn't going to care about the relationship stuff. Everything's going to be just fine. Trust me."
8
“Come on, Nate, I can’t do this! This can’t be part of our responsibilities.”
“Before you lose your cool completely, come on over here, Moore, and let me get a look at you.”
With her lip poked out like one of the kids she taught, Athena did as Nate was asking. He couldn't help it; he burst out laughing. He understood that her distress was genuine, but she was just so damn cute.
“Please, Nate, don’t,” she said reproachfully, “you know I don’t like it when you call me Moore.”
“I do know. Why do you think I do it?” he said with a grin.
“Oh, great,” she said, rolling her eyes dramatically, “everyone’s a comedian.”
“No, come on. I’m just playing. Tell me what it is that’s bothering you.”
“Seriously?” she asked, oozing exasperation and looking down at herself with disbelief, “Look at this! Is this really what the producers are after?”
He looked her over, once quickly to make sure everything was in order and again more slowly, really taking his time. He could see why she was uncomfortable. What she had on now was far from her normal attire, that was for sure. Instead of her typical clothes—suitable for the gym or for working with horses—she had on a pair of cut-off shorts that were short enough to make a man want to see more. On top, she wore a little white tank that made her tan skin glisten under the lights set up by the cameraman. Her hair was hanging halfway down her back, her eyes flashing like they did when she was feeling particularly feisty about something. This time, it was worry. It was written all over her face, and it made him a little sorry for poking fun. He turned to the photographer, who was standing at attention.
“Hey, can you give us a minute?” he asked. The photog smiled, nodded, and took to fiddling with his camera. With that done, Nate turned his attention fully to Athena.
"You really do look fine, Athena. You know that right?" he said, pulling her in closer. She tried to look down at herself doubtfully, but he put his fingers under her chin, lifting her face gently.
“You don’t think I look kind of... slutty?” she asked, a slight tremor in her voice that, for some reason, he found sexy as hell.
“Babe, as far as I’m concerned, that’s half the appeal,” he laughed. She pulled back and punched him in the stomach, softly enough for him to know she was playing but hard enough for it to hurt. He groaned, made as if he was going to collapse, and then put his arms around her waist.
"We've got ourselves a regular fighter here, don't we?" he laughed, kissing her lightly on the top of the head. The logical, calculating part of his brain was telling him to pull back, to have a little self-restraint, for God's sake, but he couldn't help himself. It had been two days since their hike, and he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her and the kiss they’d shared. When he closed his eyes, all he could do was remember how sweet her lips had been, the feel of her breasts pushed up against his chest. The memories were enough to wipe the logical part of him clean out of his head.
“I’m trying to be serious, Nate. Are you sure about this? Is this really what the producers want to see?”
“I have a feeling it’s exactly what they want to see. I mean, they’ve got me standing here without a shirt, right? So at least they’re being consistent in objectifying us both,” he said. She smiled at him, which was promising, but she still looked worried.
“What is it, Athena?” he prompted, “I’ve got a feeling that there’s more going on here than just concern over the attire.”
“It’s nothing,” she said, “it’s just... I’ve been thinking about what you said up there on the hill. About us needing to be careful.”
“Are you starting to think this isn’t a good idea?” he asked, pulling away from her a little so he could get a better look at her. It was a valid question, maybe the only appropriate one considering what she’d just said, but he wished he hadn’t said it all the same. He wasn’t even sure what they were playing at. There was the TV show, and that required a certain amount of salaciousness to get the attention it needed. But it didn’t feel like that was all that was going on. And whatever the rest of it was, he wasn’t sure he wanted to go there.
"What, you and me?" she asked, then flushed brilliantly, "Whatever it is we're doing? Because no, that's not what I want to talk about. It's just that I don't have any idea how to do this. I don't know how to do any of the publicity stuff, and I don't want to wind up embarrassing myself."
"Honey, I don't think that's going to happen. You're a natural," he assured her. She looked up at him suspiciously, and his heart skipped in his chest. Those eyes were enough to make a man forget his own name.
“Are you just saying that because you like my shorts?” she asked, frowning a little.
“They don’t hurt,” he laughed, “but no. I’m serious. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still going to beat you when it’s all said and done, but you don’t need to worry about the rest. We’ll figure it out. And I think it’s safe to say yo
u’ve got the photoshoot thing nailed.”
He closed his arms around her and kissed her on the top of the head again. He breathed in deeply and sighed. Her hair smelled like apples. He didn’t think he would ever be able to smell the fruit again without thinking of her.
“There! That right there!” the photographer shouted, “That’s exactly it! That’s what I was looking for.”
“What’s he talking about?” Athena asked, the two of them turning to look at the man. The look on his face matched the excitement in his voice as he gave them a thumbs up sign. Nate looked down at Athena, who shrugged and smiled.
“The picture. That right there was just what the sponsor was looking for. Sweet, sexy, exactly what the fans want to see. So, as they say, that’s a wrap, folks.”
“Well, there you go,” Athena said quietly. There was nothing wrong with the words, but there was something in Athena’s voice that made Nate look at her again all the same. Her face was serene except for one thin frown line across the length of her forehead.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
“Nothing,” she assured him, even as she shifted away from him. “Honestly. It’s just that I missed my workout by being here. I don’t like missing my workouts. It puts me on edge.”
“Is that all?” he laughed, relieved.
“It is, although it’s not nothing to me,” she answered, her frown deepening a little.
“No, I’m sure it’s not. But don’t you worry. I’ll make up for your workout later tonight.”
9
“He said he’s going to make up for my workout. What the hell does that even mean?”
Athena was buzzing, her entire body full of nervous energy that made her feel like she was going to take flight any minute now. After enduring her first photo shoot, she had been sure that things couldn't get any stranger, but Nate had seen to it that they did just that.
The Cowboy’s Rodeo Rival: Grant Brothers Series Book Three Page 6
