Don't Dare a Diamond (Must Love Diamonds 5)

Raine gave her cousin a brief smile. “I guess we’ll see, won’t we?”

Except she knew, she didn’t need anything, least all him.

The next morning, Raine kept her gaze trained straight ahead as she passed the stable office on her way to Fire’s stall.

“Hey—hold up. Can you come in here for a minute?”

Reyes’ loud voice made her pulse skip a few beats before taking off like a thoroughbred from the starting gate. Having already been fighting a bit of irritating breathlessness from the thought of seeing him again this morning, she halted, closed her eyes to suck in a fortifying breath, then blew it back out again before backtracking.

She had whole month of having to see him every day, so might as well get used to it, right?

Right.

Only, one look at the man and any calming effects flew out the barn doors. Yesterday, he’d worn a thin button up over his T-shirt, with the sleeves rolled up, tanned forearms on full display. Today was already warmer than yesterday, and she got the full treat of not only sexy, muscled forearms, but defined biceps stretching the short sleeves of a dark green T-shirt.

She dragged her gaze up from his drool-worthy arms. Damn it all. With his golden-tipped, caramely hair and those long, dark lashes, he was way too attractive for her peace of mind.

When she realized he was giving her a once-over, too, her pulse stumbled again, and her nipples instantly tightened. She crossed her arms to hide the reaction. His lashes lifted at the movement, and heat infused her cheeks as their gazes connected.

“What?” she asked, the word coming out clipped and defensive.

He gestured to a straight-back chair in front of the desk. “I set up a schedule for your training. I figured we should both know what’s going on.”

He set up the schedule, because he figured. She dropped down onto the seat, arms still crossed. “Yeah. We both should.”

He flicked his gaze up to hers as he handed a sheet of paper across the desk. Raine focused on the paper, snatching it from him to scan the agenda line by line. He should’ve figured she should get a say in her own schedule.

A flick of her wrist sent the paper sliding back across the desk. “This isn’t going to work.”

His gaze narrowed as he leaned forward on his forearms. She glanced down, then forced her attention back to his face.

“What’s wrong with it?” he asked.

“For starters, you didn’t even bother to ask me what might work for me.”

“I told you yesterday, we’re doing this my way.”

“It’s my career,” she snapped.

“And it’s my job to get you back where you need to be,” he countered. “Except it’s only part of my job.”

She had to consciously unclench her jaw, though she didn’t speak. After a long moment, he sat back, the leather office chair creaking with his movements.

“What’s wrong with the schedule?” he repeated, his tone unexpectedly softer.

“The only time you’ve left for my workouts is in the middle of the day, and it’s not even enough time.”

“You’re worried about working out?” he asked with a frown.

“Yes.” She drew the word out on purpose. “If you had bothered to ask, or you know, ever worked with a professional rider, you’d know strength training and cardio is just as important as the riding.”

His frown deepened as he reached for the schedule. “You can’t fit it in before or after?”

“If I do my usual three hours in the morning, I’ll have to get up at four-thirty. If I do it after, my day won’t end until after seven o’clock. It’s a part of my job, and it needs to be part of my schedule, not something I fit in after hours.”

“Fine. I’ll move the afternoon riding session back an hour and a half. Then you can fit it in either before or after lunch.”

“I always ride in the mornings and workout in the afternoon. Then I only have to shower once.”