Falling for Jillian (Love Under the Big Sky 3)
“You had a fucking bet going on whether or not I’d bang Zack?”
“Of course. The sexual chemistry between you two is off the charts. It was just a matter of time.” Lo shakes her head.
“When did you say it would happen?” I ask her.
“I thought you’d hold out until New Year’s.”
I laugh and then shrug, already feeling better. “Well, it happened.”
“When?” Cara asks and dives back into the pan of brownies.
“Last weekend. Seth spent the weekend at a friend’s house, so I went to the ranch.”
“Hold up.” Cara holds up a hand and then shoves it through her hair. “You were at the ranch all weekend and I never saw you once?”
“It’s a big ranch, Cara.”
“Okay, so get to the good stuff,” Lauren interrupts. “Tell us everything.”
“Well, at first I wasn’t going to sleep with him. We were just going to hang out.”
“Yeah, I tried that with Josh,” Cara says. “It obviously didn’t work for me either. The King boys are just too hot for that.”
“Yeah, and then the roads got too icy for me to drive back to town, and then one thing led to another, and then next thing I knew it was Sunday and Seth was home and we were snowmobiling and playing video games and having dinner.” I pull my knees up to my chest and wrap my arms around my legs.
“So it didn’t suck,” Cara says.
“No, it was fun.”
“What’s the problem?” Lo asks.
“Well, I spoke with Zack that night after I got home, but haven’t heard a word from him since then. I’ve texted him a couple of times, but nothing.” I shrug in exasperation.
“It’s only been three days,” Cara says with a frown.
“He said he wanted to see me this week and would call.” I sound ridiculous. “Am I becoming one of those girls who checks her phone every three seconds and stalks his social media?”
“Zack doesn’t do any social media,” Cara replies with a grin.
“I know, I checked—and that makes me a tiny bit psycho.”
Lauren laughs. “Did you drive past his house? Call his mom? Hire a PI?”
“Of course not.”
“Then I’d say you’re good.”
“Why didn’t you just call one of us to talk it out?” Cara asks. “I live on the same property. I have the inside scoop, you know.”
“What do you know?” I lower my legs and help myself to a brownie.
“Well, he probably didn’t call because he’s been in the barn with a sick horse for the best part of the last few days.” Cara sips her coffee and I feel like the biggest idiot on the face of the earth.
“I’m a moron,” I whisper.
“No, you’re just a woman who wants attention from the man she’s currently sleeping with,” Lauren replies and pats my shoulder. “That’s understandable.”
“He said he’d call, and when he didn’t, it pissed me off. Most men promise the world and then typically end up disappointing you.”
“Not always. You’ve just had shitty luck with men.” Cara crosses to the coffeepot to refill our cups. “He’ll call. He and Josh have been out with the vet and that horse almost nonstop. The poor thing.”
I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. “He could have at least returned my texts.”
“Zack’s famous for forgetting his phone in the house. It’s not yet habit to grab it—he spent too many years in the field and they didn’t have cell phones out there.”
I nod thoughtfully. She’s right. Of course he was too busy being worried about getting blown up by a roadside bomb to think about carrying a cell phone.
And I’m acting like a lovesick teenager. “I need to get a grip,” I mutter in disgust.
“I think it’s great.” Lauren stirs her coffee and then props her elbows on the table and takes a sip. “I hope it works out.”
“We’re just getting to know each other better.”
“Yeah, while nekkid,” Cara says with a giggle.
“That’s the best part,” Lo agrees. “What about Seth?”
“What about him?”
“How is he reacting to it?”
“Good question,” Cara agrees.
“He doesn’t know that we’re seeing each other. We all hung out together on Sunday and it went really well.” I shrug and smile. “Zack’s a great dad. They’re adorable together. I don’t know who’s more endearing: Zack, Seth, or that sweet dog of theirs.”
“So you’re cool with hanging out with Seth. It’s not just about the sex with his dad.” Lauren is watching me calmly and Cara tips her head to the side, waiting for my answer.
“I don’t know what this is yet, but it’s not just sex,” I admit softly. “If that was the case, I wouldn’t have stayed around after Seth got home. The sex is great, but so is just being with them. I like them.”
“Awesome.” Cara grins as Lo yawns.
“I’m sorry,” Lo says and blinks rapidly. “I’m not sure why, but I get so tired around this time of day.”
“Late nights with Ty?” Cara asks with a knowing smile.
“That must be it.”
“Ew.” I wrinkle my nose and shudder. “I do not want to hear about my brother and late nights.”
“It’s not just late at night,” Lo adds with an evil grin.
“Yuck.” I cover my ears with my hands and laugh. “Stop talking.”
“Okay, okay, since you’ve had a rough week, I’ll go easy on you.” Lo laughs and then claps her hands. “Oh! The torchlight parade up at the Whitetail Mountain ski resort is happening next weekend! We’re all going, right?”
“Absolutely,” Cara replies immediately as I nod. “Grace and Jacob invited us all to join them at the lodge for the best seats up there.”
“I love it when we know the right people.” I sigh happily and sip the last of my coffee. “How are they, anyway? I haven’t talked to Grace in a while.”
“They seem to be having fun,” Cara says. Grace was a college classmate of Cara’s and they’ve been good friends ever since. After we all gave Grace lessons at the ski resort last month, Grace fell in love with the owner of the resort, Jacob Baxter.