Rodeo King (Dustin Lovers Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

side.
    “Don’t know. Depends.” Steel
threaded his voice as he turned away from them. “Mikey, another Bud.”
    “Be right there,” Mikey called over
his shoulder as he served two fruity-looking concoctions to a couple of young
women at the end of the bar.
    “Well. Um,” Rosemary stammered as
the air sizzled with awkward, uncomfortable tension. “I guess we should get a
table.”
    “I already have one picked out,
darlin’.”
    With his arm still around her waist
and a smirk on his lips, Dave steered her toward the dining area. He led her to
a corner table and held out her chair so she could sit, then leaned down and
nuzzled her neck, before taking a seat across from her.
    She groaned under her breath when
she saw she had a direct view of the bar, and Caleb. His brooding gaze rested
on her as he picked up his beer and took a long draw. Not. Good . She’d
known him most of her life, and his body posture indicated he was seriously
pissed off.
    Irritated, Rosemary turned her
attention to Dave.
    He stared back with a wide-eyed
innocent expression. “What?”
    “You were baiting him.”
    A grin split his face. “Yeah. Isn’t
that what you wanted?”
    Was it?
    She shook her head in silent
denial. Caleb wasn’t worth the emotion it’d take to rile him up. She’d already
spent too many years crying over him. He meant nothing to her now.
    That’s not fair and you know it. She stifled a sigh. No, it wasn’t fair.
    There’d been times, before she and
Caleb ever hooked up, that he’d listened to her woes and offered a shoulder,
advice; hell, just an open ear. When her mama was driving her nuts or her daddy
got itchy and they all wondered if he’d make it through another weekend without
bolting. She’d vent and Caleb would display a lot of patience for a guy
willingly dealing with an idiot teenage girl.
    She shook herself from the memories
when Adrianne stopped by and took their orders. Neither she nor Dave needed a
menu; Rosemary had eaten here often enough to know exactly what she wanted. She
shot a quick glance toward Caleb, noting the two women from the end of the bar
had sidled up next to him. Her mouth tightened, the momentary softening she’d
felt toward him fading fast.
    He seemed quite content to have
those bimbos fawn over him. Something ugly rose up inside her and for a second
or two she wanted to rush over and pull out their bottle-blonde hair. Rosemary forced
her attention back to Dave, who was watching her now with solemn, knowing eyes.
    To his credit, he didn’t say
anything.
    Now it was her turn to ask, “What?”
    Dave leaned over the small table
and took her hand. “Rosemary, you and Carson mean a lot to me.”
    Rosemary shifted uncomfortably,
reluctant to have this discussion. There’d never be anything more than
friendship between them. She thought he understood.
    Her brows squeezed together. Damn
it. She just wanted to enjoy Dave’s company, eat dinner, see a movie . . . and
forget Caleb Johnson ever existed.
    Dave chuckled, although the sound
was devoid of humor. Still holding her fingers loosely, he brought his other
hand up and tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. “Relax, darlin’. I
know you don’t feel the same way. I get that.”
    Rosemary smiled sadly, not knowing
what to say. She didn’t deserve his friendship. “I’m sorry, Dave. You’re a
great guy—”
    “Whoa!” He released her hand and
sat back in his chair, bringing both his palms up in a ‘stop’ gesture. “Don’t
give me the ‘you’re a great guy, we can be friends’ line.” The look he gave her
held real affection this time. “I know you and Caleb have a history. Hell,
everyone knows Carson’s his.”
    She didn’t deny it—never
had—although she didn’t talk about it either. “Ancient history. There’s nothing
between us now.”
    The words rolled off her tongue
easily enough, and yet they tasted like a lie. She frowned, picking up her
dinner napkin and spreading it across her