The crowd goes wild.
My heart is pounding so hard I swear it might burst out of my chest. I turn to Hunter. “This is absolutely insane, cowboy.”
He finally exhales, a slow grin breaking across his face as relief replaces the tension. “Yeah,” he says.
Then he glances toward the arena where Ace is tipping his hat to the cheering crowd with the wildest smile on his face.
“But damn if he ain’t good.”
I have no idea what is good in this scenario. But I assume, looking at his face, Ace just impressed him. And that makes me happy. I like Ace.
Violet leans in closer to me, her shoulder brushing against mine as another huge cowboy makes his way over to Hunter. This one has brown eyes, and jet black hair. Like the rest, he’s covered in tattoos. “Hunter fucking Sterling. Looks like Ace is back, and even better than before.” He greets Hunter with a smile.
“Jett,” Hunter says back.
“Lola. Meet my cousin. Jett Lawson,” he says, and then looks to Jett. “And this is Lola Sterling. My wife.”
Jett's dark eyes go wide, and he clears his throat. “Wow. Didn’t expect that news to be part of my day,” he jokes, extending his hand to me.
I take it. “Nice to meet you.”
He grins. “Welcome to the crazy family, Lola.” He turns his attention back to Hunter. “I gotta talk to you, meet me by your truck,” he says, quietly enough so that no one else can hear, but me and Hunter.
“Alright.”
He then leans in and whispers something else to Hunter, something I can’t quite hear, and pulls back.
Hunter's hand squeezes mine as Jett says goodbye to me and lights a cigarette, heading away from us casually, but not before eye fucking my best friend first.
“Okay. He was hot, too. Hunter has very good-looking relatives,” Violet whispers, instantly relieving my anxiety.
Hunter takes a breath. “Violet. You have a better chance with Jett than you do with Ace. His heart already belongs to someone else.”
Violet sighs. I catch her staring at Ace as he walks over. “Are you one hundred percent?”
I nudge her side, hoping she might stop talking.
“Colten, can you stay with the girls while I see Jett?” Hunter asks.
Colten grins. “Yeah. This job seems like a breeze compared to the other shit you have me do.”
Hunter pins him with a stare. “You’re talking about my wife.”
Oh my god, are they about to start fighting? I can’t work them out. They’re both stone-faced, staring at each other.
And then, they both erupt into laughter.
“Look after my wife, Colt.”
He gives Hunter a salute. Before I can ask any questions, Hunter turns to me, grabs my face, and kisses me so damn hard I can’t think straight anymore.
“I won’t be long,” he says. He nods to Ace, who doesn’t even get a chance to speak to us; he’s running after Hunter.
“Great job out there!” Violet calls to Ace as he breezes past us.
“Throw him your panties next time, Violet, that might get his attention,” Colten tells her with a serious expression on his face.
Violet chews her lip, almost like she’s seriously debating that advice.