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“Jesus,” I muttered, sitting up properly and crossing my legs, crisscross applesauce style. “I didn’t know you were such a stickler. My knees are stiff.”

“Do you know what would happen if we got into an accident and you were sitting like that?”

I raised my hands in surrender. His concern for my well-being caught me off guard, but I decided to ignore it and replied to his previous question.

“But no, you grump. You’re my only client. I don’t usually get my hands involved anymore. That’s what my team is for.” I hadn’t been out of the office for this long in ages. Laney was holding down the fort, ensuring everything met my high standards. Technically, I was still on call, but so far, there were no fires to put out.

Maybe this time away was a reminder that I could trust my team more and take a step back, even enjoy the home office I rarely used.

Colton’s focus didn’t waver from the road, his hand resting on the top of the steering wheel, his arm fully extended. He drove with his seat pushed back further than what seemed typical, legs spread wide, and the way he filled the space sent a shiver through me. He was all-consuming, not just in the physical space he occupied but in my thoughts too. Around him, my coherent thoughts slipped away, replaced by the endless intrigue of unraveling the mystery that was Colton Stone.

That night we spent talking, I felt like I peeled back a tiny layer of his guarded exterior. He was complex, a man with a past that shaped his stoic demeanor. The discipline it took to build himself into the man he was today fascinated me, made me admire him more than I was willing to admit.

Clearly, he’d been dealt a tough hand but to what extent, I wasn’t sure.

“So, what did I do to deserve the woman in charge instead of Stan, the low-level employee? Was it my good looks?” Colton teased, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Oh, did you know who I was and that’s why you came out? Were you just pretending to think my name was really Tripp at the bar?”

I loved it when he let his guard down, allowing a glimpse of the playful side he usually kept hidden. It felt like he was letting me witness a part of him that few got to see.

“You caught me,” I replied, my tone equally sarcastic. “Despite what you may think, I had no idea who you were. I sat in the tub the night before I left and secretly prayed you had a wife and weren’t broody or insanely handsome. Unfortunately for me, none of that came true.”

Colton scoffed and shook his head playfully with a light eyeroll—the sight sent butterflies fluttering wildly in my stomach.

Then he tsked and cleared his throat. Colton’s grip on the steering wheel tightened, his knuckles turning white. “Eleanor, you thinking about me in the tub—that’s a thought I really didn’t need right now when there’s no way for me to do anything about it.” His voice carried a teasing lilt, but there was an undercurrent of tension that made my pulse quicken.

There was something about Colton, the way his words rolled off his tongue, steeped in an energy that was dark. I liked that. I liked that he was rugged and tough, a man who embodied a kind of raw masculinity I had always been drawn to but had rarely found.

Cowboys apparently were a whole different breed.

“I told you the other night, I needed change. That’s why I’m here, so let’s get back to business, shall we?” I adjusted my position, turning to face him more directly. I needed to also change the direction of this conversation far away from me in the tub and Colton on my mind.

“We need to work on your smile and poker face. Right now, you’d lose.”

“I’m great at poker, thank you,” Colton shot back, his tone laced with defensiveness.

“You can barely hold back your annoyance with me. What if someone really gets under your skin? Are you going to be able to smile and take it? Are you even media trained?”

“Well, no. I didn’t have to be, but I think I can handle myself.”

I rolled my eyes at his reluctance to admit he might need help. “Responding to the media or engaging with people when a platform is watching is different from faking a smile at a charity event. May I remind you how awful you are at that, by the way? You’ve yet to be ridiculed in front of people or online. People online will come for your throat, and you have to handle it with dignity and grace, not react like a caveman.”

His scowl deepened, but it only made me smile.

“That’s why you hired me, isn’t it? To help prepare for the future of Stone Ranch? Marcus was a wake-up call. I’m here to help you in case of a true PR emergency.”

Colton had gotten lucky this time since everything was kept under wraps, but managing a business came with its own set of dramas, something I knew all too well.

Before he could respond, a loud pop startled me, and I grabbed at my chest, heart racing. I whipped my head toward the window, searching for the source of the sound.

Colton calmly pulled the truck to the side of the road and hopped out. Being the curious person I was, I slipped on my shoes and followed him. He was crouched by the back passenger tire, inspecting it closely.

“It’s flat,” I pointed out, gesturing toward the deflated tire.

Colton’s head turned slowly, his expression dull. “Is it?” he asked. “I hadn’t noticed.”

“Don’t get snippy with me. I didn’t do it,” I retorted, folding my arms over my chest.

He stood up, hands on his hips, surveying the situation. There was no spare in sight, and we were in the middle of nowhere, with not a gas station or person around for miles.