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She smiles, a little glimmer of wickedness in her eyes. “You haven’t heard my question yet.”

I cross my arms over my chest. “I’ll play along. Need to know what?” She has my full, undivided attention.

After a brief silence, I’m stunned she actually came out with it.

“Do you want more, if Phoebe wasn’t my best friend?”

I love how her voice lowers, as if we’ll be overheard. There’s only one way to answer it, and that’s with honesty. “Yes.”

I don’t know whether that’s the answer she was expecting, because when those pretty chocolate-brown eyes meet mine again, she looks perplexed. Her brows knit together in frustration. “This is a bitch.”

I link my hands behind my head, feeling said frustration ten-fold. “I know.”

Her gaze trails up my body, landing on my biceps. “And we can’t act on it.” It’s not really a question, more a fact.

“Do you want to act on it?”

She sits up a little straighter. “What if I did?”

“What about Phoebe?”

“I’ve thought about this a lot⁠—”

“Have you?”

Pearl chews on her lip for half a second, then nods.

“I have.”

I lower my voice, too, enjoying this game. “What happened during these thoughts?”

“Bad things.”

Her answer goes straight to my cock. “Pearl Quinn, are you flirtin’ with me?”

She fucking is.

“What if I am?”

I would never make the moves on her, as much as I’ve wanted to touch her since that first day we met out at the ranch. That would be wrong and selfish. I didn’t come here to lust after my daughter’s best friend, goddamnit. And now here I am, doing that very thing.

“I’d say we need not play with fire. Eventually, someone will get burned.”

“So, basically, we’re screwed either way.” She sighs as I let go of my fingers and press my palms against the cool marble instead.

“It’s one thing admitting I like my daughter’s best friend. It’s quite another actin’ on it.”

“You’re right, and neither of us has been with anyone for a while, so it’s only natural that we’d be feeling like this because we see each other all the time,” she babbles. “And you’re obviously handsome and have a great body⁠—”

“Nice of you to notice,” I quip.

“It isn’t like I haven’t noticed.” She spreads her good arm out to me, motioning up and down. “Plus, every time I see you, you’re practically half naked.”

My shoulders shake with laughter.

The problem is? I like her noticing.

“The whole damn town noticed.”