The Holiday Heartbreaker Collection: The Complete Operation XMAS and Christmas Cowboy Bachelor Auction Series by Hunter Avery

Author:Hunter, Avery
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-12-20T16:00:00+00:00

3

Kate

Having Rhys at the dinner table is just like old times.

He had pretty much been a permanent fixture around our household from the time we met in kindergarten. I grin as I remember the first time I laid eyes on him. He’d been slightly unkempt, with overgrown hair and clothes that didn’t match well.

I later learned that was because Harmony didn’t want to stifle his independence by choosing his clothes for him.

“I just want clothes that look right together,” he’d said to me later, in a sad little kid voice that was impossible to imagine coming out of the man across the table. Rhys is well over six feet and has one of the most muscled physiques I’ve ever seen. The guy’s pure granite, although he’s still got the handsome, open face I remember from when we were kids.

Anyway, being a bossy little miss, I strode up to him the first morning of kindergarten and pointed out his red shirt didn’t go with his green pants. In response, he smeared paste in my face, so we tussled, rolling around on the ground fighting until Mrs. Glenstein forced us apart.

She had marched us to the principal’s office, and by the time my parents arrived, Rhys and I had overcome our differences and were well on our way to becoming best friends.

I hope that hasn’t changed. I accept the circulating platter of rolls, taking one before passing it on to Rhys, who then hands it to my sister, Lake. Our eyes meet, and I can’t resist giving him a soft smile.

His cheeks flush, nostrils flaring, and his eyes light with heat for a moment. What does he see when he looks at me? Am I transmitting heartfelt happiness like I hope to, or is he sensing the deep-seated hunger hidden beneath my sweet smile?

Judging from his response, there must be a hungry edge to my look, because he shifts subtly in his seat, as though his pants suddenly shrank three sizes.

“Your beef stew is as fabulous as ever, Mrs. Campbell.” He smacks his lips appreciatively after taking a big bite.

“Are your folks still vegan?” asks my dad with a faint hint of disapproval.

The Campbells are known for their stud farm and thoroughbred horse breeding, but we also have a lucrative cattle business, thanks to our sprawling lands. We don’t sell nationally, but we have a steady side business supplying folks and restaurants around the area.

Rhys grimaces. “They were vegan way before it was trendy to be so. I can’t see that ever changing.”

His parents are unique and sometimes their carefree lifestyle troubles Rhys, but their veganism is one of the things I admire about them. They stick to it strictly for philosophical reasons, and it is one of the few things that hasn’t been a flaky come-and-go aspect of their lives.

I’ll never be vegan, but I respect their commitment to it.

“I remember when you used to come over here starving.” My mom clicks her tongue in disapproval. She’s clearly remembering how scrawny he was when we met.

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