One Night Rodeo by Lorelei James Read Free Book Online

now.”
    “Kyle—”
    “He isn’t allowed to insult you, Celia, ever. I’ve watched him do it enough over the last two years and I couldn’t do anything about it then, but I can stop it now.” He didn’t move an inch. “So apologize to her.”
    “Jesus. All right, all right, I’m sorry.”
    Only then did Kyle back down.
    “How long have you two been—”
    “Married?” Kyle supplied. “Since last night. We’re just on our way home to Wyoming.”
    Breck’s face distorted with an ugly sneer. “Last I knew you didn’t have a pot to piss in. So where are the newlyweds gonna live? In your shitty camper? Or Celia’s horse trailer? Or are you sponging off Celia’s brothers?” He focused on Celia. “I asked you to marry me. And you turned me down for him? A guy who has nothing?”
    Jesus. That stung. Was that really how Breck saw him?
    Isn’t that how you see yourself?
    Celia stomped closer to Breck. “I turned you down because we have vastly different ideas of what commitment means. I’d spent enough nights wondering why you preferred Michael in your bed more often than me.”
    Breck glanced around, but Celia had said it in a low tone so no one had overheard. “But Kyle, Celia? Really? One of my best friends? It’s like a knife in my heart.”
    “Now you know how I felt every time you were with Michael.”
    Breck looked stricken. “But…I never hid that from you, sugar pie.”
    “Being honest about the nature of your relationship with Michael didn’t excuse it.” Celia faced Kyle. “We’re done here.”
    She definitely didn’t need Kyle speaking for her. She’d proven she could handle herself just fine.
    Celia was quiet on the ride to her motel. Kyle didn’t push it—they would have a solid fifteen hours together in the truck, enough time to talk a lot of things through.

Chapter Two

    A knee to the head woke Kyle from a sound sleep. Groggy, he sat up and squinted at Celia. “What the hell?”
    “You snore like a freakin’ bear. And you sleep like the dead, which ain’t a fun combination at all.”
    He scrubbed his hands over his face. Then he looked out the window. They were on I-80 almost to Cheyenne. He’d slept a solid six hours. “You okay?”
    “No. I want a goddamn cigarette. This is why I hate bein’ on the road. I get so fuckin’ bored all I can think about is firing up a smoke. And don’t suggest sunflower seeds. They don’t work.”
    “Didn’t for me either. I had to get a big bag of Dum-Dum suckers.”
    “Chewing on plastic straws was the only thing that worked for me.” She shot him a sideways glance. “Speaking of chewing…when did you quit?”
    “About six months ago. Bet with my mom as an incentive to get her to quit smoking.”
    “Did it work?”
    “Has so far. We both chewed about a million packs of nicotine gum. Did you use pills or gum or anything?”
    “Nope. I quit cold turkey. Three days after I broke up with Breck. Might sound stupid, but I starting smoking with him, so it seemed like I oughta quit when we called it quits. Been a lot tougher to give up than I thought.”
    Kyle looked at her. “Cigarettes were tougher to give up? Or Breck was tougher to give up?”
    “Cigarettes.” Celia tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. “Although there was a lot I liked about Breck or I wouldn’t’ve stayed with him.” She let a beat pass. “Thanks for what you said to him.”
    “I meant every word.” It was the perfect opportunity to bring up the marriage issue. “So we’re telling everyone who knows we stumbled down the aisle…that we’re getting an annulment?” He knew his voice sounded disapproving.
    “I thought we agreed on that.”
    “No, you informed me of your intent to get an annulment. I didn’t argue. But that’s not agreeing with you, Cele. Not by a long shot.”
    “Well, let’s compile a list of who knows about us getting hitched. Tanna. Who’s only told Lainie. Lainie, who says she won’t tell anyone. Devin. Who