“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the fact that there seems to be something about this woman. She got you to give in and doesn’t seem to care who you are. Isn’t that the kind of woman you keep bitching you never meet in Diamond?”

“She’s not a serious woman,” Ryder said. Not for him at least. Because Ryder was serious about everything. “She’s a tumbleweed. Has no plans to stay here longer than the summer.”

“So? That’s perfect then. Because if you were looking for serious, you would have given in to one of the ladies on the casserole brigade that comes by your home weekly. They’re all serious about wanting to settle down with you. Tempting, I know. But wait a minute!” Huck gasped like a soap opera queen. “You haven’t taken any of them up on their offers lately. You know why?”

Ryder groaned. “Please enlighten me with your wisdom.”

“Because deep down you know what you really want, and it’s not the Suzie Homemaker. It’s the rebel without a cause. Face it, you’re into the chicks—”

“That are bad for me,” Ryder cut in.

Huck shrugged and took a bite of his burger. “Maybe. But I’m not telling you to go marry the woman. I’m telling you to stop lying to yourself about what it is you really want. Otherwise you would have snatched up one of the nice ladies from the church choir by now. Serious or not, you seriously need to take a look at your fridge, because it’s where casseroles go to die, and yet you’re still single.”

Ryder nailed his friend with a glare, but the smug son of a bitch had him there. Because Ryder treated all women in town about the same. He hadn’t dated anyone in a while, mostly because by the time one date turned into two then three, the woman was usually picking out rings or talking about weekend vacations, and that was Ryder’s cue to cut the relationship off ASAP.

“All this coming from a guy who drinks coconut water,” Ryder said.

“It has electrolytes,” Huck protested. “And you should listen to me. I’m all wise and shit about women. How do you think I snagged me such a fine one?”

“Because she took pity on your sorry ass.”

Huck nodded and smiled. “I’ll admit it, I begged pretty hard. But it was so, so worth it.”

Autumn was a wonderful woman and perfect for Huck. But Ryder wasn’t in Huck’s situation. As much as Ryder wished things were different, this happily ever after bullshit wasn’t in the cards for him.

Still, he could try to face this issue with Whitney the best way he knew how. Sure she was alluring. And no, he wasn’t going to make the same mistakes he’d made when he was young.

Besides, avoiding her wasn’t going to happen. Maybe he could make the summer work by befriending her. By setting limits and proving that he could be around her without losing his damn mind and thinking with the wrong head.

Surely the more he exposed himself to her, the more tolerance he’d build up, and soon he wouldn’t want her so badly. Made sense. Good plan.

Willpower was like a muscle. He just had to exercise his until it was as strong as steel.

“I think I know how to deal with this Whitney situation.”

“Oh, do share,” Huck said. “Just don’t tell me it involves you busting out the good ol’ boy charm and pleasantries and being friendly.”

It kind of did.

“Friendly? I slept with her last night.”

And the idea of “friendly” was very different than what Huck was talking about. He wanted to be more than friendly with her. He wanted another night to hear those sexy little gasps. But that was the opposite of what he should do. Unless… Maybe he could pretend they hadn’t already had sex—yeah fuckin’ right, because that was all he’d thought about the past twenty-four hours—and he could treat her like a regular woman in town.

He could show her, and himself, that he could control his urges and stay platonic. He could take her out, have a nice, simple, standard—as in not at all sexual—time, then be on his way. And maybe he could pass off this idea that they were just acquaintances with no attraction whatsoever.

Again…yeah fuckin’ right.

But he had to try. Because one look from those brown eyes chipped away at the tightly tethered order he had over his entire world. Whitney was blowing through that world like a level five tornado, and he knew firsthand how easy it was getting swept up in her.

“I think if we establish a simple friendship, nothing else, everything will be fine and normal.”

“Fine and normal, huh? Sounds sexy,” Huck joked.

“I’m going to treat her like a regular woman, not a one-night stand.”

“Ah crap. You’re going to break out the tie again, aren’t you?”

“No,” Ryder drawled. “I’m going to keep things—”

“Boring,” Huck finished for him, shaking his head. “Have fun with that.”

That was the problem. There was no fun with that. And that was the point! He needed a solid plan. Reverse the other night. Keep Whitney, with her lush mouth and sexy legs, out of his fantasies and keep it platonic.

Now that they were in the same town, a date would be customary to prove to everyone he was as calm and in control with her as he was with everyone else. And Ryder couldn’t deny that he wanted to see her again, but he could stay out of the sack with her. Had to. Once he set that amicable precedent, everything would get back to normal.

“Oh shit,” Huck muttered. “I know that look. You have a plan. It’s the same look you get when you’re about to tell me you’ve reorganized the vacation time spreadsheet.”

“Shut up,” Ryder said with a smile. But he did have a plan. He would prove to himself and to Whitney that he could handle the summer. With her. He wouldn’t alter his schedule and stay away from his sister’s diner. It was the main place he ate, after all. But he would prove he could keep his control, especially when it came to the sassy brunette with an affinity for short shorts. He had nothing to hide, but he did have something to maintain, and that was his will power.

Yeah, he could show her who was in control. Even if it cost him nightly cold showers.

It had been another long day at the BBQ. After seeing Ryder yesterday, a small part of Whitney was hoping she’d see him that afternoon. But he didn’t come in for the lunch shift. Not that she was glancing at the door every time its corner caught and rang the little bell.

She’d asked Penny for as many hours as she could give her, and Penny had obliged. Taking on the lunch and dinner shift would make Whitney’s days hellishly long, but at least the work would keep her busy, and her combined earnings over the summer would be more than enough to get her by for the next chunk of road tripping.

“Can you turn the game up, darlin’?” an older gentleman asked. Herb, she’d come to learn, was a regular, and tonight the diner was packed and almost all the barstools taken.

“Of course.” She smiled and turned up the volume on the TV that hung high over the bar.

Her tables were all set for the moment, so she hung out behind the bar and helped the bartender sling drinks and hand out appetizers. It was busy, but it made for a kind of happy peace. She didn’t have time to think too much. Which was good, since her thoughts either turned toward bad memories or, as of late, good memories. Specifically ones that involved the hot patriarch of the town.

“Still doing okay?” Penny asked, hustling past the bar with plates of food and heading toward the tables.

“Yes, going great.”

She nodded and smiled. Penny ran this place with pride, and it seemed everyone here liked her as much as they did Ryder. The Diamond siblings had roots and family and a town in their blood. That much was obvious.

Whitney didn’t have any of those things. When the summer was over, she’d move on, just the way she liked it. But she could take what bits of enjoyment she could while she was there. Because it was those bits that helped fill the emptiness that grew daily in her chest.