Rod leaned in for a kiss. She turned her head and his lips slid over her cheek.
“Some greeting,” he said.
“I’m sorry, it’s just—”
The whoosh of a toilet flush screamed in her ears.
Rod’s eyebrows shot up.
“My mother,” Sydney said, her voice shaking.
God, Sam, please don’t come out of the bathroom!
No such luck. The squeak of the bathroom door brought Sam into the room.
His smile turned downward when he rested his gaze upon Rod. “Uh, who’s this, Syd?”
Rod strode forward, brash and businesslike as ever. He held out his hand. “Rod Kyle. Sydney’s fiancé.”
Sam left Rod’s hand in midair. He turned to Sydney. “What the fuck is going on here?”
“This isn’t what it looks like,” Sydney said.
She wasn’t sure which man she was talking do. Did it make a difference?
She wasn’t in love with Rod. She’d planned to break if off with him after the rodeo. After she won a purse. Even if she didn’t. But how could she get Sam to believe that now?
And how could she explain this to Rod? She’d hoped for an amicable parting. That wouldn’t happen now.
Sam, though fully clothed, was clearly disheveled. What would Rod think? Especially since she’d told him she was saving herself for marriage?
And Sam?
She looked like a little slut cheating on her fiancé.
And that’s exactly what she had done, her own feelings aside. She should not have slept with Sam while she was still engaged to Rod. She should have broken up with Rod before she came here. She’d meant to. Why hadn’t she just grown some guts and done it?
“I’m thinking it’s exactly how it looks,” Sam said. He took his Stetson from the desk. “Thanks for a good time. I’m outta here.” He slammed the door behind him.
“Who the hell is he?” Rod asked.
“A friend. A brother of a friend, actually.” At least that was the truth.
Rod grabbed her hand. “Where’s your ring?”
“At home. In my safe. You know I don’t wear jewelry when I compete.”
“A good excuse to leave it home, isn’t it?” Rod’s lips twitched. “Did he spend the night here?”
How had she made such a mess of things? The last five years had been the most wonderful and the most terrible of her life at the same time.
How had it come to this?
“I asked you a question,” Rod said again. “Did he spend the night here?”
Sydney shook, afraid. Rod was not a violent person, at least as far as she knew, but he was a powerful businessman. He could hurt her in worse ways than physically.
She slowly nodded her head.