Now, why did she say that? Talking about her exes was not the best way to…whatever it was they were doing right now.

Easton leaned into the counter, taking a fry and popping it into his mouth. “I have a hard time seeing that.”

“You can take the girl out of Wyoming, but you can’t take the Wyoming out of the girl. If I can outdrink you, outride you, and outshoot you, that’s fine. But if I can change a tire faster than you without calling roadside assistance, then you and I aren’t going to last long.”

Easton took a sip of his beer, then asked, “Is this you trying to warn me or warn me off?”

“I suppose that’s up to you.”

He gazed at her.

“What?”

“I was thinking I’m not sure I want to go up a mountain with you.”

“Oh really? Why’s that?”

Leaning in, he let his eyes drop to her lips, but only for the briefest moment. “Because I’m not sure I could leave you up there.”

Damn, that man could heat up a room with a single sentence. The tension between them wasn’t thick enough to cut with a knife.…it was melted chocolate. Warm and gooey and impossible to get off her skin. Dragging her closer as it threatened to solidify into something as sweet but dangerously real.

A little too real. River inhaled a deep, steadying breath.

“I should probably go eat my food,” she murmured.

The low, deep rumble was even better when his voice softened. “I should stay right here.”

River lifted her drink, trying not to look as giddy as she felt. It was the drink. Graham had poisoned her and made her flirt to the point of giddiness. Definitely the diner owner’s fault.

As she walked away, River could hear Graham mutter to Easton, “Hey, buddy. You were going both shoulders there. Just sayin’.”

“Shut up.”

Unable to keep her lips from curving, River stole one more appreciative look at Easton as she joined her crew.

Yeah. She’d noticed the shoulder thing too.

Chapter 6

The evening had been fun—as fun as it could be listening to people screeching into the karaoke machine. By the time they left, Graham’s expression had turned pained. River might’ve felt bad for him if he hadn’t been such a brat.

“It won’t last forever,” Easton promised, clapping a sympathetic hand on Graham’s shoulder.

Groaning into his hands, Graham wasn’t convinced. “Yeah, buddy. I think it will.”

When they left the diner, River drove, having been careful to set her drink aside after a couple of sips. Bree had drunk deep on her Growly Bear, and Jessie had been talking to the gummy bears at the bottom of his glass by the time they left for Easton’s place.