Page 28 of Dallas Rivals

But lately, that’s impossible too.

Because Miss Saint-Clair has made it her mission to orbit my land like a satellite—always humming songs through her earbuds, talking to every living creature she finds.

Everyone but me, of course.

And somehow, that silence between us drives me crazier than her voice ever could.

This is no way to live.

“Someone’s in a hurry to get back to his ranch…” Kill drawls, that mischievous grin spreading across his face. “Makes me wonder if someone’s got you like that, brother.”

Both my older brothers suddenly look a lot more interested.

“Killian, knock it off,” I grumble. I know where this is going.

“Whooo?” Silas chants, pounding his fist rhythmically on the desk like a damn drum.

“No one! Jesus, you sound like a bunch of old ladies trading gossip over the fence.”

“Killian, tell us,” Silas demands, narrowing his eyes at him.

Kill just smirks at the camera, taking pity on me—but barely.

“No one,” he says finally, pretending to give up. “Just messing with him.”

But the look he gives me through the screen says otherwise.

He knows exactly who he’s thinking about.

Miss Cala Saint-Clair.

My biggest problem right now—and the reason my patience’s been wearing thin.

Kill thinks all the things that irritate me about her are exactly what I like about her.

I told him to stop watching so many damn romance movies.

The world doesn’t work like that.

She gets on my nerves. End of story.

It doesn’t matter how thick her lashes are, or how her waist curves like an hourglass. None of that matters if the person behind it drives you insane.

And that woman—she does.

She does everything backward, and even when the result’s fine, she takes twice as long to get there. I don’t have time for that kind of chaos when I’ve got a ranch to run.

Lucien’s supposed to keep an eye on her, but clearly that’s not enough.

The call finally ends, and I shut my laptop like I’m putting the whole circus on mute. I grab my jacket and head straight for the garage.

My “city car” sits waiting—a military-green Land Rover that barely knows anything beyond the road between Dallas and home.

An hour later, I’m driving through open country again, the flat Texas horizon stretching forever. I turn on Dallas Today, a podcast that talks about market trends and real estate investments.

Useful stuff. I need that information to stay ahead in this business.

Texas real estate’s gone wild the past few years—nearly doubled in value. Low taxes, big money, and that taste for luxury. The northern counties have the priciest estates in the state—sprawling properties with lakes, polo horses, and more land than people know what to do with.