Emily's Cowboy Read Free Page B

her and kissing her had felt like the most natural thing in the world to him, and yet so incredibly pleasing. The feel of her breasts had been such a wondrous thing. There were no words that got close to describing the feel of her soft skin against his.
    “Don’t even try, Mitch. He’s gone again, off in some dream world…”
    Gareth crashed back to reality as Pippa’s words to Rook about him broke through his thoughts. He was back in real time, back to the world where he now lived—the world without Emily.
    “Sorry, guys, I’m finished dreaming. Where’s that beer you promised, Rook?”
    “It’s the one that’s gone warm sitting in front of you, mate.”
    “Yeah, right. It’ll be fine. Thanks,” Gareth said. He picked up the bottle and took a mouthful of the amber fluid, putting his memories back where they belonged—locked up tightly in his mind where they could not cause him any added pain.
    ”So what did I miss? What’s the latest on the big day? Any new drama you need your Cowboy to wrangle back under control, Pippa?”
    Gareth had been both delighted and horrified when Pippa had asked him to stand up for her as a pseudo-bridesmaid. She had wanted her best friend—Cassie—Riley Walters and Gareth to act as her side of the bridal party. Luckily for Gareth, Riley had been equally horrified at the idea, and so they had been saved from what sounded like an uncomfortable ordeal. Gareth really cherished his newfound friendship with Pippa, but really? Friendship only went so far…
    “Huh, you’re just still trying to get back into Pippa’s good books after you refused to be her bridesmaid at our wedding.” Gareth could not miss Rook’s smug grin as he took a gulp of his beer.
    It was always like that between Gareth and Rook these days—both trying to score points over one another where Pippa was concerned.
    “Look, I just didn’t want Riley to feel too bad over the whole thing, so I sided with the guy. What can I say? I’m sensitive that way.”
    The ensuing laughter over his comments helped Gareth banish any residual sorrow from his reminiscing over Emily, and for the rest of the night he kept his mind locked onto the present, enjoying the friendly banter with his friends but still refusing to acknowledge any attention from the female crowd at the popular nightspot.
    Gareth was relieved that he and Rook were back to normal. Their friendship had hit a few rough spots during the whole Rook-and-Pippa drama. But they were solid again—even the perpetual teasing was just goodhearted fun. Gareth was thankful for his teammates being the stand-up guys they were, otherwise he would never have been able to deal with the life he now led, the constant training, travelling between each game and Gareth’s biggest nightmare—public appearances.
    He did love the fact that through his unasked for notoriety he could do some good in the community. Gareth enjoyed being able to bring some cheer to sick kids with his visits to children’s hospitals, or to assist charities and other good causes with fundraising by lending his services, be it standing around looking stupid or donating some signed piece of memorabilia. That was the upside of his playing footy—that and actually being on the field. Playing rugby league was his life, being pitted against rival teams, revelling in his competitive nature, his desire to be the best. But with all that came the drawbacks—the press, the spotlight, the ever-present groupies and the pain of training.
    Thoughts of training had him remembering the following day’s recovery session. Thankfully, Brodie had set it for mid-morning and not the usual crack of dawn schedule that he usually favoured. That probably coincided with the fact Brodie was at the club with his stunning redheaded wife, which was not a usual occurrence of late, as Caitlin had recently given birth to the couple’s second child. Both Brodie and JT were now proud fathers, with a boy and girl each. Gareth loved