"How long have you been in love with him?"

  My eyes jerk back to Brent. Surely I didn't hear him correctly. "I'm sorry, what?"

  He just looks at me with a smile on his face. "I said, how long have you been in love with Ryan?"

  Instantly, I deny it, and I stutter the whole way through it. "I'm not in love. I don't...you know... I don't love him."

  Brent laughs good-naturedly. "Are you sure about that?"

  I put my head on my hand and lean on the table. "My gosh, I've made such a fool of myself. I mean, you might as well know. Everyone else seems to know that I've had a tiny bit of a crush on Ryan, but it's over. I'm over it."

  Brent knocks on the table beside my head. "Sounds to me like he might feel the same way about you if he has a problem with you going out with me and all."

  That I definitely can deny. "No, it has nothing to do with me going out with someone. It's the fact that you're a McCoy.” As if realizing what I just confessed, I crinkle my nose at him. “No offense."

  He laughs good-naturedly at that. "No offense taken. I completely understand, but honestly, I don't think it has anything to do with me being a McCoy."

  I lean across the table. "I'm sorry, do you even know Ryan? He's like the cowboy playboy. He's not into settling down. He definitely does not think about me that way."

  He draws in a deep breath and looks at me confidently. "Trust me, I know Ryan Bryant. One thing about men in general is we all grow up at some point and then we find out exactly what we need."

  I think about what Brent said the whole way back to the Double B Ranch. There's a part of me that is hopeful that maybe Ryan could see me that way, but in the end, I know that that's not the case.

  "I'm sorry I wasn't more fun tonight," I tell Brent as he pulls down the long driveway and stops in front of the house.

  "I had a good time, Mia. We're friends, right?" I smile back at him, a little relieved. I'm glad that he wants to be friends because quite frankly, I can't imagine feeling anything more for anyone else at this point. I know I need to get over Ryan, but I'm beginning to realize it's going to take some time.

  "I'd like to be friends with you," I tell him honestly. He turns off his truck and walks around and helps me down. He walks me up the stairs, talking about the rodeo he's going to be in the next weekend.

  "Maybe the next time I'm in town, we can catch dinner again."

  I look up at him and tell him honestly, "I'd like that. And I promise to be better company too." As we get to the door, he leans down and kisses me on the cheek. It’s a simple, friendly kiss, but just as soon as his lips touch my cheek, the front door opens, and the porch light is turned on, blaring me in the eyes. Ryan is standing at the door with his arms over his chest. He's staring at Brent, who is at least a foot taller than him, but he doesn't look intimidated at all.

  Brent leans toward me and puts his hand on my shoulder. With a nod at Ryan, he says, "Think about what I said."

  And then he's gone off the porch and back to his truck, driving off down the road.

  Ryan opens the screen door. "Are you coming inside?"

  I don't answer him. I just walk through the door under his arm and start to go straight to my room. It’s been a long day. I’m physically and mentally exhausted. Ryan follows behind me, but I try to ignore him. When I walk into the door of my room, I'm about to shut it, but he stops it from closing. I swear I don’t think he’s ever been in here before, and already in one day, he’s been in here twice.

  "I don't like this, Mia. I don't like you not talking to me. I don't like you going out on a date with Brent McCoy, either."

  I am at my wit’s end at this point. I don’t know what he wants from me. I told him before I left that everything was fine. "Look, we're fine. I’m talking to you, and Brent and I decided that we're going to be friends."

  Ryan searches my face as he comes over to stand in front of me, his hands going to my shoulders. "There's something that I need to tell you," he says.

  I take a deep breath, not ready for what he's going to say. I feel like I've been on a roller coaster today, and I need to get my emotions in check. I know he said that I always have a job here at the Double B Ranch, but has he changed his mind? I look up at him and steel myself against his gaze. Being this close to him makes my heart rate pick up and goosebumps bristle on my arm. Right now, I hate my traitorous body.

  "What is it?" I ask him.

  He brushes a piece of hair off of my face and cups the side of my neck. "I should have said it when you came in earlier, and I didn't. I thought about it all night, and I knew that whenever I saw you again, that I was going to make sure that I told you." I blink up at him, wide-eyed.

  He leans forward, and I can feel his breath on my cheek. "You're beautiful, Mia."

  I start to shake my head, but he doesn't let me. Those big, callused hands of his go to each side of my neck, holding me still. "No, let me finish. I don't know why I said what I said to King. There's so much going on in my mind, but I know I shouldn't have said what I did. The fact of the matter is, is I think you're beautiful... inside and out. The hair, the clothes, the makeup, none of that matters. It's you that shines with beauty. And I'm sorry if my careless remark made you feel less than that."

  Our gazes are locked on each other, and I'm speechless. Ryan just told me I’m beautiful. I don’t know what to say to him, but I don’t have time to figure it out. In an instant, his lips are pressed against mine. What was probably meant to be a gentle kiss, a peck on the lips from one friend to another, turns into something more rather quickly. I breathe him in as his hands trail down my back and he holds me close against his hard chest. I angle my head, and he deepens the kiss while I moan.

  He pulls back, breathless, staring at me as if it's the first time he’s ever looked at me. His hands rub into my shoulders, and I bite my lip to hold in the moan. His touch, his kiss, all of it feels good.

  "Good night, Mia," he says huskily. I don't even have a chance to respond before he's out the door, and I'm standing here staring at the space he just moved from. I put my hands to my lips as if I can still feel the heat of his lips on mine. Did that really just happen?

  Chapter 9

  Ryan

  The next afternoon, I’m standing in the office waiting on Mia. I’m trying to act busy, but I know that’s crazy. This is my ranch. Well, mine and my brothers’. I can be anywhere and no one would ask me what I’m doing. But here I stand thumbing through the filing cabinet waiting for Mia.

  I hear her, and I turn just as she stops at the door. She’s surprised to see me, but she covers it up quickly. “Ryan! Hey.”

  She walks over to her desk, and I can’t take my eyes off her. I saw her at breakfast this morning, but she talked to Nat most of the time. I kept trying to figure out how I could talk to her alone, but my brothers and I have been busy most of the morning. As soon as I was able to sneak away, I found myself here.

  “Hey,” I tell her huskily. She has her hair pulled up in a high ponytail with a new blouse on. When she sits down, my eyes are instantly drawn to the hint of her cleavage in the V-neck shirt.

  My mouth goes dry as I stare at her.

  She flicks her long lashes up at me. She’s done something to them because they’re longer and darker than I remember. “Did you need help with something? Need me to look up another tag number?”

  I clear my throat and walk over to her desk. I’m hovering, but I don’t care. I sit on the edge of her desk. “I was hoping we could talk about last night.”

  She shoots out of her chair and goes the opposite direction from where I’m sitting. She walks over to the filing cabinet and opens it. “Oh yeah, what do you want to talk about?”

  I’ve thought about what I’m going to say to her all morning, but now that she’s right here, I’m drawing a blank. I knew after that kiss last night that I wanted more with her, but I also know that Mia’s not someone I can just be with and not be sure about it. I don’t want to ruin what she has here, and I definitely don’t want to make her uncomfortable, but she floored me last night when she said that everyone knew she had a crush on me. I sure as hell didn’t know. But now that’s all I can think about.

  “Well, for starters, that kiss... we should probably talk about that.”

  I walk up behind her, and I’m about to reach for her when she slams the file cabinet closed and makes her way back to her desk. I grit my teeth and watch as she all but runs to get behind her desk. “Why are you avoiding me?”

  She shakes her head and squeaks, “I’m not avoiding you.” She’s standing up, and she has her hands out to each side of her like she’s going to run if I take a step toward her. She’s freaked out, and that’s the last thing I want.

  “You know I’d never hurt you,” I tell her and flinch. Fuck, surely she knows that about me. Right?

  She seems to stand up taller at that. “I know you would never hurt me. Not the way you’re talking about.”

  My head falls in shame. Damn. I know I’ve hurt her, and it fuckin’ kills me that I did. “I’m sorry for that, Mia. I’ll never hurt you again.”

  She looks at me doubtfully, and I suck in a breath. It looks as if I have a long way to go in proving myself. “I was wanting to ask you something... I was wanting to know if you would go to dinner with me tonight.”

  Her eyes widen. “You mean out... like the two of us?”

  I laugh and take a step toward her. I move slowly because she still seems like she wants to run. “Yes, out on a date. Me and you. We could go into Whiskey Valley or Jasper if you want to.”

  She is shocked. There’s no other way to describe it. Her mouth falls open, and she’s staring at me wide-eyed. I take a step toward her, and her mouth slams shut. She’s shaking her head and almost whispers, “I can’t.”

  “You can’t or you don’t want to?”

  She juts her chin at me. “First of all, I don’t think it’s a good idea. Secondly, I can’t. I sort of have plans tonight.”

  I cross my arms over my chest and take two steps toward her. I ignore the part about me being her boss. “What kind of plans?”

  She holds her hands up. “First of all, I want you to know I didn’t lie to you about Dr. Stone. I wasn’t flirting with him.”

  I feel a giant knot forming in my stomach. “Okay, what does that have to do you being busy tonight?”

  She clears her throat and looks up at the ceiling. “Uh, Dr. Stone called this morning and asked me if I’d go out to dinner with him tonight.”

  I know my eyes are bugging out of my head. “And you said yes?”

  She starts to fidget. “Yeah... I mean, I talked to King about it. I didn’t want it to affect my job since Stone is the vet here, and he said he didn’t think it was a big deal so I said yes. I mean, Stone hasn’t even seen the new me, and he wanted to go out with me.” She slams her lips together as if she thinks she’s said too much.

  The more she says, the more I feel my temper rise. I did this. This is my own fault. There are a million things I want to say to her, but I don’t trust myself to say them. I don’t want to hurt her again, and I know I’d probably end up doing that right now. She wouldn’t take kindly to me telling her she can’t go out with someone... again. I take some deep breaths and count to ten. When I feel like I have some control, I start walking toward her. She’s about to move when I hold my hand up and point at her. “Stay right there. Don’t move.”

  She freezes, her eyes wide. I move behind her desk and don’t stop until I’m towering over her and she has to lean her head back to look up at me. She’s looking at me wide-eyed, but when I search her face, there’s no fear there, more like surprise. I put my hand at the base of her neck. I’m trying to stay in control. “I want to kiss you, Mia.”

  She blinks and licks her lips. “You want to...”

  I nod impatiently. “Kiss you. I hate that I have to ask permission. I want to be able to kiss you any time I want, but I know we need to work up to that, so I’m asking... Can I kiss you?”

  “I don’t—” she starts, and I grunt, leaning my forehead against hers. “Please don’t say you think it’s a bad idea. Trust me, I know when something’s a bad idea, and this isn’t it. This is a really good idea, Mia.”

  There are so many questions in her eyes, and I’ll answer every damn one of them when she’s ready to ask them, but right now, I need to kiss her. I need to feel her lips under mine and her body pressed against me. I need to hold her hand and talk to her about her plans for the future. I want to ask her all the things I should already know about her and have been too stupid to ask. But right now more than anything, I want to claim her lips. I want her to know she’s mine.

  She lets out a little puff of air. “Okay.”

  That’s all I need to hear. I put my hands at her waist and pick her up and set her on the empty space of her desk. With my hands on her hips, I kiss her, softly at first, enjoying the sweet, simple touch of our lips pressing together. Her hands grasp the front of my shirt, pulling me toward her. I smile against her mouth and press my tongue to the seam of her lips. She opens for me, and I taste her, moaning as my tongue plunges through her mouth. I deepen the kiss, and my hands trail up her sides. Her body jumps as my hands come to rest under her heavy breasts. I need to stop before I let this get out of hand, and I know I’m close. It would take nothing for me to shut and lock the door and make her mine in every way... but I can’t.

  I pull back, and we’re both breathless. Her cheeks are red as she pants, staring at me with curiosity.

  I brush the hair that has fallen out of her ponytail away from her face. I cup her cheek. “You’re mine, Mia.”

  Before she can argue with me, I put my arms around her and hug her tightly. She seems at a loss for what to do until her arms lift and latch around my waist. I stand there for I don’t know how long, but I know I could have stayed just like this if it meant she didn’t go out with another man. I inhale deeply, her sweet scent filling my nostrils. My voice is deep and husky, thinking about tonight. “Please don’t let him kiss you, Mia. Promise me.”

  I sound so pathetic, but I don’t even care. It’s killing me right now, but I know I can’t stop her.

  “I promise,” she says.

  Relieved, I kiss the top of her head. “Call me if you need anything.”

  I release her and walk away without a backward glance. I know if I look at her, I’m going to beg her not to go. And even though I’ve finally figured out what I want, I need her to be sure too... even if it kills me.

  Chapter 10

  Mia

  I plop down at my desk and I feel like I’m in some kind of alternate universe. In two days, I’ve had more people ask me out then I have in the last three years.

  It’s so confusing, and I know I need to think about things, but all I can think about is that kiss Ryan and I shared.

  There are so many thoughts going through my head, but all I can think about is Ryan. He said I was his. Those are three words that I’ve dreamed of hearing from him, but I never thought it would be possible. And then that kiss. Goodness, that kiss rocked me to the soles of my feet.

  I don’t know how long I sit at my desk staring off into space, but I know I need to make a decision. Ryan didn’t stop me from going out tonight, but there’s a part of me that feels guilty going out with Dr. Stone. I go back and forth thinking I should cancel my date and then the next second, I’m thinking I should go.

  My dad would say, “Go with your gut, girly.” And I know he’s right. I think about Dr. Stone. He’s gentle with the animals and seems like a genuinely good guy. He’s always happy and smiling. Then there’s Ryan. He’s moody sometimes but always makes me laugh. He cares about animals and his ranch and family like nothing I’ve ever witnessed before. I know if I take a chance on Ryan, he is the one that has the ability to hurt me. Can I trust him with my heart?

  I grab my purse and don’t even go inside. I already have the keys for the ranch truck, and I drive into town. I know what I need to do.

  When I pull into the Whiskey Valley Veterinary Clinic an hour before our date, I feel a calm come over me because I know I’m doing the right thing. I walk in the front door and ask to see Dr. Stone. I only have to wait a few minutes before he calls me back. We go into his office, and I sit down across the desk from him.

  “I’m sorry to do this, but I’m going to need to cancel tonight. I’m sorry for the last minute, but I thought I should come and tell you.”

  He picks up a pen on his desk and twiddles it between his fingers. “Sure. Do you want to reschedule?”

  I clear my throat. “Actually, I’m sorry, Dr.—”

  He cuts me off. “Jeremy. You can call me Jeremy.”

  I wince a little. “Jeremy, I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can reschedule. I just don’t think I should go out with you knowing how I feel about someone else. It’s not fair to you, and I shouldn’t have accepted the date in the first place. I’m sorry.”

  He’s staring at me, and his lips are in a firm line. Finally, he nods. “I understand. I appreciate you coming all the way here to tell me in person. There’s no hard feelings.”

  I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. “Thank you.”

  I get up to leave and am about out the door when he stops me. “Mia?”

  I turn with one hand on the door frame. “Yeah, Dr. Stone?”

  He pushes his glasses up his nose. “Ryan is a lucky guy.”

  I feel I should deny it, but I don’t. I open my mouth and close it again. With a small smile, I tell him I’ll see him later and walk out the door.

  I drive straight over to the Sunrise Diner and order dinner. I’m not hungry, but I know I can’t sit through dinner at the ranch and answer all the questions about the date I was supposed to have tonight.

 

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