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“Hi, Ms. Lizzie, and how are you today?”
“I’m great, thanks.” She smiled back, determinedly keeping her gaze from turning on Adam. “I hope Roman behaved himself in your truck.”
“He was absolutely fine, but sad that Carlos and Ines wouldn’t be here. It was kind of them to let us visit without them being present.”
“Very kind.” Yvonne came up behind Rio and took his hand. “What do you think?”
“It’s possible it might work. Adam says there are plenty of ways to modify and increase the buildings to deal with my bull-breeding plans.”
He had a slight Brazilian accent that made his words flow like mellow honey, which Lizzie always enjoyed.
“Yeah.” Adam spoke for the first time. “My brother Kaiden’s great at that kind of carpentry, and Danny knows all the best construction guys in town. You should talk to them and get some idea of the costs involved.”
“I’ll definitely do that.” Rio nodded. “Thanks.”
“Well, before you go out again, why don’t we have lunch?” Yvonne suggested with a twinkle in her eye. “I think Roman is hungry.”
“Yes!” Roman had abandoned the cat and was now jumping up and down beside the table. “Please!”
* * *
Adam glanced over at Lizzie as they drove back to Morgantown. She was unusually quiet, her expression thoughtful, and her gaze directed outside the vehicle away from him. Roman had stayed with Yvonne at the ranch to keep her company after Rio had taken one of the horses out to study the extent of the land.
“Everything okay?” He ventured the question as they neared the outskirts of town.
“Yes, thank you.” She smiled briefly at him. “Do you think Rio’s going to buy the ranch?”
“It certainly looks possible,” Adam agreed. “The good thing is that we know Rio won’t mess Carlos and Ines around. He can well afford it.”
“That’s true.” Lizzie paused. “From what Yvonne said, they’d have no problem if Carlos and Ines wanted to stay on at the ranch either.”
“I don’t think Carlos is going to come back,” Adam said simply.
Lizzie didn’t reply. When he stole a glance at her, he realized she was close to tears, and silently cursed. He was good at that—making women cry.
“I could be wrong,” he added hastily. “I’m only repeating what Dr. Tio—”
“If Dr. Tio said he was that far gone, I believe him.” Lizzie surreptitiously wiped a tear from her cheek. “Poor Ines.”
It was Adam’s turn to stay silent. He knew all about losing a spouse. He’d only had three short years with Louisa. Carlos and Ines had been married for thirty-five.
“As I said, I think if Ines wants to stay at the ranch, Rio would welcome her as family,” Adam added awkwardly.
“He’s a good man,” Lizzie agreed.
“Yeah.” Adam drew to a stop in front of Lizzie’s apartment and she immediately went for the door handle. “Hey, what’s the rush?”
“I’ve got a lot to catch up on seeing as I was out all day.”
“You don’t want me to come up?” Adam asked.
She got out of his truck. He rushed to release his seat belt and jump down before she got away from him.
“What’s wrong?”
She fished out her key, avoiding his gaze. “Nothing.”
Adam wasn’t that stupid. “Did I do something to upset you?”
“No, I’m just . . . tired.”
“Tired of me?” He felt like someone had hit him with a tire iron.
“No, I . . .” She hesitated. “Can I have my panties back?”
“Jeez, I forgot all about them.” Adam reached into his pocket and took out the scrunched-up lingerie. “You’ve been walking around all afternoon bare-ass naked?”
She shrugged. “I was busy.”
“If you’d told me that—” Adam breathed out hard.
She cut him off. “You wouldn’t have done anything about it, would you?” She offered him a peck on the cheek. “Thanks for a lovely day.”
“Hold up,” Adam said, his fingers closing gently on her elbow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
