She gapes at me. “Because you cannot possibly intend to spend theholidayspretending to be my boyfriend. That’s absurd.”
“Why not?” I shrug. Still clinging on tight. Reluctant to let her go for even one second in case she vanishes on me.
“I’m—I’m not—” The battle going on behind her eyes says enough.
“It makes sense. You’re staying at Mistwood Ranch. I live… next door. I work there.” Well, that’s only partially true.Wetechnically live next door, but those are details I don’t need to get into right here while we’re standing in the street surrounded by snow and the late sun continues its rapid descent over jagged mountain peaks forming the horizon.
Nor do I want to freak her out that I’m a package deal when all I’m doing is pretending to be her boyfriend for the next few days. Well, attempting to, at least.
“You do?” She eyes me warily. My god, this girl is stunning. “You workandlive there?”
I nod. Hoping like hell she’s not going to laugh straight in my face before spinning on her heel and ensuring we go our separate ways.
Which is absolutely not happening.
Mia’s clearly still trying to cling to reason, to play safe, to make decisions that probably link together logically. Right now, I’m more than willing to overlook anything approaching sensible.
The girl of my dreams swallows, seems to contemplate my persistence, then shakes her head. Damn it.
“Thanks, but I’m just gonna get out of here. There’s no way I’m staying at Mistwood with them being there too.”
“What if you didn’t leave?” I blurt out, heart rate picking up. “What if you got your own back this Christmas and messed with the prick a little?”
She still refuses. Giving me a tiny smile while slipping her hand out of mine. “Thanks, but I couldn’t possibly. I’ll just head back out of town and figure out somewhere else to go.” Mia steps back, and I instantly move to close the gap between us.
“Mia… I hate to break it to you…”
She looks at me like I’ve got three heads.
“No. No. No.I’ll just head out of town.” Flapping her hands around, she tilts her gaze to the ground as if searching for something dropped, then looks over one shoulder in the direction of her car. “Thank you for your help…” With brows furrowed, she rummages through her bag for car keys.
While the last thing I wanna do right now is startle this girl, I gotta somehow break the bad news. Reaching out, I gently take her by the shoulder. “Mia, you know they just closed the mountain road for the day, right?”
“Wait? What?” Her squeak is accompanied by even wider eyes.
“Yeah. All winter long it happens. If the conditions get too dangerous, the roads close at sunset and then reopen in the morning.”
Mia stands before me, color rapidly draining from her face. Ranching has taught me a lot of things. One of the most valuable lessons has always been the ability to think on my feet, and while nothing makes sense right this second, words are coming out of me before she manages to form another protest.
“This might sound like the most bizarre idea, I totally get that—” I take the opportunity to wrap her hand clutching her keys, inside my own. To secure her palm inside my grasp once more. “Stick around. It’s only three days, right? Have a little fun. That jerk isn’t worth your time, and I’d hate to see you being theone to have to leave Mistwood, especially on his account. Not to mention that this place ain’t exactly blessed with available beds during the holidays.”
Mia tosses her head to face the wintry sky while seemingly muttering to herself. “He’s such a motherfucker.” Dipping her chin back down, her eyes narrow on me, pinning me with a stern expression that goes straight to my cock. “Youseriouslydon’t have plans?”
“Not unless you count mucking horse stalls and feeding cattle. So… No… besides, I promise Mistwood is a little extra special at this time of year.”
I feel the shift in the air, sense the very moment her resistance begins to waver. “What’s in it for you?”
Other than the fact I’d really love to get to know her better, and possibly have already imagined what it would be like to kiss her senseless? “Consider it my effort to stock up on brownie points in advance before the new year.” I clear my throat, a poor effort at disguising all those thoughts that will probably scare her off.
That makes her lips twitch a little. She tries to look at me disapprovingly, but it ends up just being incredibly cute. Nothing more than a failed effort at a scowl. “Have you not been a very good boy?” Her eyes immediately widen and cheeks flush a deeper shade of pink, before she hastily carries on. “How do I know you’re not some sort of weirdo?”
I’m willing my cock to not respond to those words with everything I’ve got.Good boy.Christ, this girl is gonna kill me within the space of three days.
My throat dips as I focus on my attempt to convince her to say yes to the unthinkable. Honesty? Yeah, I’ll have to go with that. “I’ve got an extrovert dog who just tackled you in the main street, I’m shopping for second hand books onart nouveauas a last minute Christmas gift, and I just offered to pretend to beyour boyfriend for a few days… so, in all honesty, I don’t think I’ve got much of a leg to stand on here, sugar.”
That brings a tiny curve to her plush mouth. She tries to hide a smile, and it’s the most magical thing seeing the sparkle fill those emerald eyes of hers. Mia looks up and down the sidewalk, as if she’s waiting for someone to come along and make this decision on her behalf. At the sight of her resistance faltering, I do what I’ve done a thousand times in the arena and make the play to secure the buckle.
I leap in, landing in the dirt boots-first, and go for it.
