Lucy nodded, seeming to absorb the information. Looking at her, one would think she was mentally marking off a checklist in her head. She probably was. “Lucy!” she raised her voice again. “Just stop and listen to me. Love doesn’t happen with lists and agendas. It just happens. And sometimes, it doesn’t happen at all, no matter how much a person wants it to.”
“That is true, but it doesn’t have to be.” Still, Lucy put down the pen, properly chastised, but only for a moment. “Sometimes it helps to know what you want.” She eyed her aunt. “What do you want?”
Evie didn’t answer. Lucy pressed the issue. “Passion? Companionship?”
Evie sighed and stared at her niece. She didn’t want to be talking about this with her, and it took a long time before she admitted, “Yes, I suppose.”
“Can none of these men fulfill what you want?”
Evie leaned forward a little. “Aside from that Horace person, Jake and Oscar seem like…nice men, although I’m hardly in a position to know them. And there are still those men I haven’t yet met.”
Her stomach knotted just a little more, and suspicion, entirely warranted, raised its ugly head. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Lucy tilted her head and smiled. “There might be one more. I just met him. His name is Ryland Parrish. He’s a widower and seems very sweet. He’s renovating the old Serenity Hotel.”
That little bit of information was the one that pushed Evie beyond her limits and irritation swept through her. “One more? Another complete stranger will be showing up at my door?”
“I’d like you to give these men a chance,” Lucy argued in that way she had. She never raised her voice, but she always got herpoint across. “Get to know them. You don’t have to marry any of them,TiaEvie, but you do owe it to yourself to at least consider the possibilities. What have you got to lose?”
“You’re not listening to me, Lucy. I am not interested in having a parade of men waltzing in front of me like they’re auditioning for the role of ‘husband.’ This is my life. You have no right to interfere in it.” She rose from the sofa and strode to the door, then turned and pinned her niece with a look Teddy would recognize. “This is the end of it. Write to those men who haven’t shown up yet and tell them you were mistaken. There will be no weddings in their future. Or mine.” She stepped through the door and closed it behind her, willing her frustration away. She started walking down the hall, then slowed when she distinctly heard Lucy comment about stubbornness through the closed door.
Her lips pressed together in annoyance. What gave Lucy the right to think she knew what was best? Who gave her the authority to interfere in her life, like Teddy was trying to do? And itwasher life. She was perfectly capable of making her own decisions. She’d been making them for a long time, and the majority of those were usually right.
She understood Lucy’s motivation though, and her exasperation faded a bit. Lucy was happy, therefore she wanted everyone else to be happy. It’s just the way she was. Still, she didn’t appreciate the fact that her niece had advertised for a husband for her and invited strange men to Montaña del Trueno. That was just taking it a step too far, and her choices, so far, seemed to fall far short of ideal.
Except for Jake.
She rushed through the kitchen, opened the door, and ran smack into the man she’d been thinking about. A muffled “oof” escaped them both as her nose smashed into his hard chest and her body pressed up against the rest of him. The cleanscent of soap filled her senses as his strong arms came around her, perhaps to steady her. Or maybe, just to hold her. At this moment, she didn’t care which. If he let go, she just might fall.
He was a solid wall of muscle, and she fit so comfortably against him. His hands splayed across her back, the heat of his palms seeping through the sheer fabric of her blouse. “Are you all right, Miss Evie?”
She looked up into his face, his amber eyes warm and filled with concern. For once, no smile spread his lips, which, for reasons she couldn’t explain, devastated her more than his smile usually did.
If she wanted to kiss him, now would be the time. Right now, while he held her. Right now, when she was off balance, and not just physically. He really was the most handsome man she’d ever met. She pushed back. “Yes, I’m fine. I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.”
He released her then and took a step back, the smile she adored coming to his face, and all at once, in addition to feeling off balance, her heartbeat picked up its pace.
“No harm done.”
His voice struck at her very core, but her chance to kiss him, to touch her lips to his, disappeared, mostly from her own cowardice, which struck her as strange. She was no coward—never had been—so why was she now? With him? Wasn’t this what she wanted? Hadn’t she wondered what kissing him would be like?
“Where are you going in such a hurry? Is there something I can do for you?”
Evie shook her head, her tongue as twisted as the ropes filling the tack room. She took a moment—an eternity, it seemed—as her gaze roamed his face. Her focus fell to his mouth, the upper lip a little fuller than the bottom, and she noticed the beginnings of a mustache. “You can kiss me.”
A strange expression came over his face and something warm and exciting sparkled in his beautiful amber eyes.
Heat infused her, from her toenails all the way to the top of her head. Had she said the words out loud? Apparently, she had, but before she could even begin trying to explain, his grin widened. He tipped his hat back and moved closer, filling the small gap between them. Once more, his arms wrapped around her, pulling her even closer.
“Yes, ma’am, you’re the boss.” There was humor in his voice as his head dipped and his lips touched hers, gently at first then with more pressure as his arms tightened around her.
The world ceased to exist the moment his lips touched hers. The kitchen disappeared in a flash as his clean scent of soap surrounded her, the warmth of his mouth on hers and his strong arms the only things she could feel. Perhaps she was out of practice—after all, Tom had passed away a long time ago and no one had kissed her since, but this? This was a full-on assault of her senses!
He broke the kiss but didn’t release her.
Evie blinked, crashing back to reality. Her face was on fire. Indeed, her entire body thrummed with both embarrassment as well as excitement. She had never been so bold and yet, he didn’t seem to mind. Not one bit.
She pulled out of his arms and took a wobbly step back, her gaze focused on him and the warmth emanating from his eyes. “I’m sorry. This was a mistake. I have to go.” She squeezed past him in the doorway, her body brushing up against his, and escaped, running across the lawn and out to the paddock, where Spitfire met her at the fence. She didn’t bother with a saddle or bridle, simply opened the gate then climbed up on the fence and settled herself on Spitfire’s back and raced out of the barnyard.
