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Like we were still in love.
My stomach fluttered, and it had nothing to do with the horse manure. The man who’d made me melt in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt looked even better in the cowboy hat. Under the glow of the sun, he was very hard to ignore, and it pissed me off to no end that he could still affect me like this.
It was going to be a long summer if I couldn’t keep my hormones in check.
“Before we go in, there are a few people I want you to meet. Micah Hollister was the person who greeted you when you came in. He’s my head horse groomer. We call him Mickie. Debra Jefferson is my horse trainer. You’ll probably meet her before the day ends, and this is Ben Jessup. He’s my ranch manager.” Brendan gestured to a slightly older man. “They help me take care of the ranch. They’re important to me, so while you’re here, they need to be important to you.”
“Of course.” I shook Ben’s hand and tried to ignore the critical gaze he swept over me. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but it looks like you might have stepped in something,” he said as he pointed to my feet.
Wonderful. He apparently also thought I was a complete idiot. “Yes. I realize that. Thank you for pointing that out to me,” I muttered through gritted teeth. Was anyone on this ranch going to like me?
“You married her?” Ben muttered. “Really?”
“She wasn’t like this eight years ago,” Brendan assured him.
“You weren’t some country bumpkin eight years ago either,” I grumbled under my breath. They both looked at me quizzically, and I took a deep breath. “Never mind. We don’t need to talk about the past. We just need to focus on the present.”
“She’s a psychiatrist,” Brendan explained.
“Psychologist,” I corrected. “Almost anyway. I won’t prescribe medicine. I still have a year of school left, and I still need to finish my dissertation. I’m hoping to finish it while I’m here.”
Ben raised his eyebrows. “Smart and beautiful. No wonder you slipped through his fingers.”
“Cute.” Brendan narrowed his eyes. “Real cute.”
“Just calling it like I see it. Darling, you’ll need to get yourself a pair of boots if you plan on walking around here. We’ve got a lot of horses.”
Did everyone at this ranch think that I was a moron? “Thank you for the advice. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Just then, Brendan’s phone rang. “Ward,” he barked into the phone as he answered. Immediately, he straightened. “We’ll be right there.” Hanging up, he eyed me. “And now it’s time for you to meet Harry Blackwell.”
I gaped at him. “Now?”
His mouth was a tight line. “Yes. Here’s here now. I guess Gordon’s rumors through the grapevine reached all the right people because he’s here to meet my wife.”
I couldn’t help but wince. I was hoping to have a little more time to acclimate myself before playing the loving wife, but on the other hand, the sooner Brendan signed this deal, the sooner I could go back to my life.
“Let’s get this over with.”
“That’s the spirit,” Brendan said sarcastically. He put his hand on the small of my back and pushed me toward the house. Immediately, my heart skipped a beat. I tried to shove the feeling down deep inside me.
Ben started to follow us, and Brendan turned around and stared at him. “What are you doing?”
Ben snorted. “You don’t really think that I’m going to miss this, do you?”
As we walked across the pasture and out to the dirt road that wound around the fields, I tried to ignore the stench of the horses and my shoes. The sprawling white farmhouse really was beautiful. With its pale blue trim and tin roof, it was an old house with a modern edge. There was a wraparound porch and a second-story balcony. I was already imagining sitting out under the California sun and working on my paper. The view in all directions was incredible too. In spite of being a city girl, I couldn’t wait to explore it.
Even city girls liked a little nature.
“Would you walk a little closer to me?” Brendan hissed as he wrapped his arm around my waist. I nearly fell over as he pulled me closer.
“I don’t need to be this close, do I?” I had to grab his shirt to stay balanced, and I was fairly certain that I looked like a drunk as we neared the older man waiting by the fence.
“Mr. Blackwell,” Brendan said heartily. “Did we have a meeting today?”
“Brendan.” The older man smiled charmingly as I righted myself. “I heard an interesting rumor, and I just had to see for myself. Is it true? Are you married?”
“You heard?” Brendan made a show of pushing his hat back and scratching his head. “I guess that doesn’t surprise me. News travels fast around here, although I’d hoped to keep it quiet while we work things out. Harry Blackwell, this is my wife, Jillian. Jillian, this is our neighbor.”
