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“Let’s say I was uninterested in teaching a boy how to do a man’s job.” Her face still glowed pink, and her grumbled words sounded like a confession.
My chuckle built in volume, soon consuming my whole body. Cameron wasn’t any more restrained when she cracked. We draped our arms over each other’s shoulders and cackled, laughing at poor Jethro’s inadequacies.
She caught her breath before me. And in her best spokesmodel voice, she asked, “Shall we investigate the guesthouse?”
Nodding, I fell into step behind her. What I wanted to investigate was her ass in those jeans. But that’s not why I was in Elmer, I reminded myself firmly. House and vacation. Not a woman and complications. Cameron Morgan might as well have haddanger: complicatedemblazoned on her forehead.
With her connections to Elmer, it would be worse than any social-climbing, attention-seeking starlet I’d dodged in LA. I couldn’t believe I was considering breaking my own rules. She was a huge risk. One that would blow up in my face. A few dates with her and the whole town would be invested in our relationship. When it crashed and burned, as it surely would when I left to go back to LA, I’d be a pariah.
And sex. Hell no.
Even if I was willing to mix business and pleasure, that would be just as dangerous. The assumptions and jokes this morning at breakfast had been bearable and almost funny because nothing happened. Totally harmless.
If we ended up in the sack and the town figured it out, I’d be a walking dead man. She was beloved—a widow and single mom. I was the asshole billionaire who manipulated her into a compromising position with my bank account. They would execute me in the town square, and her brother would bury my body where no one would ever find it.
This must remain a business relationship. End of story.
I clenched my jaw and resolved to squash all non-real estate thoughts about Cameron. Reality was a bitch, and so was the headache pounding between my ears from grinding my molars.
Chapter 14
Cameron
“WelcomebacktoVacationDream Homes. This is house number two. The legendary Blue Star Ranch.” Tracie looked and sounded confident, but in real life, she had a death grip on the saddle horn. “This property is pushing our client’s budget right to the top. And maybe a little over!” Despite her obvious fear, her smile never faltered as she continued her opening monologue about the ranch.
Stephen in wardrobe had outdone himself dressing Tracie in a baffling mash-up of Ralph Lauren chic and rhinestone cowgirl. She had skin-tight English riding breaches tucked into tall western boots, and her spangled top showed enough cleavage to distract the cowboys helping to wrangle the horses.
“We are in for a treat as we get a behind-the-scenes tour of this real working cattle ranch and vineyard in the heart of the Texas Hill Country.” Tracie wrapped up her remarks and scrambled off the sweet bay quarter horse, who seemed about as likely to move as a park bench. I stifled a giggle watching two ranch hands trip over each other to ensure her dismount was easy as pie.
I’m a lot more comfortable in the saddle than Tracie. Small-town Texas may not have afforded me access to trendy shopping, but getting to ride was a perk of living here. And Victor, the black and white paint I sat on, was one of my favorite mounts at Blue Star. He was a true, solid citizen of the equine world and pretty enough for Barbie to dream about.
“This is going to work out great. Thank you for arranging the horses.” Kate stood at my stirrup and looked up at me, her ball cap shading her face from the glare of the morning sun.
I shifted in Victor’s saddle to smile down at her, glad she was happy with the surprise. I’d called Atley Rivers, the ranch manager at Blue Star, and asked if we could ride horses today instead of ATVs.
It only seemed right to fulfill my client’s every wish.
Yes, all his wishes, starting with ones he might make about me and him naked. And there went my brain, down the sexy Wilson rabbit hole. Not at all appropriate while talking to Kate.
That kiss had rocked my world, scrambled my brains, and starred in all my dreams over the last few nights. Damn him for being so tempting. I shook off the thoughts and told my hormones to settle down so I could refocus on Kate.
“I don’t think Tracie would agree that this was a good idea.” I glanced meaningfully to where Tracie stood with a cowboy who was trying to help her feed a sugar cube to her mount. She looked like she’d rather pet a rabid dog than offer the horse a treat.
“Tracie will deal. She is a pro. And the real cowboys are yummy. Forget the houses. Women are going to be tuning in for the man candy. Between Wilson and them... ” Kate fanned herself and sighed dramatically.
I glanced to where Atley and a few of his guys stood. If a day’s worth of scruff, a well-fitting pair of wranglers, and a scowl were a woman’s turn-ons, then Atley Rivers was a real-life wet dream. His guys weren’t hard on the eyes either.
“It’s the jeans, boots, and hats. They improve every man’s hot guy rating by at least five points.” I joked with Kate.
“Do you have any other attractive local men we can objectify for ratings?” Kate’s face lit up. It was the happiest I’d ever seen her. I wasn’t sure if it was because she was joking or excited by the prospect of more viewers.
“Maybe my brother and a few deputies.” The bratty big sister in me relished the idea of serving up my brother like a grade-A piece of ass. As an added bonus, I could distract Jethro with an introduction to Tracie. After the ATV extraction, he texted me six times. That man needed a new crush. Tall, blonde, and gorgeous Tracie would be perfect.
“Pencil them in for the next shoot. Tell them to wear their tightest pants. A man in uniform is almost as good as a cowboy.” Kate resettled her ball cap and tugged her ponytail tight before heading for the TV crew packing up a buckboard wagon and a Jeep with their gear on the other side of the yard.
Feeling like a pimp, I made a mental note to ask my brother to assign Jethro, himself, and a few of the other younger and better-looking deputies to the already scheduled Vacation Dream Homes shoot at the Elmer courthouse. They might think they were coming to be crowd control, but Kate would explain the situation and make sure the camera got shots of their backsides—uh, best sides.
I glanced toward the barn and, without conscious thought, urged Victor in that direction, Wilson pulling me like a lodestone. I was a hot mess over this man and couldn’t decide what to do about it. It wasn’t that I had a rule per se against dating vacationers—more of a guideline. But clients—well, that was more... problematic. Twice I skimmed the employee handbook for Beautiful Hills Real Estate and came up with zero guidance. Thanks for nothing, Jude.
