AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No wonder you like it hot,” he said. “Tanner Smith.”
“Emily Wilder,” she said, not giving him her full real name, but rather her maiden name and wondering why. But she was new to the area. About to start a new job, and she didn’t want to be found. Not by anyone.
Her family was gone and John…
The past needed to stay behind in Colorado.
“Nice to meet you, Emily,” the man drawled, his deep voice sending delicious trembles down her spine. It was like his voice touched her every nerve. Like he reawakened her sleeping libido. It was still alive.
“Where are you from?”
“Born and raised a Texan,” he said, leaning on the edge of the pool and gazing up at her with those deliciously enticing green eyes that seemed to want to remove her bathing suit.
And strangely, she wanted to let him. She didn’t know this man. She had not desired a man in so long, she’d forgotten what the feelings were like.
“Here in Granbury?”
“No,” he said. “My family owns a ranch a couple of hours from here.”
There must be a lot of ranches here in the area and he wasn’t telling her where or the name of their spread. Oh well, it didn’t matter. She was not looking for a long, lasting relationship. That was not in the cards for her.
One would last her a lifetime.
“Would you like to go to dinner with me?” he asked. “I mean we just met, but I’m really tired of my own company and would love to have some female companionship.”
He was a stranger. She didn’t know him. And yet, she felt such a strong attraction to him, and it was the first time since John she’d even thought about another man. The first time in so long and she was determined to start her life over here in Texas. To be stronger. To begin life again.
To release her bonds and live again.
“Yes, but could we have dinner here at the hotel restaurant? I’m uncomfortable getting in a car with a stranger and going to dinner.”
He smiled. “Of course. Actually, that’s what I had in mind. That way I can get up early in the morning and head home.”
That made her feel more at ease. While she was stepping out on a limb here, she wasn’t quite ready to give him all her trust. She wasn’t ready to hop into bed with a total stranger and yet, she was very attracted to him.
Plus, she, too, had to leave fairly early in the morning to arrive at her new job site on time. A nice dinner with a man and then she’d be in the room by ten and asleep by eleven.
“What time?” she asked, wondering about this man she had agreed to take a leap of faith with.
It was the first time in seven years she was going on a date. The memory of her first date with John flooded her senses and she pushed the thoughts away. No, just no. She was beginning a new life.
“How about eight?” he asked. “That gives us ninety minutes to clean up.”
She’d spent the afternoon going through her cookbooks, planning her first week on the job, and the dinners she would prepare. So she was ready to begin when she met her employer.
“Yes, that works,” she said. “I’ll meet you in the bar.”
That way, she could keep her anonymity without giving him her room number.
The man smiled, his full lips looked soft and tempting and were such a contrast to his rugged face. There was something about him that drew her.
“See you there,” he said.
As he swam off, she wondered if she was crazy. Meeting a man at the swimming pool and then agreeing to go to dinner with him, she’d never done anything so brazen, so bold, in her life and yet she was glad.
This was the new Emily. The courageous, brash, and strong woman who had put the past behind her and was now moving on.
“To Texas,” she said to herself softly. “And new beginnings.”
