Page 201 of Ride a Cowboy

Matt’s gaze drifted down her body, away from her face. “Believe me, there’s no insult intended.” His eyes lifted and met hers once more. “You’re damn easy on the eyes.”

She blushed at his compliment. There was something so open, so honest about both men that she found it hard to resist them. She tried to dismiss the thought from her mind because she certainly wasn’t going to have a chance to get to know either of them better.

Conversation slowed as the three of them dug in to their enormous breakfasts. She had to hand it to the twins. It was, by far, the best omelet she’d ever had, and for the first time in a long time, she let herself enjoy a meal. Lately, eating had become something she had to do to survive. Back in New York, she’d loved going to different restaurants, trying different things. She missed the salad at Carmine’s and the little Thai place in Hell’s Kitchen.

“Damn, Mark, doesn’t look like we’re going to get to help her clean her plate after all,” Matt joked.

Glancing down, Bridget realized she’d polished off all of the eggs and was almost finished with the hash browns. “I can’t believe I ate all that, or how good it was.”

Mark wiped his mouth with his napkin and put it back in his lap. “You looked like you hadn’t eaten in a year. I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“I did. I can see why you’d ask for that as payment for work. Todd’s an amazing cook.”

Matt put his fork down and leaned back in his chair, looking relaxed and well fed. “We come over here quite a bit for breakfast and lunch. Used to be four bachelors living in our house. Cooking wasn’t something we had a lot of time for.”

Bridget leaned forward and rested her arms on the table. She was genuinely curious to learn more about them. “Four bachelors?”

Mark joined in the conversation. “Matt and I live with our older brother, Caleb, and our kid brother, Jacob. Caleb’s a doctor at the local hospital, so he works some screwed-up hours. Jacob does a lot of the cooking, but he’s what you might call a free spirit, so counting on him for vittles is risky. Whenever he gets involved in a project—whether it’s an article he’s writing or something for his college class—it can be days before he looks up.”

Bridget’s ears perked up. “Article?” She missed her writing more than she could say.

Matt nodded. “Yep. Kid loves to write. He freelances for a couple of magazines and newspapers. Mainly stories about gay rights, living life outside the closet, stuff like that.”

“Your brother is gay?”

Mark stiffened up slightly and she backtracked quickly, afraid she’d offended him. “I wasn’t asking to pry or to insinuate anything is wrong with that. Fact is, Rodney is gay too. I was thinking maybe we should introduce them.”

Matt laughed. “You want to hook our brothers up?”

Bridget grinned. “No…well, maybe.”

If Rodney was feeling as lonely and horny as she was these days, maybe a hot hookup with a cowboy would take the edge off. Lately, Rodney had been wound up tighter than a spring. Not that she blamed him. In all likelihood, he’d lost his job at the police station the day he’d stepped off the radar with her. His future was as uncertain as hers at the moment. “Is your younger brother as hot as you two?”

Bridget wasn’t sure where the words had come from, but the deadly dimples reappeared on both of the men’s faces as their smiles grew.

Mark leaned toward her, taking her hand in his. She hoped he couldn’t feel the sudden trembling there. “You think we’re hot?”

Both of them had moved closer, and she had to press her legs together to still the sudden twinge in her pussy.

Matt grasped her other hand. “Who’s hotter—me or Mark?”

She burst into laughter as she studied their mirrored images. Mark rolled his eyes at his brother’s inane comment. Then she realized there were other definite differences besides the cleft chin. As she learned more about them, they suddenly didn’t seem so similar.

Matt was clearly the fun-loving one with a great sense of humor. There was a wicked twinkle in his eyes that guaranteed he was always up for a good time. In contrast, Mark seemed the epitome of a country gentleman: kind, more serious. She had no doubt he was the type of guy who opened doors for women and insisted on picking up the tab.

“I plead the Fifth on that question. So what did you mean when you said it used to be four bachelors? Did someone move out?”

Mark shook his head. “Nope, someone moved in.”

Bridget’s heart skipped a beat. Did one of them have a girlfriend? She’d never considered they may already have significant others. “Oh?”

Matt offered the explanation. “Caleb got himself a girlfriend, Jessie. We’re expecting him to pop the question any day now.”

She smiled, foolishly relieved. “Nice. You like her?”

“Jessie?” Mark asked. “Oh, heck yeah. She’s a helluva lady. Been through a rough patch this past year. She and Caleb deserve a little happiness.”

Bridget could relate to tough years. “So she’ll live at the ranch with all of you?”

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