Page 9 of Falling for Sierra

An expression she didn’t recognize crossed his face but disappeared before she could figure out what he was feeling.

“I’m not trying to run down or denigrate Hawthorne in any way. I’m trying to understand it and its people a little better.”

Sierra pulled into the driveway in front of the first house she planned to show him and put the car in park. She turned and watched him for a few seconds, trying to figure out how honest he was being, at least about this. He was hiding something, that much she could tell, but she didn’t get the feeling he was lying to her, just not telling her everything.

“This place sits on twelve acres.” Her uncertainty made her turn to her work while she tried to regain control of her emotions. “It’s a little more than you specified, but from the way your emails were worded, I assumed that was a minimum, not a must have.”

“That’s fine. I’m open to more,” Blake’s tone was careful, polite. He paused and licked his lips, reminding her of how that tongue had felt against her skin. It was almost as if he wasn’t sure what was wrong. “You were correct, ten acres was a minimum, not an exact requirement. I’m open to larger parcels.”

“Let’s have a look around here. Tell me what you think. What you like and don’t – that will help me choose other places that might be more what you’re looking for.” Sierra killed the engine and opened her door, but didn’t get out yet. “Everything on my list today is between ten and fifteen acres. If you’re open to more, there are several additional properties available.” She had limited it to fifteen because he’d only asked for ten but there were few listings for properties that large, and yet that small at the same time.

“I am. I don’t need a hundred or even a thousand acres. I’m not looking to start a ranch. But I’m open to a bigger chunk of land.” He looked intrigued at the idea of more land than he’d asked for.

“I can work with that. You ready to take a look?”

“Sure.”

Sierra slid out of the SUV and grabbed her briefcase from the rear seat. She wanted to be sure she had all the details on the property with her, in case he asked, plus a notebook so she could make notes of his likes and dislikes about the place. By the time she’d walked around the front of the car he was standing beside the vehicle waiting.

“You want to start inside or out?”

Blake glanced around then looked up at the two-story house she’d parked in front of. “Is there anything remarkable about the property?”

“A couple things. There’s a barn and corral in the back and a small pond on the other end.”

“Let’s look at the house first and see if it warrants checking out the rest.”

“Sounds like a plan. Come on, I’ll let us in.” She led him up the flagstone walk to the door, punched the code into the key box and unlocked the front door. She stepped inside and held the door for him to follow, but he stood at the threshold frowning for a moment before he shook his head slightly and stepped inside.

“Is something wrong?” she wondered if there was something about the tile foyer he didn’t like.

“I just like to open doors for women, not the other way around.” He gave her a wry smile. “It’s the way I was raised and a habit I’ve found difficult to break.”

“It’s a nice habit.” Sierra couldn’t help but flash him a real smile instead of the polite, business like smile she’d been wearing. “I like it when men open doors for me; when it’s practical. For this though? It’s more practical that I do it.”

Blake stared at her a moment then nodded. “You’re right. It threw me for a moment having someone else hold the door open for me, but I agree, it is more practical.” He stepped out of the way, and she closed the door, blocking out the cool breeze that sent a sudden shiver up her spine.

“Do you have a preference where we start?”

“No.”

“Then let’s go this way.” She led him through the house, pointing out the view and some of the higher end features like the marble hearth and mantle in the living room and the hand laid tile backsplash in the kitchen.

CHAPTER 5

“What do you think?”

Blake watched Sierra lock the door they’d just used then return the key to the lock box attached to a nearby water spigot. Unable to resist the temptation, he admired the way her skirt tightened against her ass as she bent. The memory of those smooth, round globes in his hands last night made his fingers curl with the desire to hold them again. She stood and turned back to him.

“Well?”

“I’m sorry.” He licked his lips at the memory and met her gaze, unrepentant at having been caught ogling her ass. “What was that?”

She shot him a look that said she wasn’t fooled.

“I asked what you thought.”

“It’s not bad.” He fell into step beside her as they made their way down the walkway to her car.

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