Page 33 of One Lucky Cowboy

Grace nodded at her, ignoring her son, who scowled. Whether it was because his mother blew off his question or because she was teasing him, Jill couldn’t guess.

“It was adorable. He’d beg me to read it, then he’d tell me I was reading it wrong, that it was Jax and Jill. What was it you always used to say, hon? ‘It’s my story, Mom. Say it right.’ Maybe he always knew you two would meet.” Grace sent a knowing wink that left Jill feeling like she was under an interrogation lamp.

“I was five,” he countered, still frowning. “I’m pretty sure I just wanted my own bedtime story.”

Grace shrugged. “Anyway, Maggie, tell me about your last doctor’s visit. What is Dr. Ahmed looking out for?”

Maggie, Bennett, and Grace sank into their insular group, and though Jill was interested in what her best friend was saying, she could feel Jax’s eyes boring a hole through the delicate, yellow fabric of her dress.

“A penny for your thoughts?”

“They like you. She likes you,” he said. His gaze was sharper than the steak knives at each setting, his lips in a severe, thin line.

“Your mom?” Jill asked. He nodded.

“She’s usually a good judge of character.”

“Why do you seem so surprised that someone likes me? I know we haven’t exactly gotten off on the right foot, but I’m a good person, Jax,” she whispered. She didn’t want to raise her voice, but then, why did he always know just what to say to drive her to the brink of madness?

“Sorry. I’m messing this up.” He shook his head, clearly frustrated.

With her? Himself? Just this once, she wished he were as transparent as Gander, Bennett’s mutt, who always had a smile on his face and was perpetually in search of scraps of food. Come to think of it, Jill hadn’t seen him since she’d gotten home, either. Odd.

“I know you’re a good person. It’s why I’m glad I get to work with you. On paper, you’re the worst person for this job.”

“Geez. With friends like you,” she muttered.

He shook his head again, his smile serious. “No. I’m not teasing you. I like watching your passion while you figure out the deal memos or work out the numbers behind a summer cattle drive and the equipment a two-thousand head of cattle ranch will need when you haven’t even set foot on a cattle drive. You’re good at this. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

She grabbed her glass, the warm air having caused it to sweat, and downed the contents, hoping the now-melted ice would cool her skin. She was on fire. Jax was a match and his words gasoline. When he smiled, she ignited, and the blaze only intensified the more she interacted with him.

Only he could start off a conversation like he was insulting her only to pay her the nicest compliment anyone ever had.

“Thank you,” she mumbled into her wine goblet.

“You bet.” And just like that, his full-of-mischief smile came back.

He looked like a young Robert Redford, his eyes and smile holding secrets only a lucky few would ever figure out. A flick of jealousy smacked against her rib cage at whomever Jax included in his lucky few. For a brief moment, she wished it could be her.

“Anyway, talk me through the next drop-off. Let’s write off this dinner.”

She laughed at his joke and dove into the specifics about the hay baler heading to Steiner, with a matching combine from the same line.

“You thinking this will be a regular thing? Selling to farmers, too?”

“I hope so.” The unexpected order had jumpstarted Jill’s first plan as acting-CEO. “I want to get a farm line of equipment going by the end of the year.”

“Impressive. Will it be enough to stave off the merger?”

“I don’t know. I was hoping for something else to come to mind. Something we could do to give back, to set this up so it wasn’t just the two of us women, forever. We’re doing something cool, but will it end with us?”

On one hand, she was glad to stop thinking about him as a man who’d captured her interest and more as her colleague. On the other, he elicited truths from her she’d never shared with anyone else, not even Maggie. At some point, the conversation about all things pregnancy waned, and Jill could feel their gazes shift to her as she finished her rundown.

“Wow. I hadn’t thought of that, but you’re right,” Maggie said.

Jill smiled. “Thanks. It’s just something I’ve been thinking about for a while, but I didn’t want to bother you while you were prepping for the wedding, then the honeymoon.”

“I appreciate that but talk to me anytime about what’s on your mind. I miss shop talk. Well, sort of. I have to admit, hearing you talk about Steel Born makes me feel like I watched the business being built from above it. I was in such a different place then. Heck, I was so different. I didn’t even think about giving back or what came next.”

---