Page 48 of Fastlander Fealty

The little flower that had started budding inside of her grew a little more. “Yes. When?”

He twitched his chin toward a restaurant across the street called Cowboy’s Pizza Pies. “Now. I’m starving.”

“Oh.” She looked down at herself. “I can change real quick.”

He peeled his flannel off his broad shoulders and put it around her. “You’re perfect as is.”

The thick gray and black flannel was warm and smelled like him, and was big and comfortable, and she snuggled deep into it. “Okay, I’ll just grab my hotel key and purse. Do you want to come in?”

“Come in you? Yes. You look so fucking gorgeous right now. Don’t invite me in right now or we won’t be eating any time soon.”

His words were such a turn on, and she stood there dumbly staring up at him for a few beats before she scrambled to him, lifted up on her toes and kissed him fast.

She lowered back down onto the heels of her feet. “I meant the kiss too, just so you know,” she murmured, and then turned and scampered inside to grab her things in a rush.

She grabbed the hotel key off the table, and yanked her purse by the strap off the chair, closed the door behind her and did this little hop-skip to where he was standing. Owen had his hand out, and she slipped hers against his as he led her across the parking lot.

“Ground rules,” she said.

“Okay, I’m ready.”

“I think we should be completely open with each other. Are you here to manipulate me?” she asked.

“No.” Truth.

“Are you here to spy on me?”

“Nope.” Truth. “Are you here to manipulate or spy on me?” he asked.

“Absolutely not anymore.”

He chuckled and pulled her to a stop on the curb beside the busy road. Nightfall had descended on the town of Cheyenne, and this stretch of road was bustling. It had begun to rain, and she pulled his flannel over her head to block it somewhat. Both sides of the street were lined with restaurants, shops, and bars.

“Have you been here before?” she asked as he led her across the street at a break in the traffic.

“Sure have. I’ve even eaten here before.” Owen opened the door for her, waited for her to pass and told the hostess they needed a table for two in the back room.

The hostess led them up a few stairs and into a dimly lit back room that only housed a couple of other full tables. She sat them by the window, and now Silver understood why Owen had asked for a table here. The entire wall beside their table was made of windows, and they had the perfect view of a rushing river, and the pitter patter of rain against the window was calming.

“What made you drop your tracker in the back of Caden Fuller’s truck,” Owen asked after they had ordered a couple of sodas.

“Who?”

“One of the sons of the Cursed Bear. You researched here. You know Clinton Fuller.”

“Oh, I had no idea that was one of his sons’ trucks. I just saw a Laramie sticker in the back and I figured he was local and would keep the tracker in the general vicinity. I wanted to buy myself some time to figure out where I’m going to go.”

“Smart,” he murmured. “What’s the plan?”

“Okay, so I have escaped the Pride before, but I made so many mistakes—”

“Like what?”

“—like I run my business online, but I didn’t change anything about my company, and that was how Rook tracked me down. He pretended to be a customer and when he paid, he tracked the bank information.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “What do you even do for work?”

“Oh! Get this, I started taking calligraphy lessons when I was a kid. I loved practicing with those old calligraphy pens, you know the ones you dip in ink? Well as I got older and technology advanced, I eventually moved to an iPad and got the right art programs, and now I pick up jobs for people who want a professional looking signature.”

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