Page 54 of The Cowboy’s Intriguing Love

“Come on in,” called a voice. “Is that you, Shayna?”

“It is.” She looked back at Ty, who was still standing by the elevators, and gave him the thumbs up.

He smiled and a little thrill ran through her when he touched the brim of his hat. She pushed the door open and went inside.

~ ~ ~

Once he was out on the street, Ty looked back up at the building. He hated leaving her, even for a couple of hours. Maybe that wasn’t so crazy, considering that they only had a couple of days together but … He blew out a big sigh. He was in trouble. She had him wrapped around her little finger, and she didn’t even know it.

He wanted to tell himself that it was the novelty of the whole thing. Maybe the warm feeling he had was partly relief that he was so attracted to her. That she was as sweet as she’d seemed. But it wasn’t any of that. She’d knocked him on his ass. No woman had ever affected him like this and … he shouldn’t even think it, but he doubted any other woman ever would.

He hurried across the road to the coffee shop that he’d spotted on the way here. It was only a couple hundred yards from Eli’s building – and that still felt like it was too far away from Shayna.

He went inside and joined the short line. He studied the board, and by the time it was his turn to order, he still hadn’t found anything that sounded like it was just a straight cup of coffee.

“What can I do for you?”

He eyed the girl behind the counter warily. He knew that tone, knew the look she was giving him. She was like the girls at Chico. Before Shayna, he’d enjoyed it – he wasn’t going to lie, even to himself. He liked knowing that a woman found him attractive and was giving him clear signals about what was on offer. Now, it meant nothing. That look in her eyes shone like a lighthouse – warning him to stay away from the rocks.

“Can I just get a black coffee?”

The girl smiled. “You can, but I can talk you through your options if you’re looking for something a little more adventurous.”

Damn. The way she ran her tongue over her bottom lip and folded her arms under her breasts – as if displaying the goods on offer – made him want to turn around and walk out. If this place wasn’t so close to where Shay was, he’d do just that.

Instead, he shook his head. “Just a straight black coffee, thanks. I get all the adventure I can handle at home.” It wasn’t exactly true, he didn’t have Shay at home, but he could dream.

The girl pouted and turned away. “Suit yourself.”

Once he was settled in a corner booth, he took his phone out and scrolled through their messages. She made him laugh. She was awesome, and even more so in person. He was already dreading the moment he’d have to let her go at the airport on Monday morning. He wanted more time with her. He didn’t want to ever let her go.

That thought made him sit up a little straighter. He was in too deep. He hadn’t even known that she existed a week and a day ago. Maybe it was just infatuation? He’d heard about that, knew that people got all caught up in the excitement of a new relationship – and that it wore off again afterward. It hadn’t happened to him before. In his case, the excitement wore off by the next morning. The few longer-term relationships he’d been in had felt like hard work. He’d never once found himself wondering what it might take – how he might need to adjust – to fit a woman into his life.

He checked the time. He didn’t know what Kolby would be up to, but he needed to talk to his twin. He dialed his number and waited.

“What’s up, Ty? I thought you were in Salt Lake?”

“I am.”

“So, why are you calling me? Oh … has it gone bad? Is she not what you were hoping for?”

He closed his eyes as he pictured her face, cheeks flushed, eyes shining, hair spread around her like a golden halo as she smiled up at him while he lay on top of her.

“She’s so much more than I was hoping for.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. She’s gorgeous. And I think she’s the sweetest person I’ve ever met. She’s down to earth, and Chance was right, she’s a real small-town girl. Get this, coming here was her first time on a plane! But she’s not clueless or anything. She’s … amazing!”

Kolby chuckled. “Awesome! But you know that raises the question of why you’re calling me. Why you aren’t making the most of every minute you have with her? By Monday evening you’ll be back here, and she’ll be a thousand miles away again.”

“Exactly. She’s in her meeting with Eli right now – I told you about that.”

“Oh, yeah, right. I can’t believe that Alma’s her adopted mom.”

“Yeah.”

“So, you’re just calling me to kill some time while you wait for her?”

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