Page 17 of A Miracle for the Confident Cowboy

Sophie nodded with a laugh. “I hope you don’t mind. I just figured I’d come to see what areal joblooked like.

Groaning, he dragged a hand down his face. “You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”

She shook her head. “Nope. It had to be the most awful thing anyone has ever said to me about my career choice.”

He frowned. “Yeah, well, being told I was faking my actual accent to get the attention of some pretty girls had to be the worst thing anyone has ever said to me.”

When Sophie flushed and her happy expression faltered, he felt the guilt rise to the surface.

Duke sighed. Why did he feel such a desire to apologize to her about speaking the truth? He needed to change the subject and fast. “What’s the occasion?”

Sophie looked confused. “What?”

“For dinner. You celebrating anything special?”

She shrugged. “I don’t think so. Sometimes we like to get dinner so we can connect. When he moved here, I missed him more than anyone would have ever been able to understand.”

His heart constricted. He knew how that felt.

Her expression faltered. “Oh, I’m sure you’ve experienced that kind of loneliness. Do you have siblings?”

“A sister,” he said softly. Another slice of guilt cut him to the bone. Just thinking about his family right now was impossible without remembering the obligations he worried he'd walked away from.

The corners of her mouth lifted slightly as she hopped down from the fence and moved closer to the horse. She placed her hand against the animal’s neck and trailed her gentle touch there. “I always wanted a sister. I don’t know that I could say the same about Rob.” Her eyes met his. “I count myself lucky he fell in love with someone I could put into that position.”

Duke still didn’t know what this conversation was supposed to be about. Was she trying to throw him off his guard? If so, it was working.

“Do you usually work Christmas?”

His hands stilled and his whole body went stiff. “No, not usually.”

“What was so different about this year?”

He did his best to tell himself she wasn’t trying to open the wounds from leaving his family and moving to Texas. Why would she? She didn’t know about that side of his life. “I gave them a vacation for Christmas last year. They’re currently on a cruise.” It was as if he’d tried buying their love. No one seemed to see that connection but him.

Sophie went quiet. She reached out and touched his shoulder. “You miss them, don’t you?”

He glanced down at her touch then lifted his gaze to meet hers. “Yeah,” he said thickly. “But it’s more than that.” He left it at that. He couldn’t bring himself to voice aloud all the pain he knew he’d caused his family by leaving. Instead, he cleared his throat. “Distance is hard. Maintaining relationships when you can’t see each other every day—well, the cards are stacked against people who even deign to try.”

Sophie frowned. “Yeah, I get it,” she said quietly. They were still so close. She hadn’t stepped back—not even when he lowered the horse’s hoof after he completed the shoeing. They were nearly toe to toe. She stared up at him, her eyes bright and curious.

Why wasn’t she backing up? Normally people couldn’t stand being close to one another—unless there was something more happening—something like an argument… or affection.

Duke swallowed hard, the lump in his throat shutting off his ability to breath easy. It had taken all of one minute for her to notice he was struggling with being home this holiday. Granted, his issues ran a little deeper—but that didn’t change the fact that she’d noticed.

Sophie exhaled a soft breath. He could almost imagine she was leaning into him—an invitation.

On instinct, his eyes dipped to her mouth.

Her full lips reminded him of the impending holiday. They were cherry-red. That sort of color was a little too bold for his taste, but somehow she managed to pull it off without a problem. Her lips parted and he found himself inching closer to her, itching to slip his hand around the back of her neck to hold her in place so he could steal a kiss.

They were alone. If he was quick about it, no one would know. Just a few inches closer.

Sophie’s breath hitched and his fingers twitched.

Heart roaring in his ears, Duke reached for her.

Boisterous laughter shattered the fantasy he’d been locked in. Sophie’s cheeks colored and she took a decided step backward. Her lashes fluttered as she sucked in a deep breath and turned away from him. “I’ll see you later, Duke.” Those were her parting words as she scurried toward her car.

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