Page 4 of A Miracle for the Confident Cowboy

“Tell me about yourself. What do you do for work?”

Interest flickered in her gaze, her dark eyes sparkled. “I’m a writer.”

His brows lifted. “Oh?”

A soft smile touched her lips. “Yeah.” With that smile, it was like a shell had fallen away from her, showing just how beautiful she was. When she wasn’t covered in spikey armor, she was actually gorgeous.

His stomach tightened and he leaned forward. “What do you write? Maybe I’ve read some of it.”

She scooted closer to him, her excitement growing. “I have a small niche, so I don’t think so. It didn’t start out as much, but it’s growing at an astronomical rate.”

He was drawn like a moth to the flame as she continued talking about her passion. It was so obvious she truly was in love with what she did.

“I write about restaurants, food, recipes, and the behind the scenes of it all.”

Duke straightened. “You mean like a food critic?”

She nodded. “Sorta. That’s definitely a part of it. But it’s so much more. My readers really like to know how the sausage is made, if you know what I mean.” She let out a laugh. It was the mostdelicious sound he’d heard in a long time—wrapping around him like a wool blanket on a cold winter night.

“That’s intriguing. Who do you write for? I’d love to see what you’ve got going on.”

Sophie was quick. She pulled out her phone, tapped on it, then pushed it across the table, beaming with pride. “That’s my blog.”

He stared at the screen, as he lifted the phone to get a better look. One brow arched, he glanced at her again. “You’re ablogger.” The disdain dripped from his voice as if against his will.

Her expression flattened and her eyes narrowed. “Yeah, so?”

Duke shrugged, swiping through the webpage she’d brought up for him. “It’s just… well… it’s not really apublication.” He could have sworn he heard her gasp, but then perhaps he’d imagined it.

Sophie snatched the phone from his grasp. “It’s just as real as any other publication. I have thousands of readers who interact on my page. I’ve got recipes that have gone viral?—”

“That’s all well and good,” he murmured, “but it’s not arealjob.”

Her mouth fell open, gaping wide. If he were in a horror movie, something would have crawled out of it. His eyes lingered there, watching it morph into a thin line of disapproval. Her eyes narrowed. “And what about you?” she sneered. “What exactly do you do at the ranch?”

Not missing a beat, he folded his arms and gave her a smug look. “I’m the head farrier.” Based on her blank expression, he could tell she didn’t know what that meant. “It means I’m the specialist when it comes to caring for the horses’ lower legs and hooves.”

She snorted. “What? You weren’t good enough to take care of thewholeanimal?”

He bristled at the insinuation. “I know how to take care of the animals from top to bottom, I assure you. I take every opportunity to work with them—exercise them, feed them, groom them—it’s what I love most about my job.”

This time she arched a brow. “So you’re stuck in a job you don’t love.”

“What?” he stuttered, “That’s not what I?—”

“It’s fine. You’re putting food on the table,” she murmured flippantly. “Sometimes people such as yourself can’t make enough doing what they love.” The way she said it had so many implications. Was she actually suggesting that her job was a better fit?

He scowled at her, unsure about where to go from here.

Sophie wagged her finger at his face. “You better be careful. Your sore loser attitude is showing.”

Grinding his teeth, he did his best to school his expression. She was right. If Pippa saw him scowling at Sophie, he wouldn’t hear the end of it.

His date on the other hand smiled freely. “You deserve it, you know.”

“And why is that, exactly?” he ground out. She didn’t answer right away because at that moment the waitress delivered their food. He gave the woman a courteous smile and a nod. The second they were alone, Sophie answered his question.

“You deserve to be put in your place for calling me stupid.”

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