Page 34 of The Undercover Cowboy

“He shouldn’t be doing a lot of things, but that’s why I’m here.” Nash gave her a reassuring smile.

The smile knocked her off-kilter and brought up memories of last night’s kiss in her mind. “Are you feeling all right? I figured you’d be all hopped up about this.”

“It’s just a roadblock to my investigation. To be honest, I’m happy that I don’t have to pretend to be a bull rider. It’s tough being booed.”

“No, I mean not being a VIP. I could have gotten you the pass.”

“Why do I need the pass when I have you?”

He had a point.

“Sometimes it’s easier to just follow the rules,” he said, showing her his ticket.

She resisted the urge to cross her eyes at him. “I was following the rules. Blevins changed them on the fly.”

“He does that a lot, I’ve noticed,” Nash said.

“Yeah,” Dolly agreed. “Well, I’ll fix this for Laredo, don’t you worry.”

“I’m not worried and neither should you. You know what, I want to hold off on the promos for a few hours.”

“Of course you do.” Dolly scowled at him.

“Hear me out. When was the last time you took a lunch hour?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Call it more rule following. You’re entitled to a break for lunch every day. Do you take it?”

“I eat lunch,” Dolly hedged.

Nash just looked at her.

“Usually on the run or while I’m editing on my computer.”

He nodded as if he was satisfied. “Good. You and I are going to have a nice lunch around the rodeo. We’re not going to talk about Blevins and you’re not going to take a picture of your damned hot dog.”

“Who are you and what have you done with Nash Weaver?”

“Nash Weaver, bull rider, is gone.” He held out his hand to her. “I’m Nash Weaver, private eye.”

She took his hand and shook it. The rough callouses on his palms from the bull rope made her shiver when she thought how it would feel on her more intimate areas. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that last night was a turning point for me.”

“You mean in terms of the investigation?”

“I mean in terms of us.”

“Us.” She stopped dead in her tracks and looked up at him.

“I want you. And based on how you kissed me back, you want me too.”

She didn’t know if she was going to spontaneously combust or melt into the pavement. His honesty and frank assessment were both off-putting and on-turning. “Okay,” she said, licking her suddenly dry lips. “What are we going to do about that?”

“We’re going to talk.” He reached down and grabbed her hand.

“Talk?” she said, a little disappointed. She was hoping for more kisses and cuddles. But she took his hand and went with him to get in line for some walking tacos.

---