Page 72 of The Backup Bride Proposal

Mae was so damn brave.

“It’s definitely what I want.”

“Good. Now that that’s taken care of, let’s check out the room service menu. I’m starving. And since we’ve got this awesome hotel room for the night, we’re going to have a lot of sex.”

Wow. He had to be careful or he was going to fall in love with this woman.

Chapter

twenty-one

Mae was fortunateto be given the week of Thanksgiving off, even though they had a couple of bridal tours scheduled on Friday and a wedding scheduled the Saturday after the holiday. But the Bellinis had assured her they had things well in hand, and she hadn’t taken any time off since she’d started working for them, so they practically pushed her out the door on Monday morning when Kane came to pick her up, this time in a silver SUV.

He put her suitcase in the back of the car and she climbed in.

“Yet another new vehicle?”

He grinned and slid on his sunglasses. “Gotta stay one step ahead of the paps, ya know. Plus, I thought this one would be more comfortable than the truck for the drive down to the ranch.”

She figured it was more about her comfort than hiding from the media, but she wasn’t about to complain about the extra legroom.

As they drove off the property, she searched for paparazzi but didn’t see anyone lurking at the gates. Which didn’t mean they weren’t there, just that she hadn’t spotted them. Kane was probably a lot better at this than she was, but he hadn’t said anything, so she decided to let it go.

“Okay, so in the back within your reach are drinks and snacks, in case you’re hungry or thirsty. Or we can stop. I had a couple of cups of coffee before I left, but we can stop if you need something.”

“I had coffee as well. And Louise was up early as usual and packed us bacon-and-scrambled-egg burritos with peppers.” She dug those out of her tote bag and unwrapped one, handing it to him along with a napkin. “They’re best eaten warm.”

“Oh, man. This smells so good.” He took a huge bite and made a moaning sound. “Tastes even better than it smells.”

That made her smile. She had a similar reaction to Louise’s cooking. She unwrapped her burrito and ate it, trying not to make the same moaning sounds Kane had made.

Over the next several hours, she discovered that the snack bag had been more than adequately packed as well. There were chips and crackers, fruit, various cheeses, along with teas and juices and sodas. They’d stopped once for a bathroom break and to grab cups with ice, then breezed their way down the turnpike all the way into Texas. It was a beautiful, sunny day and for once the wind was blowing, and the farther south they traveled the warmer it got. She shrugged out of her sweater, leaving her wearing an off-the-shoulder T-shirt. Kane’s gaze roamed over her bare shoulders, which made her laugh.

“You should focus on driving,” she said.

“How can I when you’re doing a striptease in the car?”

“Oh my God. I just took my sweater off.”

“Yeah, but you have amazing shoulders and I want to kiss them.”

The thought of his mouth on her skin never failed to make her shiver.

“You cold?” he asked. “I could turn on the heat.”

“I’m good, thanks.” It was nearly eighty degrees outside. Sure, it was November, but weather was unpredictable around these parts, which was why Mae was generally prepared with about three layers of clothes.

She kept watching for the landscape to change. It didn’t, since Texas and Oklahoma were mostly the same. Flat, brown this time of year, with mostly bare trees. Not exactly exciting, though they did pass the occasional ranch so she got to check out cattle and horses, even a few sheep here and there.

“Bored?”

She pulled her attention from the window and put it on Kane. “No, not at all. Did you know the farther we get into the wilds of Texas, the more ranches and farms we pass?”

“Yes.”

“I keep waiting for you to turn down one of these roads.”

As if she’d willed it, he turned on his blinker and made a left turn down a dusty, unpaved road.

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