Page 83 of The Cowboy's Second Chance Bride

“So much good has come out of all this.” She smiled, but I saw the sadness of her loss in that smile.

I leaned forward and captured her chin in my hand. “Hey, any time this feels off and you want to bail, we will. We don’t have to do this gala thing. You get a bad vibe, let me know.”

She shifted so she could lean forward and take my hand. “I love that you don’t want me to get hurt and that you’re worried. But we’re in this together. Stop trying to be a one-man show. Ask for help.”

I barked out a laugh. “What? Did you just meet me?”

She dissolved into laughter. “Right!”

We made our two stops and arrived at our LA hotel as the sun was setting. I’d reserved a suite that overlooked the hills. The living room and kitchen were the central space, with a mirrored wall that a bar backed up to. The mirror reflected the setting sun. A rack of dresses were waiting for Sabrina to try on in the bedroom.

I ordered room service, and while Sabrina was in the other room, trying on the gowns, I called a former client in the jewelry business to line something up for the next day. Sabrina would need some accessories. After dress picking, we would eat and review the plan. Having a plan and acting on it felt good.

Sabrina tried on a handful of dresses, each one sexier than the last, and was leaning toward a hot red number with a V-neck and thigh slit. The dress matched her cast well enough to offer it some cloaking. All plans for room service and reviewing went out the window when she came out of the room in the last option. The dress hit mid-thigh and looked like it was vacuum sealed onto her. The material was sheer with a nude-colored liner that, at first glance, made me think I was looking at skin. The dress left just enough to the imagination.

“Holy shit.” I stood. Her legs looked like they went on for miles, and she wasn’t even wearing heels.

“Clashes with the cast, for sure. It’s a cute dress but a no.”

I took a step toward her and put my hand over my racing heart. “Cute dress? You clearly don’t see what I do.”

She took my breath away. Her hair flowing over her shoulder, her smooth thighs—yeah, I loved Sabrina for more than how she looked, but all her assets were the cherry on top, and at that moment, I wanted to put that cherry in my mouth and tie a knot in the stem.

“You don’t like it?” She looked confused and did the cutest little hop turn to see it from different angles.

“Reenie,” I growled.

She caught my gaze in the bar’s mirror. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like you’re the big bad wolf and I’m Little Red Riding Hood with a basket of cookies.” She hopped around to face me as she put a hand on her hip.

Her mouth—jeez, those cherry red lips were hinting at a smile. She knew what I was thinking. Heat flared in her eyes.

I glanced at my watch. “We have a little more time before the food gets here, and I’m craving cookies.”

“Well then, we’d better hurry.” She opened her arms, and I rushed to her and lifted her up by her sweet ass.

“Hurry? What are you saying? They can leave the cart by the door.”

She wrapped her legs around my waist. “I should take the dress off.”

“Oh no, darling.” I stalked to the bedroom. “Can’t we keep it on?” Then I kicked the door closed. My one goal to make her happy.

The next evening I’d made Sabrina cry before we even left for the gala.

SABRINA

As soon as we walked into the ballroom, we were accosted by a tall, lithe man with thinning gray hair, thick glasses, and a left-eye twitch.

“Cal, what… why… we… we weren’t expecting to see you,” he sputtered, spraying us with spittle as he ran his hands up and down the lapels of his tux.

Cal—looking stupid hot in his tuxedo and black cowboy boots, making me think of spy movies and sex in cloaked public places—clasped the man on the shoulder. “Nelson, it’s good to see you. Let me introduce you to my wife, Sabrina Holloway.” He paused to look at me with his shit-eating grin. “Holloway-Beckett.”

I put out my hand to shake his, and of course, I picked the one with the stunning diamond ring he’d given me earlier that had made me cry and forced me to redo my makeup.

Damn straight, we’d made a quick stop in Vegas and taken ourselves to the courthouse to tie the knot. It was what we’d planned initially, and though we would have liked our friends with us, we didn’t need them to be. We had each other. We would have a party when we got home.

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