Page 8 of Winter Wrangler

“You mean spend it together?”

“It could be fun.” I give him a smile, trying to tempt him into it.

“All right.” He lets me take the coat off him, and I hang it on the hook next to mine. “You plan it, and I’ll get whatever you need.”

“I can do that,” I agree, but I’d really enjoy it if we did it together. “I can even decorate the house.”

“You can do anything you like. I’ll see about getting the lights hung. I don’t want you trying to do it yourself.”

I find myself leaning into him, and once more, Devin stares at my mouth. This time I don't try to get away from his kiss, and when he starts to lean down, I let my eyes fall closed.

“I’ll go make those calls,” he suddenly says and backs away from me abruptly. When I open my eyes, I see he’s practically on the other side of the room. “You should see about your stuff. My men left it in the entryway.”

Heat rushes to my cheeks, and they burn with embarrassment. Have I read all of our interactions wrong? I don’t get a chance to respond before Devin is already hightailing it out of the mud room and leaving me wondering what the hell just happened.

Chapter Six

DEVIN

“Hey, I need to talk to Booker,” I say into the phone as I peek out of the door of my office.

“Hey Devin! How’s it going?” Sabrina’s voice carries even through the phone, and I have to put my hand over the screen to try and muffle it.

“Good. I need to talk to Booker,” I repeat, hoping she’ll take it seriously. I had to call the house phone because he wasn’t answering his cell.

“He’s just getting out of the shower. Is everything okay?” She sounds concerned.

“Fine. All good.” I try to keep it brief, but clearly that’s not going to happen.

“I heard you brought Joy out to the ranch.”

“Yeah.” I press my lips together to keep from blurting out more.

“Is she having a good time? I know I’m missing her cinnamon rolls like crazy.”

“Yep.” My one-word answers are making her more suspicious.

“Devin, what’s going on? Is something wrong with Joy?” Her voice fluctuates between anger and concern.

“No, she’s fine. I mean, she's great.” My shoulders sag. “I’m in over my head.”

To my surprise, Sabrina lets out a small chuckle. “Booker said you’d do this, but I told him he was wrong. Damn it, now I’m going to owe him.”

“Booker said I’d do what?” I sit up straight and feel my brow furrow.

“That you’d call with some kind of crisis because you’ve been so obsessed with Joy since the second you saw her. And that when you finally got her there in your house and all alone, you wouldn’t know how to hold back.”

I’m silent for so long Sabrina thinks I’ve hung up.

“Hello, Devin, are you there?”

“I’m here,” I say and clench my teeth.

“If you want my advice, I’d follow in the footsteps of your bestie.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m saying, don’t give her space because all it will do is give her time to doubt you. You might think you’re doing the right thing by stepping back and letting her get used to you. But the best way to get her used to you is to always be around.” Sabrina says something, but it sounds muffled, and then I hear a kiss on the other end of the phone. “I know Joy and she’s used to carrying things on her own. Don’t let her.”

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