Page 12 of My Rancher Valentine

“That’s impressive,” Leonard added. “My wife was an English major too. Did you go out of state or to Brexley?”

“Brexley State,” I said. “It was easier and cheaper than out-of-state tuition.”

He laughed. “That’s for sure. I’m from Washington, and both my wife and I stayed in state until after graduation.”

“Washington? That’s where Beau went.” I pointed out.

“Really?” Leonard narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t know you went to any college.”

Ouch. “Oh, I know Beau can come off like he doesn’t take anything seriously, but he also double majored in business and accounting. And he did it all while building his rodeo career.” I defended. “He also came home every summer to help out his family at the ranch and with the business side of Bliss Ice Cream. He might not look it, but you won’t find a harder working than this guy right here.” This time, I put my hand on his thigh.

Beau put his hand over mine and squeezed. “Thanks, Kitten.”

“I didn’t mean anything by the statement.” Leonard backtracked. “It’s just a lot of riders don’t have a degree.”

“That might be true, but do most riders also help run a multi-billion dollar business?” I pointed out.

“No, I guess they don’t.” He seemed shocked that I was pushing back so hard. I was actually a little shocked myself.

“It’s no big deal.” Beau squeezed my hand again. “Family is important. I know that. It’s why I think I would be such a good fit for your brand. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for my parents or my sisters.”

“Or your fiancée?” Leonard raised his brow.

“That goes without saying.” Beau kissed my cheek. He looked up right into my eyes. “Kat knows she owns my heart.”

My breath caught in my throat. The honesty shining back at me scared me down to my toes. Just what sort of game was he playing at?

“So, when is the wedding?” Thank goodness Randall spoke up. The heat coming from Beau’s stare was enough to make me start fanning myself.

“If it was up to me, we would already be married, but Kat wants to wait a bit.” Beau looked back at the other guys across the table.

“I just figure why rush.” I got out around the lump in my throat. “Generally, as soon as you get engaged, people start asking when is the wedding. Then, as soon as you get married,they want to know when you’re having kids. I say give us time to enjoy being engaged first.” That sounded like a good excuse.

“Very true.” Randall laughed. “I think my mother had a wedding planner on speed dial as soon as I told her I was going to ask my wife to marry me. She never let up during the whole four months before we walked down the aisle.”

“See.” I nodded.

“But when you know, you know.” Leonard leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. “My wife and I got married two weeks after I proposed. We just went to the courthouse and got it done. We didn’t see the point of waiting to be together.”

This guy was really getting on my nerves. He wasn’t going to be happy until he got an invitation to the fake wedding.

“Yeah, but what’s the saying? ‘Happy wife, happy life?’” Beau raised his own eyebrow. “Whatever my Kitten wants is what she gets. It doesn’t matter if I have to wait forever for her. She’s worth it.” He didn’t give any of us time to reach to his statement. He leaned over and pressed his lips tight to mine.

I sucked in a breath, completely unprepared for the sensations that floated from his mouth to mine. It wasn’t a long kiss or even a deep one, but the firmness of his lips against mine. The way his fingers held my hand, and his other arm pulled me close, gave the moment a sense of intimacy that shouldn’t have been there. When he pulled back, he brought his lips back to my cheek and down the side of my neck.

“Beau?” We both jumped apart at the sound of the woman’s voice behind us.

I put my free hand to my chest, trying to calm the racing of my heart enough to turn. You would think I was the one riding in the rodeo with how fast the organ was pounding in my chest.

“Hailey?” Beau said. My eyes closed, and a soft groan forced its way between my lips. “What are you doing here?”

“Business dinner.” She answered. “What’s going on?”

Beau let me go and stood. I could finally turn with a weak smile.

“Hailey, this is Randall and Leonard from Patchwork Leather. We were just talking about a possible sponsorship.” Beau introduced them. “This is my oldest sister, Hailey.”

Randall stood and shook her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

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