Page 34 of My Rancher Valentine

Chapter 13

Kat

The flowers were the first thing to arrive. There was a quick knock on my door first thing in the morning and a large bouquet of red, white, and pink roses. The card read, “Happy Valentine’s my fake fiancée. From your real love”.

When I got to work there was a box of chocolates sitting on my desk. That card said, “We have a party tonight. Don’t forget”.

Next came a stunning red dress. It was form-fitting with shear sleeves that had rhinestone shimmering hearts all over them and an open scoop back. This one didn’t have a card. It was hand-delivered by his sister Daphne.

“This is a bit much, don’t you think?” I took the dress from her.

“Oh yeah, but my brother has never done anything half-assed.” She laughed. “Kind of a family creed. If you’re going to do anything, go whole ass or don’t go at all.”

“Do you guys have that on shirts or something?”

“No, but it might not be a bad idea.” She laughed harder. “Think I could sell Hailey on a new flavor of ice cream called going whole ass?”

“Hailey, maybe. The rest of the world, not really.” I couldn’t imagine anyone buying that.

“I didn’t think so.” She smiled. “We’ll just keep that in the family vault.”

I stared back at her. “Is there really a vault of family flavors of ice cream?” That would be a great thing to see.

She ran her finger over her lips. “Have a great night, and tell Blair I said hello.” She was gone in a flash.

I took my time getting dressed. I wanted tonight to be extra special. It had been a long time since I’d had a boyfriend on Valentine’s Day, and I honestly couldn’t believe that it was Beau Wynters.

I hated that I had to leave him in Brexley but I had to finish the article and get it turned in. There was only a small part about Dallas winning. The rest was about Beau’s harrowing ordeal. I had originally done it more fifty-fifty, but the notes I got back wanted more of the local hero and less about everything else.

Dr. Reynolds made Beau stay in bed for almost a week after he came home. I visited almost every day, and as soon as he was free, we had our first official date. Since then, we have gone out one other time and hung out at my apartment once. I couldn’t wait to see what he had in store tonight.

The doorbell rang, and I smoothed the dress down, trying to calm my nerves. I opened the door to see Beau standing there in an elegant black suit that stole every breath from my body.

“Damn, Kitten.” He was holding a single red rose. “You’re breathtaking.”

“I could say the same to you.” I swallowed the instant desire I had to forget whatever he had planned and just stay in.

Beau stepped closer and pressed his lips to mine. “Happy Valentine’s Day.” He held out the rose to me.

“Thank you, but don’t you think you’ve done enough?”

“Not even close. I have years to make up for.” He held out his arm to me. “Shall we?”

I nodded and followed him out before shutting the door and locking it behind me. His truck was nowhere to be seen. There was a long limo waiting with a gentleman holding the door open.

“Beau, this is too much.”

“Never.” He kissed my cheek and held my hand as I got inside.

I had never been in a limousine before. The interior was all dark leather that felt like silk beneath us. The seat was curved to go down one side, and across from it was an open glass bar with a bottle of champagne sitting in an ice bucket.

“This is amazing.” I couldn’t stop looking around.

“I’m glad you like it.” Beau opened the bottle and poured two glasses as we began moving. The ride was so smooth that it almost felt as if we were floating.

“Here you go, Kitten.” He handed me one of the glasses.

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