Page 41 of The Way to a Cowboy's Heart

He stopped at her cabin, getting out to open her door. She wasn’t ready to part with him but knew he had taken a big chunk of his day to entertain her, and she’d have to let him go.

They walked up the pathway to her cabin, and she pressed herself playfully at his side, smiling at him. “Aschoose your own adventuresgo, today was one I’ll never forget. Your Montana cool being at the top of the list of things I’m grateful for.”

“I’m grateful we came out of it alive.”

“You are not giving yourself enough credit for getting us out of there in one piece.”

He shook his head. “It sure as hell wasn’t the picture I wanted to paint for you of Montana our first day out. All I could think was I might get you killed.”

They reached her door, and she opened it, leaning against the doorjamb facing him. “If you think that spoiled the day for me, you still don’t know me. Have I not mentioned my years of swimming with sharks on Wall Street? A daily exercise in survival and, dare I say, constant terror? That bear was scary, yes, but you knew exactly how to handle her. And here we are. At the doorway of my adorable cabin on your beautiful ranch. Nothing is spoiled. As I said, it’s given me stories to tell for years to come.”

He leaned a hand above her on the jamb. “You… constantly surprise me, Emily Quinn.”

She took the front of his shirt in her hands. “Well… I’ve always been underestimated.” She pulled him close and kissed him.

He smiled against her mouth, and she suddenly knew she wanted more than just a kiss. She wanted all of him. There was no disguising the fact that he wanted the same as he deepened the kiss, dragging her hard up against him and taking things to a whole other level.

But then he stepped back, taking off the hat she’d knocked out of place and taking a deep breath.

Her own breath came in small gasps, as well. Lord, he could kiss.

“You’re right,” she said. “We should… we should slow it down.”

“That’s not what I was thinking,” he said, his voice gravelly with desire.

She searched his eyes. “What were you thinking?”

With a twinkle in his eye, he said, “I was thinking… you’d better watch out. Between the way you kiss and your chocolate cake, I might never let you go. I might just have to marry you.”

Marry me?Despite the twinkle in his eye, the way he was looking at her made her heart race.

“Ha-ha,” she said, “you jest. Better save your enthusiasm for my second attempt at that cake. I might disappoint you.”

She could almost see him editing his response to that. “Doubtful.” Then, he pressed his lips to the top of her forehead. “Hey, you like to dance?”

The change of subject made her head spin. “Dance? Like dance, dance?”

“Like… line dance.”

“I-I’ve… never done it.”

“So, add it to your bucket list ’cause tonight you’re gonna get the chance. Right now, I’ve got a bunch of chores to catch up on, but tonight I’m taking you to dinner at Grey’s Saloon. On Wednesday nights there’ll be dancing. If you don’t know how to line dance, they’ll teach you.”

“A saloon? How very John Wayne sounding. I love it.” Liam was full of surprises today.

“Pick you up at six then?”

“It’s a date.”

*

Will and Liamfinished the last of the fencing repairs they’d found on their rounds on horseback through the north pasture and headed back toward the house. The weather this week was a glorious break from the dreary winter that had socked-in the ranch with bad weather for the past few months and gave them hope that spring and summer would be equally beautiful.

Liam was quiet—conspicuously quiet—for most of the afternoon, thinking about his conversation—and that kiss—with Emily. Thinking about the events of the morning and the ever-slimming chances that things might work out for them. Oh, he knew her intentions. She was heading back overseas and couldn’t really see anything stopping that. And maybe she was right to keep her distance. To keep things from getting serious. The government kept tabs on things like work visas and foreigners overstaying their time here.

But when he’d blurted out that idiotic thing about marrying her, he could see that scared her. And he cursed himself for saying it. He’d only meant it partly in jest as she’d said, but partly on the square, too. Because he could see himself marrying her. Living a life with her. And he’d never thought that about any woman before.

But could someone like her ever be happy in a place like this? Without the hustle and bustle of the city, and Wall Street and her career there? That look in her eye said no.

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