Page 8 of Some Cowboys Fight for Love

She rolled her eyes. “Quite the conversationalist, aren’t you?”

He shrugged.

Aria’s cheeks colored while her eyes flashed with irritation. “Normally when a girl cooks for a guy, she’s earned a decent conversation.” Her tone was light, and if Daniel hadn’t already gotten wise to her, he might have assumed she was being flirtatious in the way she demanded his attention. Unfortunately for Aria, he saw right through her.

Daniel shrugged again.

She rolled her eyes. “No comment? Really?”

“Maybe I prefer my privacy.”

“Of course you do.” Her smile did nothing to put him at ease. Nor did the way her gaze swept over him almost hungrily.

Wait, maybe he was seeing things.

Aria destroyed that line of thinking the second she reached over and caressed his forearm with her fingertip. She trailed it upward until she dragged it along his chest. Her voice grew sickly sweet and soft. “Perhaps we got off on the wrong foot?—”

His fork clattered to his plate, and he snatched her wrist to pull her finger away from him, hating the way it seemed to electrify him from the inside out. Why did he get the feeling she was testing him?

Probably the disbelief that flickered in her eyes. It wasn’t irritation like before. It was something entirely different. Surprise? Longing? No, it was something else or maybe a combination of several things.

Then her eyes narrowed, and she tugged on her hand.

He released her wrist like she’d burned him and got to his feet. “I think you should go.” His voice was low, like hers had been. “Thank you for supper.”

She blinked up at him with her large eyes framed by long, thick lashes. Then she nodded. Aria made it to the door before he remembered she’d likely walked.

“I’ll drive you?—”

“Don’t worry about me, sweetheart.” She winked at him, reaching for the doorknob. “I could use the walk.”

This time she didn’t give him a chance to force her hand before she shut the door and disappeared into the evening.

4

Aria

Okay.

She’d been foolish. Her face burned hotter than she could ever remember as she all but stomped back to the house. Why was she even embarrassed? She hadn’t been trying to win him over. She wasn’t really hitting on him. She’d been trying to figure out if he was honorable.

It had been an important test in her eyes, and yet she couldn’t shake the pain she felt over being refused.

The way he’d asked her to leave—it left her feeling burned.

What was wrong with her?

She growled at herself as she continued charging away from him. The more distance she could put between them, the better it would be. The man wasn’t anything like she’d expected. He was quiet and private. He didn’t push her for anything. Instead, he watched her, studied her like she was one of the buildings in the architecture book he had on the coffee table.

She’d noticed that he didn’t have much of anything else that he’d brought with him.

That made sense, though, she had to remind herself. He wasn’t supposed to be here long. Why would he move his whole world into that small cabin?

Aria clenched and flexed her hands. He probably thought she was throwing herself at him. He probably thought he had a chance with her.

No.

No, he didn’t.

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