Page 5 of Spilling the Tea

“No, but thanks for asking,” she said in what he thought was a nice-sounding voice. “The tow truck will take my car back to the rental agency and me with it, so I can get another one.”

Chance nodded. He had a feeling she wasn’t from around these parts. This road eventually led to four homesteads. Namely, his place, Whispering Pines, Cole Wells’s Shadow Bridge Ranch, and the Hollisters’ spread. He recalled the Hollistershad three daughters. The one who’d graduated from college a couple of years ago would be about her age, which he figured was no more than twenty-four.

He was about to ask if she was related to the Hollisters when she opened the trunk of her car to retrieve her items. That’s when he saw the camera and the equipment that went along with it. Damn. He quickly concluded that she was a reporter, and there was only one reason a reporter would be this far from Houston and in this area.

He’d bet every Angus cattle he owned that she was here poking around for a story on his uncle Jake and his movie star wife, Diamond. It wouldn’t be the first time reporters had shown up for a story, and he doubted it would be the last.

Chance’s expression suddenly turned cold, and his instant attraction to the woman fizzled into a quick death. He didn’t like reporters. Very few members of the Madaris family did. All he had to do was recall the hatchet job that tabloid had done on his cousin Victoria last year when it was discovered that she and Senator Roman Malone were having an affair.

Their uncle Jake, who was as serious as a heart attack when it came to protecting the Madaris family, had filed a lawsuit againstThe Tattler. The tabloid quickly issued a public apology and retracted the story, and in the end, a huge settlement was reached out of court. The owner of the tabloid had been lucky Jake hadn’t bought the whole damn company right from under him. But Chance was certain the millions the owner had paid out in that settlement was a huge financial loss that had taught him a costly lesson. You come after the Madarises, they will go after you.

Chance’s thoughts returned to the present when the woman put the camera around her neck, turned to him, and smiled that much brighter before saying, “We haven’t been introduced.”

They would not be under the circumstances, as far as he wasconcerned. “Since you don’t need my help, I’ll be going,” he said in a curt tone.

Turning, he quickly walked to his truck and got in without looking back. When he got home, he would call his uncle and alert him that a snooping reporter was in the area.

***

Back in her hotel room, Zoey had just finished telling Lucky how her day had been ruined when the serpentine belt on her rental car broke. All Lucky was concerned about was that cowboy who’d stopped to help.

“Was he hot, hairy, and handsome?” Lucky asked excitedly.

Zoey shook her head as she answered the question. “Since he was fully clothed and wearing a Stetson, I don’t know how hairy he was, although he did have a mustache. However, I can certainly say he was tall, hot, and handsome.” Then she thought about something else. “And when he first approached me and tipped the brim of his hat, smiled, and said hello, I believe my panties got wet then and there.”

“Lordy, girl. He was that hot?”

“Even hotter,” Zoey said as she sat on the edge of the bed. Although it was storming outside, she had pleasant memories of when she’d seen him. Her hot and handsome cowboy. She was surprised he hadn’t kept driving, instead parking his truck and getting out to ask if she needed help. Up close and personal, she was convinced he was the epitome of what she’d always thought a Texas cowboy should be. Looking into such a gorgeous face had caused her pulse to skitter, followed by a shiver that had touched every one of her nerve endings.

Dressed in a pair of well-worn jeans, a Western shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, cowboy boots, and a Stetson on his head, he’d appeared rugged, all macho, virile, and sexy as hell. Unable to help herself, her gaze had latched onto a pair of well-defined lips that had curved into a smile beneath a neatlytrimmed mustache. And Lordy, he had dimples. Dimples that only appeared when he smiled.

Then, there had been his rich copper skin tone that emphasized the beauty of his sexy brown bedroom eyes, and the alluring shape of his Nubian nose. She was convinced everything about his looks had been perfect. Her attraction to him had baffled her. After her relationship with Conrad Johnson ended last year, she’d sworn off men, especially those of the egotistic type. But then she hadn’t known what type the stranger was since they’d barely shared a conversation.

The one thing she had noticed was that he had gone from smiling, friendly hottie to a frowning, distant frosty. She wasn’t sure what had caused the extreme attitude shift, but he certainly hadn’t wasted time leaving in a hurry when she’d suggested an introduction. That episode had truly been weird.

“If I were you, Zoe, I’d make the most of my time in Houston.”

Zoey beamed. Of course, Lucky would say that. Her best friend’s parents had given her the right name. She’d been lucky to meet and marry the man of her dreams a few years after college. As far as Zoey was concerned, Lucky and Burke were the perfect couple.

Whereas Zoey had been unlucky with love. She should have known Conrad was a piece of work since Aunt Paulina had been the one to introduce them. During the six months of their long-distance relationship, he had spent most of his time trying to get her to move back to San Francisco. For a while, she’d wondered if her aunt was paying him to do so.

“If you recall, girlfriend, I’m here for a purpose,” she reminded Lucky.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourself in the process. Meet someone. Engage in a fling.”

Zoey couldn’t help but laugh. “A fling? Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously.”

She hated admitting it, but that thought had crossed her mind when she’d first seen him. She’d found that odd since meaningless affairs had never been her thing. It was exclusivity or nothing. “I would love to see that cowboy again, but I doubt our paths will cross a second time. It was probably a one-and-done chance meeting.”

“You never know.”

“I do know that I don’t know anything about him. We didn’t exchange names. At least he didn’t have a ring on his finger.” Zoey was convinced his looks and everything sexy about him was emblazoned into her brain. She wouldn’t forget him anytime soon.

“If not him, then another tall, hot, handsome cowboy,” Lucky suggested. “You’re in Texas, filled with plenty of rugged hunks.”

True, but she was stuck on the sexy cowboy she had seen today. While walking away, he’d done so with a swagger that had filled her head with all kinds of romantic thoughts—of the hot, steamy, and erotic variety. She stood and began fanning herself. That guy had left too much of a sensual impression on her.

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