Page 3 of The Rancher's Code

But Amber was different.

She was unreasonable, but she was so damn kind about it, I didn’t want to let her down. This entire ordeal would’ve been easier if she’d been a monster. If she’d been awful, I wouldn’t have cared as much about trying to inject some reality into her wedding plans.

“What do you think about the bridesmaids entering on horseback?” she casually suggested.

“Like, the horses are part of the ceremony?”

“Exactly! You get it!”

“Are the horses trained to be part of the ceremony? Am I going to have to train horses for this, Amber?”

“You can do anything, right, Wedding Genie?”

“Amber—”

“What is all this?” A deep voice rounded the corner, his frame soon entering my office.

Oh.

He was handsome in a way I wasn’t expecting, with dark hair and a sharp jawline. His gaze was intense as he stared over at me, like he was cataloging me somewhere in the back of his mind. I stared right back at him, even though I knew it was completely impolite. When I got my manners back, I broke off eye contact, taking a second to take in his sun-bronzed skin and his weathered hands…

Hmm.

He must’ve worked on the farm. I wondered how many years he’d put in.

“Cole!” Amber shot out of her seat and into his arms. “You came!”

“Of course, I came. You made it sound like an emergency.”

“It is an emergency!” She grinned. “I wanted you to meet the wedding planner.”

“That doesn’t sound like an emergency?—”

“Please! I know how you get when there’s people on the farm that you don’t know.” She rolled her eyes before she nodded over at me. “Dylan Reid, meet Cole Stratton. He’s my big brother and future CEO of Stratton Ranch?—”

“You shouldn’t say things that aren’t true yet, Amber?—”

“Whatever! Everyone knows that you’re Dad’s favorite.” She rolled her eyes again. “Just be nice to Dylan, okay? Don’t scare him off by being an asshole.”

“It’s wonderful to meet you, Mr. Stratton,” I said, rounding my desk with my hand already outstretched for a handshake. “It’s an honor to be planning Amber’s wedding?—”

“That’s an awfully soft hand you have there, Dylan Reid,” Cole cut me off, not taking my hand at all. “Is that normal? For wedding planning types?”

“And? Just what are you insinuating?”

“Oh, I’m not insinuating anything. I’m just saying it. Seems like you’ll be charging a lot of money in exchange fornot very hardwork. It’s a good deal if you can get it, at least for you.”

“You don’t think I work hard?”

“Sorry. Let me be clear,” Cole replied, with a wink. “I don’t think what you do is really work. Isn’t it all phone calls and emails?”

“Cole! What did I just say about being an asshole!” Amber whined. “What’s wrong with you?!”

Amber turned to me, pleading. “I’m so sorry, Dylan. If it helps, he’s like this with everybody. He doesn’t know when to shut the hell up.”

“I think it’s interesting that your brother seems to think that only his work is real work, whatever that work is.” I staredhim down, not breaking a sweat. “Although, what’s the job description for CEO again? Isn’t it all phone calls and emails?”

A few seconds passed by.

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