Page 54 of Choosing the Montana Cowboy

“I’m actually starved, now that you mention it. If we’ve got the time, I say we stop at the Whistle Pig.”

“Thewhat?” Natalie asked.

Sam chuckled. “It’s a Korean place. We took my daughter, Madison, there last summer for her birthday. She wanted to go just to say she’d been there, but the food was actually really good.”

“Okay, I’m game,” she said.

“Excellent,” Neil said, offering Sam a wink. “Lead the way, Mr. Cowboy.”

Chapter Seventeen

Once Sam understoodthat he had nothing to worry about with Neil, the two men started hitting it off. So well, in fact, that they didn’t just stop at Whistle Pig. Nope, they continued down the main strip in town, popping into various bars to sample their featured concoctions from the local distilleries. Natalie stuck to water, knowing from experience that once Neil started drinking, he would go until he had himself a fine buzz. And Sam, being the stubborn cowboy that he was, made sure to keep pace with their newcomer. She ended up playing designated driver to get them all back to the Flying J.

Not that she minded at all. She loved watching the friendship take root between her colleague from the past and her new beau.

And though Natalie hadn’t introduced him as such, there was no need—Neil had picked up on it from the second he stepped off the plane. Thankfully, he waited until Sam stumbled his way into the lodge to grab keys for the cabin where Neil would be staying before he commented on the perceived budding romance.

“Someone went completely off script with this project.” There was a hint of amusement in his voice. He studied her for a moment then added, “You’ve slept with him.”

Natalie’s gaze shifted from the rearview mirror. She picked at the hem of her capris, debating how to answer. “Maybe.”

“More than once if I’m reading your reaction correctly.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t exactly call itsleeping.”

Neil tipped his head back and laughed. “Sweetheart, I would have questioned you if you hadn’t. Just look at him!”

“Yes, he is quite the specimen,” she admitted with a grin. “But he’s more than that, Neil. So much more.”

“Good. Then you remember that as you two try to figure out what comes next.”

“What comes next?”

He arched a brow. “Unless you’re planning on packing up and moving out here. Not that I would blame you for a second. Montana is gorgeous. Why do you think it was so easy to convince me to come out here for this shoot?”

“But you love New York.”

“Sometimes. Really, it’s more about Thomas loving New York, and I love Thomas. So, when I’ve had my fill of big-city drama, we vacation elsewhere.” He shrugged. “It’s called compromise.”

Natalie scanned the lodge’s circle drive. Would she and Sam be able to strike that balance together? It still seemed too early to be thinking this way. Then again, Sam was forty and she thirty-nine; it wasn’t like they were still trying to find themselves. She and Sam were old enough to know the kind of person—and the kind of relationship—they wanted. So far, he checked all her boxes.

She was still pondering that when Sam returned with cabin keys. The sight of him approaching made her smile. Neil was right—she and Sam had some details to iron out. Because she didn’t want this fairy tale to end when her project here was done. She wanted to keep the fire burning and see where it might lead. Hopefully, Sam wanted that, too.

Soon, she got Neil dropped off at his cabin and Sam dropped off at his home, grateful that he’d planned ahead to have her rental car here when they got back. Both men needed a night to sober up before the whole group gathered at the lodge for breakfast. There, they would collectively come up with a strategy to catch the ferrets on film and, hopefully, save the ranch.

In the quiet of her car, doubt weaseled its way into her thoughts. What if the ferrets didn’t show and Natalie had to move the project forward despite the complications it would bring to Sam’s family? That was the job she’d been sent to do, after all.

Would the Miles family still welcome her at the ranch then, or would they shun her? And how would Sam react?

She ran a bath after she returned to the Bramble House, hoping it would help calm her mind after the emotional highs of the day. Instead, lounging in the soaker tub only gave her time to think of more questions. All, she soon realized, revolved around Sam.

Neil was right—she’d gone completely off script in Marietta, blending her professional and personal lives. She’d never had a reason to before, nor had she ever wanted to get caught up in the drama. But it was time to face it. She was falling for Sam. She needed to know how he truly felt about her, all teasing and joking aside.

She just wasn’t sure if they could have that conversation until the fate of Marietta’s proposed resort had been sorted out, because if it went forward, that could complicate everything.

Natalie crawled into bed a while later, sleepy from the bath and the overthinking. Her cell buzzed just as she flipped the light switch. On a groan, she rolled to see what it was and found a text from her uncle.

Storms expected here midday tomorrow. Pray they aren’t as bad as it sounds like they could be.

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