Page 49 of Pretend To Be My Cowboy
He blinked and looked away. He had to stop thinking that word when he looked at her.
She might look touchable, but she wasn’t his to touch.
“So where do we start?” Emma turned to him with wide, trusting eyes.
Another reminder that he had to keep his thoughts pure around this one. She’d be leaving soon, and she deserved a heck of a lot better than whatever he could offer.
Like a pretend relationship?
He shoved the thought aside. It would be for her own good, he reminded himself. Sure, he had something to gain, but he’d protect her while he was at it, and then she’d feel no obligation to stay once her time was up. She wanted to go back to Chicago. After all, it was her home. It didn’t matter that she seemed to fit here with such ease. She was the type of wonderful person that could no doubt make anywhere work.
“Nash,” she prompted.
“Right, well, first I’ll show you how to sit on a horse, and a few basic commands.”
She nodded as he went about the ritual of getting Duke ready to ride.
“Duke might be big,” Nash said. “And he doesn’t always have the most gracious manners. But he’s a sweetheart underneath it all. And besides, he knows this land better than anyone so he’s the best tour guide you can find.”
“I don’t know,” she said lightly. “I thought you did a pretty great job showing me around yesterday morning.”
He dipped his head to hide a grin. Heck, that simple compliment should not make his chest puff up with pride, but try telling that to his ego. “Well, touring the place in a side-by-side is all fine and good,” he said. “But there’s nothing like viewing the range from atop a horse.”
She nodded, her smile fading into a sweet, dreamy expression. “I can only imagine.”
He laughed as he caught her by the waist and helped her find her footing in the saddle. She threw her leg over like she’d been born to ride, and he grinned up at her. “You can do more than imagine, Emma. By the time you leave, you’ll be riding the range like a pro.”
She leaned forward and patted Duke’s neck. “What do you think, Duke? Do we got this?”
Duke’s whinny made them both laugh.
They started simple, and just like he’d suspected, Emma was a natural. A little timid at first, perhaps, but Nash kept a hold of the reins and Duke seemed to be in no hurry. In no time, Emma was taking the reins by herself and was riding in the saddle with ease.
“I’m doing it,” she said with a grin as she and Duke made a loop around the lower corral on their own.
“And you look like a natural,” he said.
Her cheeks stained pink as she smiled down at Duke and patted his neck. They were too far away for Nash to hear but he could have sworn whatever little words of love she’d been murmuring to him for the past hour, had put the stallion under her spell.
Nash could relate. The more time he spent with this woman, the more he felt like he was losing his wits. Last night, for example. The whole ‘pretend to be my girlfriend’ speech?
Yeah. He’d officially lost it.
But even as he’d told himself that while they made dinner together, and again this morning over eggs and toast, he couldn’t bring himself to put an end to this plan before it even began.
After all, how else was he supposed to keep her close and make sure his father kept his distance?
And how else was he going to get through a family wedding without dealing with a million questions and more well-intentioned matchmakers than he could handle?
No. This was the plan, and he was sticking to it. But that led him to another dilemma he’d been grappling with all day. He wiped clammy palms on his jeans as Emma gently drew Duke to a stop beside him.
“You need a break?” he asked.
Her excitement was palpable. He’d never met anyone who was so open and genuine with her emotions, and right now joy radiated from her like sunshine.
“If I could, I would never stop,” she said, leaning down to give Duke an impromptu hug.
Nash chuckled at Duke’s satisfied whinny.
