Page 66 of Pretend To Be My Cowboy
He chuckled as he watched her dish out a piece for herself and soon enough they were both sighing contentedly.
Now would be the time to ask her. He watched her as she sank into a chair at the table, her gaze distant, a smile tugging at her lips as she enjoyed the fruits of her labor.
A nervousness he rarely felt around Emma rose up all at once. All morning he’d been thinking about how he might ask her to attend the festival with him.
It shouldn’t be a big deal, but try telling that to his pounding heart.
He’d already asked her to a wedding, for heaven’s sake. And she’d been the perfect date at his family’s barbecue, enduring their curiosity and prying with all the grace and charm he’d come to expect from this warm, vivacious woman.
Asking her to the festival was no different than the wedding or the barbecue. Except…
It was. He couldn’t say why. Maybe because he honestly wanted her to go as his date. Not as his pretend date, and not for any other reason than...he wanted to spend time with her.
And that confused things. It made him question his own motives in asking her, and he couldn’t help but wonder if she’d question it too.
It made him wonder if she felt this connection between them. The draw that made him want to tug her into his arms whenever she was near.
She looked up and caught him staring. If she was surprised, she didn’t show it, she just flashed him a friendly grin. “So what’re you up to now? Don’t tell me you’re already done for the day.”
He laughed at her teasing. She’d mentioned several times over the last few days just how in awe she was of the hours he and his men worked and how much labor went into running this place.
“Not yet,” he said. “I still have some chores to do before nightfall.”
He set his empty plate down in the sink and was about to head out the door when she stopped him.
“Can I help?”
He turned to face her, eyes wide with surprise. “Pardon?”
She shifted from foot to foot, her empty plate in hand. “I don’t really have anything to do this afternoon, and I know I’d probably just get in the way, but...if I can help at all, maybe you could finish up those chores a little sooner.”
His lips twitched, yet another thrill racing through him. It was driven by ample amounts of wonder and affection. She really was the best woman he’d ever met.
“Of course you can.” He took in her cute little sundress and bare feet. “Why don’t you put on some jeans and boots and I’ll clean up in here.” He pointed to the sink. “Meet you by the stables?”
There was that sudden beaming grin again, and he felt like he’d just won the Superbowl.
“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” she said in a rush, already hurrying out of the kitchen toward her bedroom.
Later that afternoon...he was standing in the stables, shaking his head in awe.
He glanced over at JJ and Kit, and immediately realized he wasn’t the only one. All three of them were watching as Emma threw herself into mucking out the stalls with the same energy and enthusiasm she’d brought to every other menial chore she’d been assigned.
He’d tried to take it easy on her when they’d first set out, but it had become abundantly clear over the past few hours that, despite her self-deprecating jokes about being a city girl, she had no problem getting her hands dirty or working up a sweat. Sure, she’d managed a little Montana shoeshine when she stepped in cow dung, but after a gasp of shock, she’d laughed like it was the funniest thing. And then there was that moment when she touched the electric fence and nearly jumped a mile. Nash felt kind of bad about that one. He should have warned her, but she brushed off his apology with a wave of her hand and that easy smile he adored so much.
Kit leaned against the stall door behind him, a goofy grin on his face. “I might be in love,” he murmured.
Nash shot him a sidelong glare. His friend was teasing. He knew that. For all his flirting and all his charm, Nash had known him long enough to see when he was truly taken with a woman, and Nash hadn’t seen him that way since Natalie.
The twins’ mother had been his first and last love, and sometimes Nash worried that her betrayal had hurt his oldest friend so badly he’d never let himself fall again.
In spite of that, he glowered at his friend now. While he wanted to see the man move on, he wasn’t about to let the charmer anywhere near his girl.
His fake girl.
Whatever.
He turned back to Emma with a huff as he reminded himself that this was Kit. The guy wasn’t serious about women. Although he had been joking a lot lately about finding a mother for his kids…
