Page 79 of Pretend To Be My Cowboy
Nash barely had to listen. He’d heard this speech countless times before.
“And when I die, it will all go to you. I want to give you more than what I inherited. I want to leave behind a legacy—”
“I get it, Dad,” he said.
Emma was pulling away from his mother’s embrace, and she was starting to look around. For him. They were both exhausted, and he’d promised to take her home.
He felt like he was crawling out of his skin, he was so impatient to be alone with her. Alone with Emma in the dark quiet of his truck—it sounded like heaven right now, and he resented the heck out of his father for bringing this up again. Here. Now.
“All those daughters.” His father shook his head, missing Nash’s eye roll.
Nash didn’t bother asking where he’d heard that. Word spread quickly in this town. It was just a fact of life.
“Are there really seven of them?” His father’s voice was dubious, and Nash almost relished the idea of wiping that skeptical frown off his face. Almost.
“Yep. Seven O’Sullivan sisters.”
“What did April say?” Patrick continued. “I could talk to her. I bet she remembers me.”
Nash clenched his jaw. “Dad, don’t get involved in this. Do you hear me?”
But his father clearly didn’t. “We can’t wait around forever, you know. I have it on good authority that some company out of Wyoming is scouring property in this area, and if we lose the—”
“Dad.” His tone was curt as he interrupted, but Emma was angling this way as she gave one last wave. “I told you I’m handling the situation, now drop it.”
“Hi.” Emma smiled at them both, slightly breathless and her eyes still dancing with excitement. “Mr. Donahue, did you have a good evening?”
His father nodded and forced a smile that likely fooled no one. But he was polite enough saying his goodbyes, and Nash’s muscles unclenched as they walked away from his father and the rest of the crowd.
He slid an arm around her shoulders and she burrowed into his side, leaning into him as she yawned. His heart slammed against his ribcage at the feel of her in his arms. At the ease with which she rested there, like they’d always been doing this.
“You ready to go home?” he asked.
He could feel her nod against his chest. “Mmm. I’m exhausted.”
“But did you have fun?” He was teasing. He knew she’d had a blast. Between the dancing, the games and the delicious food, they’d spent most of their night laughing and smiling.
Except for that wretched auction, of course. Nash rolled his eyes, still disgruntled by the fact she’d accidentally won a date with JJ. She was initially horrified, but then she saw the look on his face and got a serious case of the giggles. All Nash could do was stare at her beautiful smile.
Emma tilted her head back and he saw that smile now, aimed at him and him alone. His chest squeezed.
“I had the best time,” she breathed.
They reached the truck and he opened the door for her. “I’m glad.”
His hands fit her waist as he lifted her into the cab, and once she was seated, she gave him a long look. “Did I interrupt something between you and your dad?”
He swallowed as guilt flickered through him, but he wasn’t sure who he felt guilty toward—his father, because he wasn’t pushing this woman to make a decision in the family’s favor or her, because he wasn’t being fully honest about his family’s stake in her decision to sell.
Part of him wanted to come clean. To tell her everything.
Everything?A voice mocked him, and when she tilted her head, his mouth went dry.
Yeah. He wanted to tell her everything. He wanted to tell her that what happened tonight—it was real. All of it. Especially that kiss.
That kiss had rocked his world, and he wanted her to know just how much it had affected him. Just how much he wanted to do it again.
Concern started to fill her gaze. “Nash, is everything all right?”
