Page 50 of Pretend To Be My Cowboy
Oh yeah. His old stallion was a goner for this girl.
“Trust me,” he said as he took the reins to hold Duke still. “Your legs will thank you tomorrow if you take it easy.”
She sighed, but her smile didn’t fade. “Ease in slowly, huh?”
“That’s the best advice I can give a city girl when it comes to life on the range.” He grinned when she feigned offense.
“City girl, huh?”
He arched an eyebrow. “Aren’t you?”
She pouted but didn’t respond. Instead, she slid down just like she’d gone up—smooth and graceful.
No sir, she definitely didn’t move like some city girl. But then, he’d known from the first that she had an athlete’s build, lean and toned. After a few days in the sun, her skin was even more golden than when she’d stepped off the plane, and her hair seemed blonder in contrast.
His heart stopped when she turned and strode toward him.
Beautiful. So dang beautiful.
He itched to reach for her—just to give her a hug. To return some of that easy affection she was always doling out to everyone else. But he kept his hands at his sides, not at all certain that he’d be satisfied with a hug.
And this fake-dating situation was complicated enough without adding in stolen kisses.
“You getting bored with teaching a newbie how to ride?” Her gaze was flickering over his face, like she was trying to read his mind.
He had no doubt she’d caught a hint of his turmoil. Best to just get this over with rather than make the poor woman think he didn’t want to be here helping her.
“Honestly?” One side of his mouth hitched up in a crooked grin as he admitted the truth. “There’s no place I’d rather be right now.”
Her face lit up at that, and he was sure he felt the warmth of that glow deep down in his chest. “Yeah?”
He nodded, turning to gaze out at the scenery. “I like seeing all this through your eyes. It gives me perspective. Helps me to appreciate all that God’s blessed me with.”
She hummed softly in response, an appreciative noise as she turned to follow his gaze. “You’ve been blessed, all right. This place is like heaven on earth.”
He smiled. Not everyone would see it that way, but he did, and it warmed him all the way through that she obviously felt the same.
In the distance he could make out some cattle grazing, and across the way he could see the Darby’s house, tucked off the main road. The back corner of his own family’s property was in view too. It was much larger than the Darby’s, and more sprawling and modern than the O’Sullivans.
The sight of his family’s house in the distance brought him back to the moment—and to the task at hand.
“Look, Emma, you obviously should feel free to say no to this. I don’t mean to put you on the spot and—”
“Oh no,” Emma interrupted with a giggle. When he stopped talking she arched her brows. “You’re not going to ask me to fake marry you now, are you?”
“What?” His chin jerked back. “No, of course not.”
She laughed harder. “Because that little speech you just started was sounding way too familiar.”
He took off his hat and twisted it in his hands with a chagrined grimace. “I told you I’m not good with all this.”
Laughter still written on her features, she turned to face him head-on. “All what? What is this, exactly?”
He let out a huff of laughter at her teasing tone. She made it so easy to be himself, and he still wasn’t sure how she did it. All he knew was, when he spoke to her, he didn’t feel like he was being judged, and he definitely didn’t feel like he was found lacking.
He felt like he was enough just as he was. And that was an incredible feeling.
She arched her brows to prompt him.
