Page 46 of Cowboy Seeks Husband
“Yeah, but then I completely freaked because I noticed something vile and slimy was stuck against my stomach.”
Chad gaped at him, then began to laugh again. “Are you sure you’re gay?”
“No, I’m serious,” Roan said, laughing too. “It was a leech.”
“Oh, fuck no.”
“Yep. Walker had to peel it off me. I swear that wound kept bleeding for like half an hour. And then…” He was glad for the dusky porch because he felt his face warm. “He had me strip completely naked to see if there were more.”
“No. Fucking. Way. The perv.”
“It wasn’t like that. He found another, so it was good he looked.”
“Oh gross. Where was it?”
“On my ass,” Roan admitted, and Chad began to howl with laughter. He was bent over clutching his stomach while wiping tears from his eyes when Walker came outside.
“Why did I know I’d find you out here?” he said to Roan. “Come on, not-so-private chat time.” He jerked his head in the direction of the house and Roan rose to his feet as Walker disappeared inside. Chad stopped laughing and grabbed hold of Roan’s wrist.
“None of the rest of us stand a chance,” Chad said. “Jesus, the way he looks at you.”
“You’re drunk,” Roan said, but he couldn’t suppress the little butterflies awakening from their long dormant sleep in his stomach.
“Wow, this is…cozy.”Roan took in the small covered and screened-in porch tucked away to the right of the barn. It had been off limits before now. It held a comfy couch and a nice view of the farm in the distance, but three cameras were aimed at the couch, with a microphone hovering above it. “I feel like I’m about to be interrogated or something.”
“Close enough,” Walker said, gently taking his arm and steering him toward the couch. “This is where you tell me all your darkest, deepest secrets.”
He said it with the cutest little eye roll towards the four crew members sticking their noses and cameras in their business. “Ha, funny,” Roan croaked and sank down into the deep couch. He wanted to reach for a pillow and hold it against his stomach but didn’t. Instead, he pulled one leg under his ass, and twisted a little so he could face Walker and only one camera instead of all three of them.
“So how was the first elimination?” Walker asked. “You happy you’re staying?”
“It was pretty nerve-wracking,” Roan admitted, then gently swatted Walker’s arm. “Thanks a lot for making me stand there until the end with Antoine, of all people. I mean, Bellamy was a fine guy, but Antoine? C’mon.”
Walker blushed and spread his palms. “It wasn’t my choice, believe me. It’s all for drama or whatever. I knew I was going to keep you.” He didn’t smile when he said it, and his brows drew together in a small V for a second.
“Don’t sound too thrilled about that,” Roan teased.
Walker laughed under his breath and rubbed at his face with his hands, holding them up in disgust and looking at them like he expected them to be dirty. “Sorry, it’s been a long day. They make me wear makeup, did you know that?”
“Yeah. Kylie has chased me with lipstick too.” Roan chewed on his cheek as he tried to think of something interesting to say. He felt put on the spot, like he was being interviewed for a job. He suppressed the urge to share his typing speed and the details of his up-to-date Mac skills. “I read in your bio that you went to college,” he finally fetched out of thin air. “Where did you go?”
Walker looked startled for a second, then shifted in his seat so he could put his hand along the back of the couch. “I went to LSU. Geaux Tigers! I studied agriculture.”
Roan was distracted by Walker’s hand gently rubbing back and forth over the couch. His imagination supplied him with a vision of them here on the couch alone, sans cameras and hawk-eyed producers. He would put his own hand over Walker’s, thread their fingers together, kiss those tanned knuckles and drag him closer. He cleared his throat. “I bet they couldn’t teach you anything new.”
“Oh, you’d be surprised. I didn’t know much about the financial aspect of farming. Or marketing or anything. And I learned a lot about bringing our ranch up to date, adding in sustainability features and changing the way we handled the fields.”
“Was your dad okay with that?”
“Sure.” Walker’s eyes found his and they twinkled with amusement. “He pretends to be a grumbly bear, but he’s on board with me taking over and improving things.”
“Was it fun to get away to college for a while?”
Walker’s smile turned a little wicked. “You could say that.” He cleared his throat. “But enough about me. Tell me a little about you. Have you had any long-term relationships?”
“Wow, jump straight to the point, why don’t you?” Roan laughed and looked away, forgetting the cameras were standing there. He faced Walker again in a hurry. “I had a boyfriend when I was an undergrad, but we didn’t last. We lived together for a while, though. His mom was a fashion designer, and they dragged me to a bunch of fancy parties. It was insane. His mom used to dress me up in her clothes, and I modeled a little bit for her. I, uh.” He felt himself go red, but barreled on. “I liked the clothes, I admit. The rest of the relationship? Not so much.”
Walker’s hand dropped down to Roan’s knee, touching the fabric of his pants. “I noticed your clothes were really nice. That’s a very different life from living on a farm.”
