Page 28 of Wingwoman
“Because! It’s too expensive. It’s inappropriate and it’s got to be against some sort of ethics or rules.” I knew the etiquette argument was stupid, but I really didn’t have anything else.
“In Texas, it’s rude to return a gift. So one could sayyou’rebeing inappropriate by not appreciating and accepting the gift.”
I swallowed against the hard, knotted lump in my throat and his gaze dropped to my neck. He watched me as I swallowed, forcing the butterfly caught there down to the pit of my stomach, where it joined its other friends bouncing around.
A voice cleared from somewhere behind me and my muscles turned rigid. Someone else was here? Shit.
My eyes briefly drifted closed in a slow blink. Despite these ridiculous feelings of lust, I had a job to do. And I needed to pull it together.
My goal for the next two weeks was to find Josh Gabriel a muse thatwasn’tme. Then I could take my twenty grand, get through my father’s fifth round of nuptials, and get the hell out of this weird state.
“I’m Matt,” a man said from somewhere over my left shoulder. “Josh’s manager. We spoke on the phone the other day.”
I smiled in a way I hoped was professional and didn’t allude to the fact that I was imagining his client naked just moments ago.
Matt offered his hand to me, which I took in a firm handshake. His brows immediately lifted, eyes flicking to meet Josh’s gaze to my right. “She’s got a firm handshake.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Stupid men and their boys club rules.
Sure, a firm handshake implies confidence and business savvy, but I had met many smart, successful women and men who didn’t try to break your knuckles with every greeting. It was such an antiquated way of reading people.
“You know what that means?” Josh asked and I wasn’t sure who the question was directed to—Matt or me. Neither of us answered him and his smirk tipped higher. “She’d be good at riding horses. Gotta have a firm grip on those reins. Plus she’s got the footwear for it now.”
Again, I fought against the urge to roll my eyes and instead took a quick, but deep breath.This right here was the perfect reminder of why Josh and I were not a good match. Yes, there was a physical attraction, but other than that? We weresonot compatible.
Everything about his rock n’ roll lifestyle turned me off.Except for those perfectly sculpted muscles. “Well now that we’ve covered the oh-so-important topic of my reins-gripping handshake, can we get down to business? Daisy will be here in a few minutes.”
Matt gave me a gesture to continue, while Josh simply leaned against a fence post, flicking at the brim of his cowboy hat.
I set the boots down on a nearby porch, then continued. “So, Daisy won the Miss Texas pageant a few months ago. Her charity platform isLove Doesn’t Hurtand she volunteers to help raise awareness for domestic abuse survivors. She goes to Miss America in September, so if you are still with her or needing her services at that time, she will need those 10 days off, but she expects you to be in attendance at the event if you are still together.”
I handed him a few images and articles I printed off earlier that day. “She loves animals, and has a couple of dogs, so she was thrilled when I rescheduled this date to an afternoon of horseback riding.”
Josh flipped quickly through the papers, handing them back to me without hardly reading them. “But what’s her stance on world peace?”
I glared at him and when Matt started to snicker, I spun, directing my glower at him, too. “Get it all out now, you two. All your dick comments mocking her lifestyle and pageant winnings. Because as soon as she pulls down that driveway, you better be the perfect gentlemen.” I pivoted around and pointed a finger at Matt. “Both of you.”
Matt nodded, his smile momentarily dropping. “Yes, ma’am.” Then with a sideways glance at Josh, he added, “I like her.”
Josh eyed me, his gaze holding mine longer than was comfortable, his expression neutral. Unreadable. “Me too,” he said, then his eyes lifted, falling behind me as the crunch of gravel and dirt grew louder each passing second.
“Here they come,” Matt said.
I grabbed the papers and tucked them back into my purse, hiking it high on my shoulder and moving to stand beside Matt—purposefully away from Josh and his burning gaze.
That gaze needed to be directed at Daisy. He needed to showerherwith that attention. Smirk soulfully ather. Not me.
With a calming breath, I lifted my chin a tiny bit.
You can do this, Hope. Everything I was feeling for Josh? It was simply lust. Nothing more. And I’d worked past that before. Never with a client, of course, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t possible.
The F450 truck pulled up behind my rental car and while I fully expected Daisy’s manager to be behind the wheel, Daisy herself opened the driver’s side door and hopped down, her cutoff denim shorts riding high up her muscled, golden-tanned thighs.
“Hey there,” she greeted, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand. She unleashed a blindingly beautiful smile that revealed a row of perfectly bleached teeth.
“You must be Josh,” Daisy drawled, walking over to where Josh stood. “I’m Daisy—”
“Duke?” he finished for her, an innocent smile on his face.
