Page 13 of Mister Cowboy
“I guess you could say being at the ranch puts me on edge.”
She opened her mouth, but he cut off what was sure to be her calling him on his lame excuse.
“I know that’s no excuse for how I acted. I’m sorry. Can we start over? Do you need a ride to the ranch tomorrow? I could arrange a driver for you,” he asked, pushing up his sleeves. He was sweating through his dress shirt but didn’t dare touch the heat control, which she had turned up to a scorching level. Hell. This was hell. Trapped in a hot truck with a sexy woman when every word out of his mouth felt wrong.
“That isn’t necessary. I’ll see if I can borrow Michael’s car or take a taxi.”
“It’s really no imposition. My driver can take you to the ranch and bring you back to the city at the end of the day. I often drive myself, so I’m sure he’d jump at the chance to actually do some driving.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?” He turned, half-expecting her face to reveal the joke was on him.
“Yes, if you’re sure it’s no imposition.”
“I’m sure.”
She had him on edge. Thinking before speaking wasn’t something he did all that often, but he chewed carefully over each word before he spoke.
He let out a breath, feeling a bit more at ease as he drove through the familiar city. Her stiff body language had softened and she spoke more animatedly as she directed him to her neighborhood and then to her building.
“Take a right here,” January instructed.
Gawking, Brecken pulled into a beautiful high rise, complete with a doorman and valet parking.
She can’t afford a trip to the doctor, but she lives here?
“You live here by yourself?”
Laughing, she opened the door and stepped down from the tall cab. “Michael and I are roommates.”
Holding the frame of the door in one hand, she faced him and offered a faint smile, her small red gemstone earrings catching the sunlight. “I like the truck. I think it suits you.”
Her face transformed, and she flashed him a big smile that helped ease any remaining worries he had. Another real smile that had him eating out of the palm of her hand. He watched as she closed the passenger side door and walked to the building. Her lips moved in greeting to the doorman as he opened the door. Pulling away from the curb, Brecken couldn’t help the large grin that spread across his face.
I don’t think I know half of what there is to know about Miss January Lyle.
7
January
“Good morning, Miss Lyle. I’m Edward, Mr. Blackstone’s driver.” He opened the back door to a black town car. She tried to return his friendly smile, but between the cold and the dark, she wasn’t sure she managed. Did people really get up at this godforsaken hour? Her eyes burned from lack of sleep, and her head was in a fog. She was going to have to start going to bed a whole lot earlier.
Brecken’s driver reminded her more of someone who should be standing behind a bank teller window than someone who would work for a wealthy CEO. Her father’s drivers were all ex-military and sported the matching crew cut hairstyle. Nothing like Edward.
“Good morning, Edward. Thank you for driving me. Coffee?” She held out a second cup of coffee that she’d snagged from the cafe across the street.
Hesitating, seemingly surprised by the gesture and struggling to decide whether he should accept it, he finally reached to take the offered cup. “That is very nice of you, Miss Lyle. Thank you.”
Edward pulled away from the building, humming quietly. Would it be rude if she avoided pleasantries and slept on the ride?
“How long have you worked for Brecken?” she asked, her manners winning out.
“Three years, but I’ve known him for much longer. I was his professor once upon a time. When I retired, he offered me the job to keep me busy. My wife died around the same time, and I think he was worried about me.”
“I’m so sorry.”
A ring sounded from the dash and Edward punched a button on the steering wheel. “Good morning, Brecken,” he said into an earpiece she hadn’t noticed before. “I’ve picked up Miss Lyle, and we are pulling into the circle now.”
