Page 53 of Parading the Cowboy Billionaire (Bluegrass Ranch 4)

“Exactly,” Olli said, her eyes glinting now.

“We’re not…” Mariah let the denial of a relationship with Lawrence die on her lips when Olli raised her eyebrows. Mariah shifted her feet and dropped her eyes, a smile inevitably crossing her face.

Olli focused on Lawrence. “Cayden was looking for you. I might keep my hands to myself when I see him.” With that, she looked at the next guest at the table and asked for their name.

Lawrence grabbed his name tag and walked away, taking Mariah with him. He went to one of the front tables and put his name tag down. “Do you need to sit by your father?”

“No,” she said. “I’m thirty-seven years old. I can sit by myself.” She smiled at him, and he returned the gesture as he shook his head.

“What were you going to say back there?” he asked.

“When?”

“We’re not…what?”

She searched his face, trying to find what he’d like for her to have said. “I don’t know, exactly,” Mariah admitted.

The noise in the pavilion increased, but Lawrence didn’t look away from her. “I think—”

“Larry,” a man yelled, and the next thing Mariah knew, Lawrence had been plowed into by one of his brothers. She stumbled too as she got out of the way, and she smiled at his exuberance.

“Sorry,” he said, laughing. “Are you guys full at this table?” He barely glanced at Mariah, his eyes flitting away quickly.

She was used to being overlooked, especially by tall, handsome cowboys with a lot of money.

“I think just Cayden and Ginny, and Spur and Olli are here.” He glared at his brother. “Don’t tell me you’ve found some giggling girl, Conrad.”

“I have to have someone,” his brother said, his smile slipping. “Hilde wouldn’t come.”

“That’s because she broke up with you months ago.” Lawrence pulled his arm around from Conrad. “Have you met Mariah Barker?” He indicated her. “She’s working with me and Cayden on the race.”

She stuck out her hand, not liking that introduction at all. Her heart wouldn’t be pounding so hard if she was about to eat dinner with a client. “Good evening,” she said. “So nice to meet another Chappell.”

Conrad grinned at her and shook her hand. “Nice to meet you too, ma’am.” He stepped past her and put his name tag on the table. “I’m going to sit with you guys. Ian is driving me crazy.”

“Duke’s going to get stuck with him.”

“Yes, but Duke has a woman with him, so he can suck it up.” Conrad wore a dark look and surveyed the line of people entering the pavilion. “Now, I just need to find someone to sit by…” He took a deep breath and walked away.

Mariah twisted to watch him go, sure he wasn’t going to bring a complete stranger to the table with his brothers and their wives and girlfriends.

You’re neither of those, her mind whispered.

Then Lawrence’s hand landed lightly on her waist. “Would you go to dinner with me sometime?” he whispered, his lips right at her ear. “You don’t have to answer right now. It’s crazy, and my oldest brother is heading this way.” He stepped back and hugged Spur Chappell when he arrived. He introduced her the same way he had for Conrad, and when Cayden came over with Virginia Winters, Mariah started to freak out a little bit.

“I love Sweet Rose,” she gushed at Ginny. “The harvest holidays you guys do are amazing. My nieces love going there.” She trilled out a laugh. “I think I took them six times last fall.”

“Thank you,” Ginny said, a pleasant smile on her face as she sat down. She glanced at Lawrence and back to Mariah. “Did you come with him?”

“No,” she said with a grin as she took her seat too. “No, my father is good friends of Tam’s parents. I’m working with Cayden and Lawrence on their marketing and publicity for the Summer Smash.”

Ginny’s face lit up. “I knew your name sounded familiar. You’re the one who contracted my banner.”

“That’s right.” Mariah loved talking to other successful women, and when Ginny asked her if she was seeing anyone, she saw Lawrence perk up right next to her. “No,” she said. “Not for a while now.”

Ginny nodded as her attention got diverted by Cayden. She leaned in close to him, listening as he said something right against her ear. Mariah shivered, remembering the heat from Lawrence’s breath on her skin.

She reached out and touched the decorative spread in the middle of the table. “It’s like a little cowhide,” she said, utterly charmed by the brown and white spotted hide on the table. From it rose a tower of rough-cut logs with all the bark on them, like the post that had supported the saddle. Clear glass lanterns, crystal horse figurines, bottles with baby’s breath, ripe, red apples, and candles rested on the different levels. Woven in among the rustic wood and charming décor was an assortment of flowers. White, red, orange, and rose gold roses, along with greenery and sprayed of what looked like the tops of wheat.

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