Page 21 of My Cowboy Temptation

I nod and tip my hat. “Evening, ma’am.”

“Evening to you,” she says and smiles knowingly at me, then Callie. “I’ll leave you two alone. Callie, if you ever want to discuss art or anything, I’d love to chat.”

“Thanks, Natasha. That would be great.” Callie waits until Natasha has stepped out of earshot to look up at me. “What happened? Run out of excuses for staying as far away from me as you physically can?”

“Something like that. You two know each other?” I ask, nodding to the woman who is now speaking to another couple as they walk toward the front of the gallery.

She stares warily at me a long moment before finally answering. “We met briefly yesterday when I came into town to get some supplies. We got to talking about art, our backgrounds, and she invited me to come tonight.”

“I take it you heard about the job in London,” I say, remembering what Natasha had said about things not working out with that De Longer guy.

“I did,” she says, standing straighter. “He called Monday and offered me the job, provided I can be there in two weeks. Which is now only nine days away.”

Nine days and she’ll be gone. I swallow back a lump that’s formed, knowing that it’s really for the best. “Congratulations, Cal. I knew you would get it.”

“So are you going to tell me what you’re doing here?” she asks, cutting to the chase.

“Was just on my way back from Bozeman and heard you were here.”

“That doesn’t explain why you came here, Brody.” She shakes her head, her eyes blazing with anger. “I mean, you take off on Monday, and I don’t hear a word from you all week. Not even a good-bye or an explanation of where you’re going. I only learned you went to Bozeman because I asked Burke about it when I went looking for you Monday night. And then you stop in here tonight, out of the blue, looking for…what? If you simply wanted to see me, you’ve done that. You’re free to go.”

“That’s fair,” I say, measuring my words slowly. “But in my defense, I don’t have your number, and I didn’t think asking your dad for it would be a good idea.”

“You knew where I was. You could have stopped by.”

“I did.” I soften my voice as I continue to stare at her. “You and Everly went off for a drive in her new car if you recall.”

“Oh.” She pauses, and I see her losing some of the steam. “Still. You haven’t said why you’re here. I need to hear you say it, Brody. And not any more of this bullshit about how you were just passing by.”

“All right. I reckon it’s because I wanted to see you. I-I missed you.”

I don’t go into detail about how much our time in the cabin has been on a permanent replay in my mind and how there’s barely been a minute that’s passed when I didn’t think of her and the unfinished business between us.

Her entire face lights up as she smiles in satisfaction. “There. Was that so hard? Well, to be honest, I missed you too.”

I grin. “I know.”

She rolls her eyes and walks away as I follow her to a third and smaller area of the gallery near the back. She stops in front of a series of black and white photographs that, according to the caption, were taken at a foundry outside Missoula. “These are stunning.”

“Agreed,” I say softly and quickly.

She snorts and glances back at me. “You’re not even looking at them.”

“I didn’t mean the photos.” I step closer to her, with no thought in my mind other than that I want to be as near to her as I can, smell her intoxicating scent of florals and vanilla, feel the softness of her skin under my fingers, which I do when I place my hands on each side of her arms and run my finger up and then down the length as she shivers.

She leans back, laying her head against my chest. Making it so much easier for me to nuzzle the area below her right ear. She sighs softly before pulling away and turning around to face me.

There’s a look of mischief in those deep green eyes, and when she grabs my hand, I know I shouldn’t follow her.

But hell. Saying no to Callie is becoming harder and harder these days.

I’m not even sure if I want to.

---