Page 28 of Catching a Cowgirl

Eloise took a deep breath, steeling herself for a conversation she didn’t want to have. Then she lifted her hand and the door swung open.

Shane stared at her, startled. His tie had been loosened, hanging around his neck, and his hair was disheveled. He actually looked normal. Gone was the man who didn’t quite fit in around here—the man in nice suits and shiny shoes.

Yes, he still wore his suit, but there was something different about him. She was thrown off guard enough that she couldn’t find the words she’d been rehearsing in her head. Her throat closed up and her tongue felt heavy. Think! What was she going to say?

Right, she was going to say that he needed to stay out of whatever was happening between Marc and herself.

“You—” she started to say.

“Go on a date with me.”

“What?”

Shane’s eyes flashed with something she couldn’t put a finger on. He shifted, shoving his hands into his pockets. His gaze focused on something behind her briefly before he continued. “Forgive me. This isn’t the way things usually go for me.”

Eloise placed a hand on her hip. “Oh, so you don’t usually invite yourself into being a third wheel?” She bit back a smile. “Or send a cowboy into a restaurant to rough up your cousin?”

His eyes widened and his face flushed. “Brielle told you?”

She shook her head. “No, I figured it out all on my own. You left, then Wade appeared. Marc’s a good guy. He’s not pressing charges.”

“But Wade was locked up in county—”

“You forget my godfather is the sheriff. He didn’t take too kindly to Wade Keagan dragging my date out into the street to push him around a little.” It was getting harder to fight the smile. Wait a minute. Wasn’t she supposed to be telling him off? This felt an awful lot like they were flirting.

She schooled her features and crossed her arms. He wasn’t going to get to her. This wasn’t how this conversation was supposed to go. But before she could make that clear, he cut her off again.

“One date.” His eyes pleaded with her, catching her off guard once more. “Please, Eloise.”

“You keep saying that, but—”

“And you keep ignoring it. You haven’t said you will or won’t at this point. So let me ask you one thing. What’s stopping you?”

She let out a laugh, but it sounded far more pathetic than she wanted it to. “Whywouldn’t I want to go out with you? Well, let’s see. You’re my boss. You dated my sister. You set your guard dog on your cousin. Need I go on?”

Where she thought he might show a degree of clarity from her words, he demonstrated quite the opposite. “All of those reasons aren’t good enough.”

She stiffened. “What?” Another strangled laugh escaped her throat. “And who’s the judge of that? You? Because from where I’m standing, they’re absolutely acceptable reasons.”

Shane shook his head and took a step toward her. His head dipped a little closer to hers. She could smell his cologne and almost feel his body heat. Their little shared moment had grown ten times more intimate as he lowered his voice huskily. “Not one of them is the reason that matters most.”

“And what’s that?” Her whisper was barely audible. Though there was nothing behind her and she had every capability of escaping if she truly wanted to, she found that she didn’t. Eloise stood her ground for no other reason than the fact that he had intrigued her.

“You want to know what it would be like—to partake in something forbidden. There’s a part of you that would relish the idea of receiving a kiss during a stolen moment. You might be intrigued with Marc, but there’s an undeniable pull between us.”

Eloise couldn’t move. It was as if her feet had stopped working. It was getting harder to breathe, and she couldn’t focus on anything except how hot her skin felt. Her head buzzed and her heart pounded.

Finally, she found the strength to utter, “And you want the same?”

He stared at her for what felt like a full minute. Then he took a step back. “No.”

Just like that the air in her lungs—whatever had remained—whooshed out like she’d been punched in the gut. She wanted to be angry with him for taking her on this rollercoaster of emotions, for toying with her, but she couldn’t. Eloise could only be angry with herself for allowing it to happen.

He turned his back, and she balled her hands into fists, making sure her voice would remain steady and professional.

“I would far prefer to court you in the light of day. I’d want you to care for me above anyone else—to think of only me and be grateful you had me. Dating someone under cover of darkness does not appeal to me.” He glanced at her over his shoulder.

Chills rocketed through her body as another bout of whiplash accosted her. She blinked rapidly and her hands relaxed as she tried to wrap her head around what he’d just said.

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