Page 42 of Catching a Cowgirl

Eloise sighed, gripping the edge of the sink as she stared at her reflection again. She knew what she was doing. She was waiting until she knew how Shane felt before she made her decision about Marc. That’s why she felt like a terrible person.

If Shane wasn’t in fact interested, then she would have a backup.

Yup.

She was a terrible person.

What was she thinking? Before Shane came into the picture, she wasn’t even sure she wanted a relationship. She’d been content to follow in Brielle’s footsteps, however misguided they might have been.

Eloise couldn’t do that anymore.

She took a deep breath and nodded to her reflection. Regardless of whether or not Shane was interested, she needed to tell Marc where she stood. She headed out of the bathroom, and the second she let the door shut behind her, a hand wrapped around her forearm and pulled her down the hall. Shane turned a corner and pushed her gently against the wall, his finger held up to stop her exclamation.

Eloise snapped her mouth shut as she stared at the man before her. He was currently peering around the corner, and when he pulled back to meet her gaze, she saw that same familiar steaminess in his gaze. Her stomach knotted pleasantly, and there was no use quelling the flutters that erupted within her. It was a miracle she found her voice at all. “Shane!” she hissed. “What are you doing?”

“I thought I could take my time. I figured that would be what you wanted, but I can’t.” She let out a laugh and he pressed his finger to her lips, a warning look on his face. “Shhh. I don’t want anyone to hear us.”

She blinked, her voice dying in her throat. This whole situation was ridiculous. “If you wanted to talk in private so bad, then why not meet in your office? Or stop by my place?”

He cocked his head, and at that moment, he appeared almost like a predator. Eloise shrank back even though she had no cause to be concerned. Shane edged closer, his lips quirking upward at the corners. “I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind.”

Her mouth went dry. Wasn’t this exactly what she’d wanted to hear him confess? Shehadto be dreaming. There was no other reasonable explanation.

“On our last date, you agreed to see me again.” He chuckled. “Though your terms were quite ridiculous.”

She bit back a smile. “But totally worth it.”

His gaze swept over her face, the adoration in his eyes hard to miss. The way he was looking at her was the way she’d always wanted a man to.

Was there such a thing as too much perfection? Because she might have found it. “So what is this little rendezvous for? Are you here to steal me away so we can run off into the sunset?”

“Perhaps.”

“Are you always this forward?” This time she couldn’t speak over a whisper. Never had a guy shown this much interest in her.

Shane reached for her hand, placing all of her fingers in his before running his thumb over the ridges of her knuckles. “Never,” he murmured before lifting his eyes to lock with hers. “I am so out of my depth right now. I wasn’t expecting any of this to happen. I suppose I have my cousins to thank for this one thing.”

She grinned at him. “I tend to find that family can either be the best advocate or the worst enemy when it comes to relationships. I’m happy to hear it’s the former with yours.”

His expression faltered so briefly that she wasn’t sure what she actually saw. He quickly covered by lifting her hand to his lips.

If her involuntary shiver was any indication of how that made her feel, she was a goner. “So… what now?”

“What now?”

Eloise nodded. “I assume this is your way of proclaiming your undying love for me.” She snickered at the shock on his face. “I’m kidding. But seriously, where does this put us? Iworkfor you. Will that present a problem? What about Marc? And Brielle?” These issues needed to be addressed—probably not right now in the hallway down from the bathrooms. But soon. “Are you sure that getting serious right now won’t create more problems than it’s worth?”

He shook his head. “I know it will.” Shane glanced down the hallway once more. “Meet me in my office when you take your break.”

She arched a brow. “I get the feeling you’re trying to keep this under wraps.” If it weren’t for his crooked smile, she might have been a little annoyed. Sneaking around might be appealing in the beginning, but what would come next?

Did it matter?

This was the start of something new. Maybe she just needed to allow herself to let go and have some fun.

Shane dropped her hand and placed his palm against the wall just above her shoulder as he leaned in closer to her. “How do you feel about that?”

“About sneaking around?”

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