Millionaire in a Stetson (8 page)

“You’re not wearing glasses,” he said instead of answering.

“Contacts.”

“They look nice. You look nice. In fact, you look stunningly gorgeous.” For some reason, Sawyer’s mouth kept going when his brain told him to shut up.

“You are a gentleman, Sawyer Smith.”

“Are you a lady, Nellie Cooper?”

She drew back, frowning. “I take it back. You’re a cad.”

“A
cad?
You’ve been hanging around Colorado too long.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Sawyer regrouped. “
Cad
is not exactly a Boston term.”

“You’re an expert on Boston? You’re from Montana.”

“I’ve also been to Boston, and I’ve been overseas.”

“Really? Where?”

“Off the East Coast of Africa. In the Mediterranean. Through the Suez Canal. Wherever there was trouble or potential trouble.”

“Have you seen a lot of the world?” she asked, the edge gone from her tone, replaced by what seemed to be genuine curiosity.

“I have. Not all of it fun.”

“I’ve been to Paris and London, Rome and Monte Carlo.”

“Now those places are the fun.” Sawyer had certainly heard about Gabriella’s glamorous lifestyle. His research told him that she’d taken Niki to dozens of major cities, showed her most of the seven wonders.

“I saw a lot of it from a hotel room with a nanny.”

“You were young?” he asked, already knowing the answer. Niki’s world travels had started before she could walk.

“I’m still young,” she joked.

“Twenty-one’s not that young.” He felt a strange need to remind himself she was an adult. Sure, there were nine years between them, but twenty-one to his thirty wasn’t a gap worth worrying about.

Then he caught himself. Where the hell were those thoughts going? He was investigating her, not dating her. The age difference between them was irrelevant.

“How did you know I was twenty-one?” she asked.

He missed a beat in the dance. “Somebody mentioned it. I think maybe it was at the barbecue.”

“Do I look that young?” she seemed concerned.

“You look timeless, Nellie. Beautifully timeless.”

She smiled, and a shot of desire gripped his chest. “You’re back to being a gentleman again.”

“That’s only because you don’t know what I’m thinking.” Despite his resolve, he was thinking he’d like to tear off her clothes, bruise that gorgeous mouth with his kisses, and make hard, passionate love to her until neither of them could see straight.

She blinked, and something shifted in the depths of her eyes. Her tone went husky. “What are you thinking?”

His fingertips tightened convulsively at the small of her back, and the tips of her breasts seemed to tease his chest provocatively. He held her gaze. “You don’t want to be asking me that.”

“I just did.”

“I am fire, Nellie Cooper. And you are definitely playing with it.”

Someone tapped Sawyer on the shoulder.

It was John, and his tone was icy. “I believe the next dance is mine.”

Sawyer’s hold automatically tightened on Niki. Any other time, any other place, he wouldn’t give her up. But he couldn’t do anything stupid right now. He couldn’t bring attention to himself. And he had to tread carefully where this relationship was concerned. He needed Niki’s trust, her confidence. He needed her to like him, but he needed to keep his distance, as well.

“Sure,” he said to John, forcing himself to release her and step away.

“Thank you,” he said to Niki, then he clenched his jaw and turned his back, pacing his way off the dance floor.

* * *

As Niki danced with John, she thought about Sawyer’s question. John was definitely an iced-tea-at-the-kitchen-table kind of guy. She couldn’t imagine a moonlight stroll with him. And she sure couldn’t imagine anything more.

The reason she could so easily tell the difference, was that she could imagine all of those things with Sawyer. She could imagine anything and everything with Sawyer. Which was extremely dangerous. At the moment, she wasn’t in a position to embark on anything more than iced tea in the kitchen with any man in Colorado.

At the end of her dance with John, Travis cut in.

“Popular woman tonight,” he told her, leading her into a spin and then back into his arms.

The music had grown livelier, and couples were having fun with the tunes.

“I think there’s an uneven ratio of men to women,” she observed.

“I thought it was the gold dress.” He swung her around in a circle.

“You know Katrina took me for a makeover.”

“I do.”

“And,” Niki hesitated. “You know she, uh, well…”

“My baby sister is as transparent as they come.” Travis smiled. “I’m guessing she woke up yesterday and realized we were both single.”

“I tried to talk her out of it.”

Travis twirled Niki out, then reeled her back. He really was a fun dancer, more skilled than John, less intense than Sawyer. She found herself enjoying the music more and more.

“I’m sure you did,” he told her, wrapping his arm around her waist again. “And did she listen?”

“Not even for a second.”

“So, what do you say, Nellie. You want to give it a try between us?”

Niki stumbled, her expression sobered.

But Travis laughed, and she noted there was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. He drew her close, leaning down to her ear.

“The way I see it, Nellie. If there was a spark between us, we’d have noticed before now. Katrina’s not-so-secret plan notwithstanding, I don’t need a sexy dress and a fancy hairdo to notice a woman. If I was the one, you’d have noticed me covered in manure. And, if you were the one, I’d have noticed you in sackcloth.”

Niki drew back. “Do you truly believe that?”

“I truly do.”

For Niki, it was the first time Travis had differentiated himself from the general crowd of Terrell and Jacobs ranch workers and family members. She felt as though she was meeting him for the first time.

“Do you think we could like each other enough to be friends?” she found herself asking.

“I think we could like each other just fine. I already like you, Nellie. And, hey.” He drew back and gave her a slow once-over. “I could sleep with you at the drop of a hat.”

She couldn’t help but grin at his audacity.

“But I don’t see us living happily ever after.”

“Neither do I,” she admitted.

He smoothed back her hair. “And, I could be wrong, but I think two marriages between the Jacobs and Terrell families are plenty. Any more, we might be tempting fate.”

Niki let loose with a loud laugh. “You went from Katrina dressing me up, to the two of us possibly walking down the aisle, in the space of an hour and a half?”

“I believe in cutting to the chase.”

“You certainly do.”

The song began to draw to a close.

“Travis?”

“Yeah?”

“When you do fall for someone? Let me say right off that she’s going to be a very lucky woman. But, my advice? You might want to wait a day or two before popping the question.”

It was Travis’s turn to laugh. “I’ll try to restrain myself.”

Niki reached up to squeeze his hand where it rested on her shoulder. “Thanks for the dance, Travis.”

“You do know Katrina’s been watching us with baited breath the entire time.”

Niki closed her eyes for a long second. “What should we tell her?”

He shrugged. “I’m not going to tell her anything. Let her stay curious for a while. It’ll serve her right.”

“Is that how brothers treat their sisters?”

“Absolutely, Nellie. We teased them half to death. And I feel like you’re my new sister.”

She struggled not to grin. “You’re frightening me now.”

“Don’t worry, it’s not all bad having me as a brother.”

The song came to a close, and Travis escorted her off the floor. Niki was happy to take a break.

Very quickly, she spotted Sawyer. He was sitting at one of the many bars that dotted the perimeter of the arena, sipping a bottle of beer. She decided she needed to set things on the right course between them. He had a point. She was playing with fire, and their flirtation had to come to an end.

She crossed to him, hopping up on the seat next to him.

“Looked like fun,” he drawled, an edge to his voice.

“What looked like fun?” Then she turned to the bartender. “Chardonnay, please.”

“That dance.”

“Which dance?” She’d just danced with Sawyer, then John, then Travis.

“Talking, laughing, touching. I thought Travis was going to kiss you right out there in front of everyone.”

The light went on inside Niki’s brain. Sawyer had completely misunderstood the body language between her and Travis. She opened her mouth to correct him, but then stopped herself.

If Sawyer thought she was interested in Travis, maybe he’d back off of flirting with her. She accepted the drink from the waiter. Before she could dig out some money, Sawyer was tossing a bill on the bar.

“Thank you,” she told him.

“No problem.” He took a swig of his beer.

“Travis is a very nice man,” she added.

Sawyer stared at the crowd. “I take it John doesn’t have a chance?”

She ran her finger along the condensation from the cold glass. “John’s iced tea in the kitchen.”

“And Travis is a midnight stroll by the lake.”

She shrugged, for some reason not wanting to outright lie to Sawyer.

“And more?” Sawyer asked.

She swiveled to face him. “That’s a very rude question.”

“I’ve given up being a gentleman.”

“Were you ever a gentleman?”

He angled his body toward her, and she caught a whiff of his scent. It was enticing and intriguing. It cut through the wood and leather, the beer and champagne. It shot straight through her brain, and her entire body clenched with desire for him.

His tone went low and gravelly. “I can fake being a gentleman, Nellie. But don’t let me fool you. Deep down, I’m as devious as they come.”

She kept her tone light, even though her blood was beginning to sing with arousal. Her lips tingled and a bead of sweat gathered between her breasts. “I’m surprised you would give that away about yourself.”

“So am I.”

Silence grew between them. The music from the band seemed to fade, and the stomping of boots on the dance floor muted. His very gaze reached out and swirled around her, bands of energy pulling her toward him.

“What am I, Nellie?” His fingertips came to rest on her bare knee, and she knew exactly what he was asking.

She knew she should refuse to answer, but she couldn’t stop herself. “You’re the guy who skips the iced tea, skips the moonlight stroll and invites a girl straight to the hayloft.”

A half smile quirked at the corner of his mouth. “You’re a smart woman, Nellie Cooper.”

“I’m smart enough to know when to run away.”

“Are you running away now?”

She slid from the barstool, determined to do the smart thing. She nodded, but then forced out the words. “Travis is a good man.”

Five

S
awyer reached for Niki’s hand, grasping it just in time to stop her from walking away. He was making a colossal mess of everything. He was supposed to be gaining her trust, not scaring her off with talk of flings in haylofts.

“What?” she asked.

“I’m sorry,” he began. “I didn’t mean to—”

The band went suddenly silent, and the arena plunged into darkness. An instantaneous whoop went up from the cowboys, and Sawyer reflexively pulled Niki to him, sheltering her in the dark.

Lightning flashed through the open doorways at the far end of the arena, and thunder rumbled its way through the big building.

“You okay?” he asked her, keeping his arms solidly around her cradling her between his bent knees. He heard a glass break nearby, and someone bumped against his shoulder. He turned his body, putting her between him and the bar.

Lightning flashed again, and thunder cracked directly
above them.

“Last summer, they had a storm that blew down half the trees in Lyndon Valley,” she told him. “It closed the airport for three days.”

“Exciting place, Colorado,” Sawyer replied.

Voices around them rose and fell. Most people seemed to be taking the blackout in stride. He could see cell phones coming out as light sources all around them.

He lowered his voice. “I’m not looking for a fling.”

“Yeah, well, you’re not getting one. So, that’s good.”

He couldn’t quite peg the tone of her voice. Was she joking with him? “I don’t know why I said I was devious. I’ve never invited a girl to a hayloft.”

“Not even once?” she teased.

“Not an unwilling one,” he joked back. Then he sobered. “I feel like we got off on the wrong foot.” He felt his way along her arm to her hand, taking it gently in his to shake. “Let’s try again. Hi, I’m Sawyer Smith, your new neighbor, here to be friendly and assist you in any way I can.”

“Nellie Cooper.” She shook his hand, and there was a smile in her voice. “Single, and definitely not looking.”

He couldn’t help but grin at that. “Not looking for what?”

“A man. A relationship. Anything more than a friend.” She shifted closer in the intimacy of the darkness. “My life is complicated right now.”

“Complicated how?” He had to concentrate on keeping his hands to himself. Her vanilla-scented shampoo teased his senses, and she had the sexiest voice, especially when it was low, husky with a touch of whisper.

“I’ve just found my brothers. I’m getting my feet under me in Colorado.”

“I can respect that. I’m getting my feet under me, too.”

“I guess you are,” she agreed. “So, why did you leave the navy?”

“My family,” he allowed. “They were…worried about me.”

“Your mother?”

“My mother passed away several years ago. And my father was killed shortly after. But I have a large extended family. We’re quite close.”

“They’re in Montana?”

“Mostly,” he hedged.

She was silent for a moment. A few flashlights had gone on around them, and the bartender lit a couple of candles at the far end of the bar.

“So, you lost your mother, too,” Niki said.