My Billionaire Cowboy: A BWWM Western Romance (3 page)

Kate shrugged. She was not sure what to say.

"Kate, can I take you out to grab a bite to eat? I will be sure
to tell you my story while we fill out stomachs."

"I usually don't mix business with pleasure."

The look on Bruce's face was one of patience. She could tell he
wanted her to say yes and the truth was she wanted to know more about
him.

"Okay. I think I will take you up on your offer. Where do you
suggest?"

"Can you trust me on this?"

She nodded. It was not often she had a little excitement in her life.
"Alright."

Bruce was dressed again in his jeans and crisp white shirt with
cowboy boots.

"Are you ready?"

"Sure."

They took the elevator down to the parking garage. Kate's mind was
twirling. What kind of car would he drive? Maybe it would be a fast
convertible or some kind of large Cadillac. Bruce was a big guy, so
he could not drive anything too small.

He pressed the key fob and the alarm chirped on a large white shiny
pick up truck. "This here is my baby. Is riding in the pick up
okay with you?"

"Yes. It's fine."

Kate waited as he politely opened the door for her. He was the proper
gentleman. He quickly walked around to the driver's side and hoped
in. The truck was kitted out with all kinds of bells and whistles.

"Off we go. We are going to eat at one of my favorite places. I
hope you enjoy it."

Kate was interested to see where they would be going. She sent a
brief text to Linda to let her know that she would be going out with
Bruce to grab a bite to eat and would be back to the boutique as soon
as she finished. Linda told her not to worry and that she should
enjoy herself for once and enjoy her company.

For once, Kate planned to do just that.

*****

They left the city and the ride was picturesque. Mountains in the
background, nothing but open road in front of them. Everything looked
so peaceful and serene. It was the kind of thing Kate longed for, but
her life right now called for her to be engaged in the hustle of the
city.

"I don't think I've been this far outside of the city since I
was a kid."

A wide grin came across Bruce's face. "Childhood memories. Nice.
Where did you go?"

Kate shook her head. "Oh, I don't really remember. It was a
camping trip with my girl scout troop when I was in elementary
school."

"You? Camping?" He chuckled. "You just don't seem like
the type."

"I’m not offended. I'm not the camping type." She had
to laugh to herself. "That weekend surely cemented that for me."

"Well, there is nothing like figuring out what you are good at
and what you are not."

They both shared a laugh as they came upon an out of the way diner
situated at the foot of a mountain. There was nothing else around for
miles. A neon sign blinked the word 'Diner' in red.

"Where did you find this place?"

"I don't live too far from here. I love eating here. The food is
good. The music is good and I can usually find some engaging
conversation. But today, I've brought my own company so I'm very much
looking forward to my evening."

Kate could feel herself blushing. She waited for him to come around
to the passenger side and open her door.

She loved that he was such a gentleman.

"Thank you."

His hand was in the small of her back as he led her inside. The place
was cozy and inviting.

"Well hey there hon! How are you?" The busty waitress
approached them. She looked like a former beauty queen in her late
forties.

"Really good, Dinah. How are you?"

"Wonderful." She flirtatiously smoothed back her hair and
smiled.

"Right this way." With a little twist in her hips, she
turned on her toes and began leading them to their table.

"This one is perfect, Dinah. Thank you." He pulled out a
chair for Kate.

"I have menus here for you two, although I know you don't need a
menu. Here you go." Dinah placed a menu in front of Kate with a
pleasant smile.

"And here you go," she winked at Bruce. "I'll be back
for your orders."

She bounced away.

Kate began looking at her menu. "No wonder you like the company
here."

She grinned.

"Ah, well. What can I say?" Kate could tell he was starting
to blush himself.

"What do you usually eat here? Everything looks pretty good."

"Well, I'm a steak and potatoes kind of guy."

Kate nodded. "Sounds good to me. I'm pretty hungry."

"What can I get you both?" Dinah asked. "Your usual
Bruce?"

Bruce paused for a moment. "I think I'll try something
different."

Dinah's face fell flat, but she picked it up with a grin. "Tell
me what I can get ya, hon."

"I'll let the lady order first."

"Okay. I'll have the broccoli casserole, the potato soup, and a
Caesar side salad."

Bruce chimed in. "That sounds delicious. I'll have the same."

A confused look came across Dinah's face. "Alright," she
answered. "And what can I get you two to drink?"

"I'll have a white wine," Kate ordered.

"And I'll have a coffee, black."

Dinah wrote down the order and walked away.

“A Coca Cola and a black coffee. Coming right up.”

Kate frowned as Dinah walked away.

“I’m pretty sure that I asked for a white wine.”

Bruce held his hands up. “Does this look like a white wine kind
of place?”

Kate laughed. “I get your point.”

She looked around, this time truly taking in the ambiance. It was the
kind of greasy spoon joint you saw on television. Jukebox in the
corner, cook yelling as he served up plates, hot coffee constantly
brewing, and a counter full of freshly baked cakes and pies. As she
checked everything out, she caught sight of Dinah continuing to stare
in their direction.

Kate looked confused. "So have the two of you dated? You and
Dinah?"

Bruce shook his head. "No. Dinah is a sweet woman. She's not my
type though."

Kate nodded. She wanted to know what his type was, but she did not
want to ask. Instead she changed the subject.

"So, you were supposed to be telling me about this double life
you've been living."

"Ah, yes. My double life as it is. It's not as complicated as
you think."

"Tell me more."

"I can see how it seems like I'm a bit ambiguous. I haven't been
a cowboy my entire life. My parents own the ranch where I grew up.
It's been in my family for decades. I love being there, but I worked
for a while as an accountant. It's a complete life of opposites, but
it's who I am. My career as an accountant was fulfilling, but I had
to make sure that I took care of the ranch as well. So I went back to
working the family business. Simple as that."

The way he spoke was frank and to the point.

"That's it?"

"That's it." Bruce folded his hands and set them on the
table, twirling his thumbs. The way he stared at her intently was
intimidating. It was as if he was able to look right through her and
see directly into her soul.

The food arrived and they had comfortable conversation over dinner.
Bruce was witty and intelligent. He was the kind of man she had been
looking for in her life. If he had come at another time, he would be
the kind of man she would date. But right now it was not the right
time. She had so much going on with work and her career and she had
not given the tiniest thought to dating until now. For some reason,
sitting here at the table with Bruce, she was thinking about dating.

He was far from her normal type and at first glance, they seemed like
an odd pair.

"Interesting. I would have never guessed you were an
accountant."

"Tell me more about you." Now it was his turn to change the
subject.

"There's not much to tell. I'm an only child. Born and raised
here in L.A. I've loved fashion my entire life. It's all I do. And
Grey's is the culmination of all that I do."

"I love a woman with ambition. I find it extremely attractive."

There he was again, staring at her with those deep blue pools. Kate
was suddenly lost in them and she could not figure out what was going
on. He was practically leaning across the table and she was not sure
if he was going to try to kiss her.

"Thank you," she replied.

He simply nodded and turned his attention back to his food. "Do
you have anywhere that you need to be this evening?"

"Not really. I basically live at the boutique so I'll be going
back there when I finish dinner."

"I would hate to take you away from your passion. Nevermind."

Kate sipped her wine. "What? Come on don't play shy with me.
What are you thinking?"

"Maybe some dancing and a ride down the highway. Some time for
us to get to know one another."

The way he said it, he sounded so endearing. His suggestion was
inviting.

"Count me in." Kate responded before she could talk herself
out of it.

"Dinah, can we get the check?" He held his hand up.

"Sure hon." She was multitasking, across the room bringing
out an order for another customer. Dinah came right over to them,
slid the check out of the pocket on her apron and sat it on the
table. With a plastered on smile, she first looked at Kate. "I
hope you enjoyed your meal, hon."

She turned to Bruce. "I'll see you later?" Dinah slid her
hand slowly over Bruce's shoulder, and then she sauntered around
behind him.

"Thank you, Dinah. You're a doll as usual." He placed a tip
on the table and held his hand out for Kate, who took his hand and
stood up.

Dinah looked her up and down, and shrugged, walking off.

"She's really into you."

Bruce chuckled. "Maybe. Maybe not. She's really a sweetheart.
Takes good care of me. Of course I don't cook at home, so I take a
lot of my meals out and I especially like the food here."

He ended the topic quickly in a way that let Kate know he did not
want to talk about it. She agreed. Continuing could tow the line
between making jokes about Dinah's behavior and become downright
uncomfortable.

"Where to now?"

"I have an idea. I hope that you like it."

"Let's go."

Kate sat back for the ride and decided that taking a moment to enjoy
what was going on in that very second was really not that bad.

*****

When they approached the parking lot, Kate tried to take in all of
her surroundings. The gravel under the tires crunched from the weight
of the truck. A sign on the front flashed 'Open' in green. The
lighting was a bit too dim to figure out where they were. It looked
like a log cabin more than anything. Kate could not think of what
they could possibly be doing there.

"I come here all of the time," Bruce blurted out.

"I get that." Kate was not sure how she would fit in once
they walked inside and she heard the country music.

Bruce smiled warmly. "Come on. You'll be just fine."

He held her hand as they entered the place. Music was blasting and
people were dancing and having what looked like a good time.

Bruce pulled her on to the dance floor and she immediately caught the
moves. Hips twisting, twirling around, slapping thighs. Everyone was
dancing and having a good time. Kate suddenly felt so carefree and it
was something she had not felt, well when she thought about it, she
could not remember when she felt that way ever.

By the time she looked at her watch it was well after nine at night.

"I really think I should get home." The words came out of
her mouth, but she really was not sure that she wanted to go home.
She wanted to stay with Bruce and see what more was in store.

"That's fine." He squeezed her hand. "I think I've
stolen away enough of your time."

Kate shook her head. "I don't see it that way at all. In fact,
this is one of the best days I've ever had. I can't remember when
I've had so much fun." She could not stop giggling.

Bruce held his arm out for her, and she linked hers in his as they
left.

"Add that to my list of things that I've never done."

Bruce eyed her. "You keep a list of things that you've never
done?"

She nodded. "I do. Just a mental list. Nothing serious. A few
things that I would really like to do when I get the chance."

They were standing outside near Bruce's truck, the stars in the night
sky shining ever so brightly.

"What's number one?"

A feeling of embarrassment washed over Kate. She did not want to
admit some of the things on her list, and she was a bit upset that
she even mentioned the list in the first place.

"Come on," Bruce urged. "Tell me."

Kate looked around nervously, then decided she may as well spill it.

"Well, there are simple things like go to Paris or have lunch at
the Space Needle. Then there are things like skydiving or snorkeling
at the Great Barrier Reef." She shrugged.

"Those sound very exciting."

"Really?"

"Yes, they do. And I would love to go with you to do some of
them."

Kate cocked her head to the side. "You know what Bruce, I just
may take you up on that offer."

Her night with Bruce had been exciting. Kate could not remember the
last time she had been out on a night on the town. She had the chance
to have a few drinks, dance, and really let her hair down. And Bruce
had been the one to show her that. Most of the guys her own age were
so caught up in doing things strictly to get likes on social media.
Bruce actually seemed to enjoy her company and enjoy being with her
that night. It was refreshing to be the center of his attention.

Kate felt like she was floating on air when she waltzed in to the
boutique.

“Wow, what has gotten in to you?” Linda asked.

Kate felt her cheeks go hot. “Whatever do you mean?” she
replied jokingly.