Thunderbolt over Texas

Guys in love. Cole did guys in love very, very well.

He kissed her neck. The heat of his lips and the puff of his breath made her knees go weak. She grabbed at his arm to support herself.

“Nice move,” he whispered, kissing her again.

Oh, no. Her hormones surged to life. Her head dipped back to give him better access. The mountains blurred and the sound of cicadas magnified in the long grass.

“Sydney,” he breathed, and she turned to meet his lips.

The world instantly shrank to the two of them. She’d been thinking about this all day, missing this all day, every second she was in Wichita Falls, every second she’d been away from Cole.

She couldn’t understand it, but nor could she deny it that his kisses seemed the center of the universe. The world pulsated out from the moisture of his lips, the touch of his hands. He lowered them slowly to the soft, fragrant grass, released the tomato and wrapped his arms fully around her.

She closed her eyes. The afternoon sun heated her skin, soaked into her hair. Cole was a delicious weight on top of her, and his lips were working magic. She needed to stay here, just another second, just another minute.

Somebody cleared their throat.

Sydney’s eyes flew open and a pair of worn boots came into focus. She squinted up to where Kyle’s Stetson blocked the sun.

“Much as I admire your dedication to the cause,” he drawled, “I think you two might be overacting.”

Cole eased his weight off her.

“Sorry,” said Sydney, adjusting her shirt. Where exactly had Cole’s hands roamed? What had Kyle seen?

Cole rolled to his feet and held out a hand for Sydney. “Just trying to do our part,” he said to Kyle.

Kyle fought a grin. “Next time get a room.”

“What would be the point in that?” asked Cole.

Kyle glanced at Sydney and snorted before turning away.

Cole pulled her into a standing position and patted her on the back. “Way to go, partner.”

She smoothed her hair. “No problem.” No problem at all. If that was Cole faking it, some lucky woman was going to live in paradise someday.

Cole scooped his hat from the ground. “Potatoes and carrots.”

“You think that was overkill?” she asked.

“Nah. It was romantic.”

“So you figure we’re getting it right.”

He walked into the garden and crouched down. “Aside from you making Katie suspicious, I think it’s going according to plan.”

Sydney turned to watch Kyle stride up the staircase. “You know, you three blow me away.”

“What do you mean?” Cole dug into the black dirt.

“Katie’s protecting you from me. Kyle’s protecting his wife from stress. And you’re compromising your principles to help them both.”

“Something wrong in that?”

“Something nice in that. I’m just trying to save my job.” She liked what that said about Cole. She wasn’t completely sure she liked what that said about her.

Cole rose to his feet, dusting one hand off on the thigh of his jeans as he made his way out of the garden. “Your job is in jeopardy?”

She nodded. “Yeah,” she admitted. “I’m on probation. There’s this guy…”

Then she stopped herself and shook her head. She wasn’t letting thoughts of Bradley mar the day. “Truth is, I haven’t been delivering the way the museum needs. If the Thunderbolt hadn’t worked out, I’d have been out of a job.”

“Hold these.” He filled her hands with long, crisp carrots. “So, do I get extra points for helping you and with Katie?”

“Absolutely.” She tried to think of something nice she could do for Cole. “You want to come to New York and see the display?”

He shrugged, heading into another section of the garden. “Maybe. If we’re still faking it.”

Sydney watched Cole unearth a handful of potatoes and tried to imagine him in her Sixth Avenue apartment. He was too big for New York, too raw, too wild. He belonged on horseback in the rain, or half naked in his cabin kitchen.

She shivered at that particular memory. This urge to kiss him was turning into an obsession. And the obsession was moving way past kissing.

Cole was untamable and exciting and exotic. He was sexy as all get-out, and challenged her on every level. Aside from the Thunderbolt, aside from the charade, she wanted him in every way a woman could possibly want a man.

“You’ll never get anyone to marry you without a decent house,” said Grandma, plunking a well-thumbed catalog down on the low table in front of him.

Cole snapped to attention, pulling his arm from the back of the porch swing where he’d been toying with Sydney’s hair. “Huh?”

“I’ve been after you for months to pick out plans. And with Sydney here, well, it seems like the perfect opportunity to get a female opinion.”

“As opposed to yours and Katie’s?” Cole wasn’t picking out house plans. He had other things to spend his money on, and he had a perfectly good cabin down by the creek.

“Great idea,” said Katie, pulling her patio chair closer. Her eyes shone with anticipation as she flipped open the book.

“Cape Cod or Colonial?” asked Kyle, placing his hands on his wife’s shoulders.

Cole glared at his brother. “I do not need a new house.”

“You’re joking, right?” said Katie.

She shifted her attention to Sydney. “Tell him no self-respecting woman would live in that cabin.”

Sydney tensed, and Cole automatically reached out to squeeze her hand. “You’re putting Sydney on the spot, Katie.”

Grandma sidled up next to Sydney. “I’m sure she doesn’t mind. We just want to take advantage of your cosmopolitan taste, dear.”

Sydney kept her mouth shut tight, and Cole shot Kyle a meaningful glare. Unfortunately his brother’s only response was a mocking grin.

“I need a new hay barn,” said Cole. “An addition on the tack shed, and an upgrade to the combines. We all agreed in the spring.”

“No. You agreed in the spring,” said Katie primly. “The rest of us thought you needed a new house.”

Cole reached out and shut the book. He’d agreed to a marriage of convenience. He’d agreed to pretend it was real. But he wasn’t building any damn house just to keep Katie from being stressed.

“The cabin’s fine,” he said, moderating his voice. “Even if I was to get married-” he turned to Sydney “-that cabin would be okay in the short term. Right?”

She swallowed. “Uh-”

Katie jerked the catalog out from under Cole’s hand. “Now you’re the one putting Sydney on the spot. If the cabin’s so fine, we’ll move into it. You take the house.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Why is it ridiculous when I say it?”

“There are two of you. And you’re a woman.”

“Now you’re sounding sexist.”

Cole turned to his brother. “You’d actually let your wife live in the cabin.”

“Nope,” said Kyle. “But it sounds like you’re willing to let yours.”

Cole opened his mouth, but he couldn’t immediately come up with the right argument. Damn Kyle. This was