“Sorry I’m late,” he said when he got to the cabin. “We had cattle on the highway. I tried to call, but I don’t have your number. Which is weird, considering we’re a couple.”
“We’ll fix that. And you’re not too terribly late. I was actually having a pleasant time on your front porch. It’s peaceful here.” She held up her phone, and he noticed she was wearing earbuds. “I did six minutes of guided meditation. And now I’m making a to-do list.”
“Oh yeah? Do you ever just sit still and relax?”
“That’s what guided meditation is.”
“Nah. I mean, don’t you ever just stare at the clouds? Or swing back and forth in a hammock?”
“Well, no—”
“That’s what I thought.”
There was a book on the porch railing, and it was the same one Nonnie was reading. The one with the shirtless cowboy on it.
“Whatever you’re reading in that book is pure fiction. You’re dating a real cowboy now, darlin’.”
“Oh? And what’s the difference between you and the cowboy on this cover?”
“For starters, I’m wearing a shirt.”
Alice’s eyes darted to his chest. She’d seen him shirtless at the Village Chateau. Was she blushing? Or were her cheeks pink from the heat?
He climbed down from his horse and stomped his boots to shake the dirt off his chaps.
Alice looked at Sofie. “I’ve never been on a horse. It’s on my bucket list, though.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Nope.”
“Well, let’s cross it off.”
Alice’s eyes grew huge. “Right now?”
“Why not? Sofie is saddled and ready to go.”
Alice bit her lip—fucking adorable—and furrowed her brow. “Is she a calm horse?”
“She’s as gentle as a lamb. We’ll just do a quick trip around the cabin. It’ll be fun.”
Alice stared warily at the horse. “It would be nice to cross something off my bucket list . . .”
One more jerk of the ponytail, and she was on her way down the porch steps.
She was going to ride a horse!
“Wait a minute,” Beau said. “I didn’t realize you were wearing a skirt.”
Alice looked down at her bare legs. “Is that a problem?” That was a stupid question. Clearly, it was a problem.
Beau studied her skirt carefully, while rubbing his chin. “It’s not a tight skirt. So, I guess it could work, but you’d have your bare . . .”
Alice frowned. “I’m wearing underwear.”
Now it was Beau’s turn to blush. “I figured you were. But, well, unless they’re made out of denim or you happen to wear some pretty massive granny panties, you’re basically going to be bare-assed on the saddle.”
“I do not wear granny panties,” Alice said. In fact, she was wearing some lacy, pale pink panties. But Beau was right. She would practically be skin-to-saddle, and that probably would not be comfortable.
Beau pulled the brim of his hat down low, shading his eyes. He rubbed his chin again, as if maybe he was imagining what her panties looked like. Maybe now would be a good time to forget about tutoring and horses and cowboys and just hightail it home.
Beau snapped his fingers. “Mom’s gardening overalls. She always kept a small garden behind the house, and her overalls are still here. You can slip into those.”
“Oh? Do you think she’d mind?”
“Not at all,” Beau said, coming up the steps. “She’s a bit bigger than you, but they’re just overalls. It won’t matter.”
Alice followed him inside.
“Oh,” she said, as soon as he shut the door and her eyes had adjusted to the dim lighting. “This is . . .”
Beau flipped on a lamp.
“Really nice,” she said.
There was a dark leather couch and loveseat in the center of the room, and a rustic coffee table standing on a cowhide rug. Hanging over the rock fireplace was a painting of the Rio Verde, winding through limestone hills. The room was warm and cozy and masculine.
“Surprised?” Beau asked.
“A little.”
“After living in the butt-ugly bunkhouse, it was nice to come back to the cabin where we were raised,” Beau said.
“It looks like both of you.”
Something flitted across Beau’s face. An expression she couldn’t quite identify. She’d just paid him a compliment, but Beau looked . . .
Oh. Of course. Bryce was leaving.
Alice had never had a sibling, much less a twin, but she could imagine what it must feel like to face separating from someone you were so close to. And Beau depended on Bryce for so many things.
Beau opened a closet door and took out a pair of overalls. “Just take off your skirt . . .”
The words seemed to echo in the room.
“There’s a bathroom,” he added quickly. “I’ll wait outside. Just come out when you’re ready.”
Alice took the overalls and went into the small bathroom. She wasn’t typically a nosy person, but she couldn’t help but notice the items sitting next to the sink. Shaving cream. Two razors. Two different bottles of aftershave.
She picked one up, sniffed it, and set it back down. Then she picked up the other, sniffed it, and oh my. This one was Beau’s. It was woodsy with just a bit of citrus. And it made her shiver.
She stepped out of her skirt and hung it on the rack next to the shower, where Beau took showers while completely naked like everyone else, and why was she thinking about that? It was weird and inappropriate.
Boom. Beau’s bare chest popped up in her mind’s eye. And it was even better than the one gracing the cover of her romance novel.
Holy guacamole, she needed to get the heck out of Beau’s bathroom. It was hot in the small room, and it was making her have weird thoughts about Beau being naked or possibly naked except for a pair of chaps, which was nonsensical, because who would wear chaps in the shower?
She
