“Thank you, I think,” Lauren said.
“Trust me, it was a compliment, darlin’. I would have kissed you on the spot, but I was afraid it might shake the delicate balance of the negotiations. I think Otis Junior will be calling before the night’s over to ask you out himself.”
“Otis Junior is a pig,” she said, dismissing the man. “He has a wife and four children down in Phoenix and everyone knows it.”
“That didn’t seem to stop him from thinking he’d made a conquest this afternoon,” Wade said. In fact, for a minute, he’d almost belted the man for daring to look at Lauren as if she were high-priced beef available for the right price. Then he’d realized that Lauren was in total control of the situation, and he’d forced himself to sit back and let her run with it.
“All part of the strategy,” she assured him now.
“I want to hear everything,” Karen said. “Dinner’s in the oven. We’re expecting you two to join us.”
“I’ve got to get the horses settled,” Wade argued.
“And I need to help him,” Lauren said.
“And dinner will wait till you’re done,” Karen said. “You’re not getting out of this, so hurry before the pot roast overcooks.”
Wade resigned himself to an evening of probing questions and pointed looks. He knew that Grady and Karen had a whole lot of ideas about him and Lauren. He shared quite a few of them, but that didn’t mean he wanted to have his every action held under a microscope.
“It’s going to be a long evening,” Lauren noted as they unloaded the horses from the trailer and led them into the barn.
“Yeah, I got that impression,” he said.
“You could get out of it,” she offered. “There’s no reason both of us need to be cross-examined.”
Wade paused in what he was doing and met her gaze. “Here’s the thing. The way I see it, we’re in this together.” He grinned. “Besides, if we’re both there when they’re poking and prodding, there’s less likelihood we’ll get our stories mixed up.”
Lauren laughed. “I see you’ve caught on to their divide-and-conquer strategy.”
He nodded. “Not five minutes after you showed up,” he said. “There was no mistaking which way the wind was blowing with those two. They’ve been hoping something will happen between us.”
“You don’t mind?”
“Not if you don’t.”
“Oddly enough, I don’t. Normally I’d hate the meddling, but it’s Karen and Grady.” She chuckled. “Besides, I gave them fits when they were seeing each other. I guess they have a right to bug me. I’m surprised you’re not bothered by it, though. It pretty much puts you on the spot.”
“I’m only on the spot if I want to be there,” he said, and met her gaze evenly. “There’s no point in denying the obvious. We’ve got a lot of chemistry between us. We might not know what we’re going to do about it yet, but that won’t make it go away. And they’re not going to be able to rush us into anything that both of us aren’t ready for. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” she said solemnly, and held out her hand.
Wade grinned. “I think a pact like that deserves more than a handshake, don’t you?”
Gaze clashing with hers, he crossed the barn and tucked a finger under her chin. Slowly, he lowered his head until their lips met. The solemnity of the gesture pretty much got lost in the explosion of need that rocked through both of them. He had to drag himself away before he tossed her down on the hay and took them right back to the edge of passion they’d reached the day before. One of these days there would be no turning back, but not tonight.
“I think we’d better get to dinner while I can still walk,” he said wryly.
“It’s possible you’ll have to carry me,” she said, her own expression rueful. “I think you made my knees too weak to hold me up.”
“Gladly,” he said, and scooped her into his arms until she was cradled against his chest. Unfortunately, that put her tempting mouth within inches of his own.
“Bad idea,” he said, and lowered her to her feet. “I think you’re going to have to get there under your own steam.”
“Too bad. I kind of liked your way.”
“Me, too, but my way was likely to land us in a heap of trouble,” he said with regret. “I’m pretty certain neither of us wants Grady and Karen to wonder what’s taking us so long and come looking, especially if they’re likely to find us making love in a pile of hay.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said, giving him a wink over her shoulder as she sashayed past. “At least it would put an end to all that wild speculating they’re doing up at the house right now.”
Two nights later, Lauren sat at a table at Stella’s and endured a whole host of speculative looks from the Calamity Janes. Apparently Karen had been busy sharing information with the others about the budding romance out at the Blackhawk ranch.
“But what do we really know about this guy?” Emma demanded. “I think we need to look into his background.”
Lauren frowned. “He’s a wrangler. Grady interviewed him. He’s excellent at what he does. Isn’t that enough? You met him. Does he strike you as anything other than a decent, hardworking cowboy?”
Emma waved off the question. “First impressions don’t count. I’d feel better if we knew more. For all we know he could be after your money.”
“He doesn’t know I have any,” Lauren said quietly.
The others stared at her.
“How can that be?” Gina asked. “He has to know you’re a Hollywood superstar.”
Lauren shook her head. Karen chimed in to confirm it. “He doesn’t even know her last name. We sort of made sure it never came up.”
“That’s what you think,” Emma insisted. “It’s entirely
