She managed to open her car door, and then she tossed the box back inside. Still clinging to her laptop carrier, she grabbed her purse and then started to make her way over toward me.
“You so much as touch me wrong, and I’ll knock the shit out of you, cowboy.”
I reached for her and picked her up. When I lifted her over the fence, she let out a little gasp. After I set her down on the other side, she tried to adjust her balance.
“The name’s Layton, not cowboy.”
She glared at me as she put her hand on Cricket.
“Let me help you up,” I said.
She slammed her purse and laptop carrier into my chest. “Just hold these, will you? I know how to get on a damn horse.”
I smiled as she climbed up onto my girl. She certainly did know what she was doing. She moved behind the saddle and reached down for her things. I smiled as I handed them to her.
“What? No tip of your hat? No, ‘Well done, city girl’?” She arched her eyebrow.
“Do you need me to tell you that you did a good job?”
She turned her head and sighed.
I climbed onto Cricket and said, “Hold on.”
We rode along in silence for a bit before she finally started to talk.
“So, you’ve always lived here?”
“Yes, ma’am, my whole life.”
She let out a sigh, and I smiled, knowing I was agitating the shit out of her by calling her ma’am.
“Family? Are you married?”
“Nope.”
“Nope to not married? Or nope to no family?”
I turned around to look at her. Her eyes caused me to catch my breath. I’d never seen such beautiful green eyes. I’d always been one for blue eyes, but this girl’s eyes just did something to me.
“Both.”
I felt her tense up and grab on to me tighter.
“Oh. Do you mind if I ask where your family is?”
“Are you going to see Mrs. Pierceson regarding business? Or is it personal?”
She let out a gruff small laugh. “I’ll take that as, it’s none of my business. I’m meeting her for business. I’m starting an event-planning company here. She’s my first client.”
“Really?”
“Really. She’s throwing a sixtieth birthday party for her husband. I met her in the coffee shop in town, and we got to talking. She’s very nice, and once she found out I was new to town, she couldn’t wait to help me out by being my first client.”
“Well, she’s pretty well-known in Llano, so if you do a good job, you’ll most likely get more work out of it. One thing we like to do in the country is throw a damn good party.”
“Oh shit. That just makes me more nervous. Damn it. Why’d you have to tell me that?”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “Just be yourself, CG, and you’ll do fine.”
“CG? What in the hell does that stand for?”
I let out a laugh. “City girl!”
“Oh my God. No. You did not just give me a nickname, and to top it off, a lame nickname at that!”
“Lame? That is not a lame nickname. Are you not from the city? I mean, come on. New York City, I bet, right? You can’t get any more city than that.”
“Whitley, that’s my name. Please call me Whitley.”
“Fine. Whitley, it is.”
“Fine.”
“I already said fine.”
“Jesus Christ, no wonder you’re not married.”
I started to laugh. This girl was full of spit and fire. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Married? Boyfriend? Family here? What brought you to Llano? How old are you?”
I felt her tense up.
“I’m single and plan on staying that way. My family lives in New York, and my best friend, Courtney, moved here with me. I needed a fresh start, and Texas was it. I’d heard about Llano years ago, and I decided this was what I wanted—small-town, country living. And I’m twenty-four.”
“You running from someone?”
“What? Why would you ask me that?”
Jesus, she was instantly on guard. Yep, she’s running from something…or someone.
“It was just a question, CG.”
“No, I’m not running. Shit, I thought you were supposed to be a Southern gentleman, not an a**hole.”
“Ouch. Now, I see why you’re single.”
“Can we just not talk anymore? Please.”
“Fine by me,” I said.
“Good.”
When she placed her head on my back, I instantly felt like a dick. Just by the way she was holding on to me, I could tell she was upset. I should have just dropped it. My heart actually hurt, knowing I might have caused her pain.
We rode the rest of the way to the house in silence.
Chapter Three: Whitley
I couldn’t believe I was trying to get to my first appointment with my first client on the back of a horse with a damn cowboy—and a smart-ass cowboy to top it off.
Wait until I tell Court about this. She would be pissed. My first official contact with a cowboy, and she wasn’t with me.
I smiled, just thinking about telling her.
Shit. Why did my car have to break down?
Damn it! Why does he have to smell so good?
Breathe out of your mouth, Whitley. Don’t breathe in his heavenly scent.
I closed my eyes and thought back to fifteen minutes ago when I saw him for the first time and felt like I’d died and gone to heaven. He was about five-eleven and built like a god. He had the bluest of blue eyes. I’d never in my life seen eyes that looked like they were piercing into my soul.
His smile…good God, his smile. I swore my panties had combusted the moment he’d flashed that smile. F**ker had to have a dimple, too. Ugh.
I opened my eyes and looked at the back of his head. He had on a black cowboy hat, but his brown hair was peeking out. My eyes moved down to the tattoos covering his arm. I saw the name Mike and a date, but I couldn’t make out the numbers.
That would be another reason Courtney was going to be pissed. She loved guys with tats. I could take it or leave it.
He turned his head and said something, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“I’m sorry. What was that?”
“My house is right up the way a bit. It’s just another couple of minutes.”
“Perfect! I can still make my appointment and not be too terribly late.”
When we came up over a hill, the house in front of me literally took my breath away.
“Holy shit. Is that your house?” I stared at the most amazing house I’d ever seen.
“Yes, ma’am, it is. My brother and I built it.”
“It’s…it’s breathtaking.” I shook my head.
This house looked almost exactly like the dream home I had planned in my head. It was a two-story house made of stone and wood. Most of it was a sandstone rock, and the chimneys on the ends made it look like a log cabin. It even had a silver tin roof. The porch pretty much wrapped around the whole house. On the second floor, I noticed a huge balcony that had to belong to the master bedroom. There was a three-car garage, and behind the house was an even bigger barn.
As Layton headed to the barn, I saw a young man running toward us.
“Mr. Layton! My dad said you might need some help this summer. I couldn’t wait to ask you. I’ll do anything, sir, anything you want. You want me to take Cricket and get her cooled off and fed, sir? I’ll take care of her for you.”
I had to let out a laugh. Whoever this little boy was, he certainly looked up to Layton. After bringing Cricket to a stop, Layton leaned back and asked for me to sit tight. He jumped down, took my purse and laptop bag, and then handed them to the little boy. Then, Layton turned and reached for me. As much as I wanted to tell him that I was very capable of getting off a horse by myself, I also longed for his touch, which really surprised me. So, I let him help me down. The moment he touched me, I felt a surge go through my whole body.
What in the hell was that?
He slowly slid my body down while looking in my eyes the whole time. I couldn’t catch my breath. The way he was staring at me gave me goose bumps.
“Um…thank you, um…Layton.” I looked everywhere but at him.
When I did look back at him, he smiled that drop-dead gorgeous smile of his.
Good Lord. I could have dropped to my knees on the spot.
Then, he smirked.
Fucker. He knows he’s having an effect on me. That bastard! He’s doing it on purpose.
“Ryan, why don’t you take Cricket to the barn and get her settled? I’ll talk to your dad about you helping Mitch and me out this summer. I’m going to take Miss…”
I looked at the little boy, who was smiling from ear to ear, and I let out a giggle. “Reynolds.”
“Reynolds. I’m going to take Miss Reynolds up to the house, so she can call a tow truck. Then, I’ll be driving her to Mrs. Pierceson’s place.” Layton took my purse and laptop bag from Ryan and handed it back to me.
“Okay, Mr. Layton. I’ll take real good care of her. The horse, I mean.”
Layton snapped his head over and looked at Ryan. He threw his head back and laughed. “Ryan, you’re gonna be a heartbreaker.”
Ryan took the reins and headed down to the barn. Layton gestured toward the house. We walked side by side as we approached the back door. The closer we got, the bigger the house got.
“Jesus…this house is huge. It’s just you living here?”
He let out a laugh and walked up onto the back porch. As we walked into the house, we came right into an eating area. It was nothing but windows, looking out onto the beautiful Texas hill country. Then, we moved into the kitchen, and I almost let out a whimper. I thought my parents had a beautiful kitchen. This one was straight out of a magazine.
“Holy shit. I could have an orgasm from just standing in this kitchen.”
I walked around and ran my hand along the granite-top kitchen island as I took everything in. When I looked up at Layton, he had removed his cowboy hat, and all I saw was a pile of messy brown hair.
Holy shit.
He had that just-fucked hair that Court was always talking about.
Be cool, Whitley. Be. Cool.
Layton grinned. “Well, I’ve never heard anyone say that about my kitchen before.”
“You have to have a party here! I mean, if this is just the kitchen, I can’t imagine what the rest of the house looks like.”
His smile faded, and he walked away.
Shit. What did I say?
I followed him past a butler’s pantry, then past a huge formal dining room, and into a breathtaking living room. I’d never seen a living room so big in my entire life. It was nothing but floor-to-ceiling windows, again looking out to the country hills.
Then, I saw them. I slowly turned around and saw nothing but dead animals on the walls. A huge elk was hanging above the fireplace, just staring at me.
Deer…turkey…
Oh. My. God. Is that a fox?
“You have a fox. You have a dead fox on your wall!”
Layton chuckled. “Yes, ma’am, I do. I like to hunt.”
I spun around and glared at him. “Please tell me you at least eat the meat, and you’re not one of those men who just likes to hunt to kill.”