“You see anything you like?” Matt’s comment drew her back to reality.
“What’s good here?”
“Just about everything.”
She glanced at the man table. Their hamburgers looked mouthwatering. “I’ll think I’ll have a salad.”
He blew out a breath. “You need to eat. Up here, your body burns fuel just to stay warm.”
She laughed. “I don’t need to put on any more weight.”
“Are you kidding? A few pounds won’t hurt you.”
No one had ever made that comment to her. She wasn’t sure how to react. Most of her weight was in her ass and in her tits. Her saving grace was her tiny waistline, but that seemed to accentuate her hips. “I’ll stick to a salad.”
“Suit yourself.”
The waitress came by for their order. Matt ordered the hamburger. Darn. Now she’d have to inhale the delicious aroma. Her stomach would grumble, but that couldn’t be helped. For a second, she was tempted to order the same thing, but when she got back to Miami, she’d regret all those added pounds.
Despite denying herself the fatty foods, her salad was fantastic. They were halfway through the meal when a woman in a white apron and a chef’s hat came out from the back and made a beeline to their table.
“I heard you’d come to town, handsome.”
Matt looked up. “Chelsea.” He stood and gave her a hug before introducing them. “Chelsea’s two husbands own the place.”
Robin tried to not show her relief that this woman was married. “The salad was divine.” The baby spinach, pine nuts, raspberry combination hit the spot.
“Thanks. The dressing is one of my favorites.”
Matt sat down again. “So what’s new? Haven’t seen you in a while.”
She patted her stomach. “I’m busy with number one and have another baby on the way.”
Matt’s face lit up brighter than a thousand-watt lightbulb. “Congrats. I’m happy for you.”
“We’re thrilled, too.” Someone called her name from inside. “I gotta go. Just wanted to say hi.” She looked over at her. “Nice meeting you.”
“You, too.”
Chelsea bounced back into the kitchen.
“She seems sweet.”
“She sure is. Chelsea grew up here, but she left for several years to pursue her dream before coming home.”
It was always nice to hear “happily ever after” stories. Once they finished their meal, she pulled out her wallet to pay, but he held up his hand.
“My treat.”
“No. You took me around all day. I’m sure you had some ranch work you had to do.”
“The winter time is slow. We’ve moved the cows south for grazing. Right now my only job is to make sure Storm Front is comfortable.”
“I forgot about her. When is she due?”
“Any day now.”
She bet he heard that a lot around the Knight ranch. When they got back to Bella’s, Matt put the truck in park.
“Thanks for everything.” Her new coat really did keep her warm.
Before she could get out, Hawk was exiting the motorcycle repair shop and headed over to them. He knocked on the window, and Matt lowered it on her side.
Matt leaned toward her side, close enough for her to smell his fresh scent.
“Hawk, what’s up, man?”
Hawk glanced at Robin. “Bella is sleeping. If you come in, make sure to keep quiet.”
“Thanks, I will.” Hawk turned and strode back toward the house.
Matt sat back. “If you want, you could try out your new boots over at our house.”
From the glint in his eyes, she might like what he was proposing. “What do you have in mind?”
“We could build a snowman.”
While she’d gone skiing twice in her life, she’d never had the pleasure of that childhood delight. “I’d like that.” She had good boots, gloves, a hat, and a scarf that Bella had lent her. Since the wind wasn’t blowing and the sun was shining, she figured she’d be fine.
Matt smiled, put the truck in gear, and drove across what she believed to be the lawn. She didn’t know if he was on any official road, but she did spot a house in the back. It only took three minutes to get there.
“This is where Clay and I live.”
“So Clete owns this?”
“Yup. I have my eye on a piece of property about five miles from here that I plan on buying someday.”
“You want your own ranch?” She liked a man with ambition.
“Horse ranch. I want to raise Arabians.”
One could make a lot of money doing that she bet. “Nice.”
He cut the engine and came around to her side to help her out. “Are you a snowman virgin?”
She laughed at his wording. “I’m afraid so.”
“Well, let’s see how much trouble you can get into.”
Chapter Three
Matt was patient explaining how to roll the snow in order to create one part of the snowman. Since the snow wasn’t very wet, it didn’t stick together very well, but with a bit of ingenuity, she figured out how to make it work. It was kind of like making sand castles, only in a much colder clime.
Matt got to working rolling his piece into a huge ball. Hers wasn’t even half that big.
He looked over at hers. “Yours is kind of puny.”
She planted a hand on her hip. “Give me time. I’m a beginner.”
Just as she leaned over to push her rather lopsided ball, a snowball landed on her arm. She jackknifed up. “That’s so not fair.”
Without giving much thought, she grabbed a hunk of snow, quickly patted it into a ball and threw it at him. It landed halfway between them.
He laughed. “That all you got?”
Maybe she sucked at softball, but even kids could throw a snowball. She tried again. This time she made her missile bigger. As she was about to toss it, his snowball came sailing through the air. She had enough warning this time to duck.
“Ha-ha. You missed.” Maybe that was a stupid thing to say, but she enjoyed flirting with him.
“You want war?”
Her answer was to take aim and throw one at him. This time her snowball got closer. Now she understood the heft and weight. Once more, she gathered the snow and made it into a ball. Instead of staying where she was, she ran at him. When she was within striking distance, she heaved it in his direction. He ducked, but it landed on his back.
She raised her arms. “Yay!”
Realizing she was in enemy territory, she retreated. If her big snowball had been large enough, she would have been able to hide behind it. As it happened, she was halfway back to her snow station, when Matt’s snowball hit her in the back of the head. It didn’t hurt, but the snow dripped down her neck and the snow immediately turned to water.
“Eww.” She turned around. “It got down my back.”
He laughed. “Serves you right.”
“Me? You started the fight.”
All sense of fairness went out the window. She grabbed more snow. Instead of taking the time to shape it into a ball, she charged toward him. How she thought he’d let her get close, she didn’t know, but she wanted to show him she wasn’t a wuss. When she got within three feet, she raised her arm to toss the snow at him. Faster than a rain cloud could gather over Miami, Matt stopped her arm.
“What you planning on doin’ with that snow?”
“Putting it down your shirt?” She didn’t have the courage to put it down his pants. That would have been fun though to see him jump around.
At the same time he let go of her arm, his other arm appeared from behind his back with a handful of snow. The hand that had been holding her arm lifted the hem of her jacket. He shoved unbelievably cold snow onto her belly.
Her eyes widened as she opened her mouth to get in more air. Her stomach froze. She lurched backward. “You jerk!” She laughed as she backpedaled.
“Me?” He held up his hands and burst out laughing. “I think this s
nowman is hopeless. The snow’s too dry. You want to come in for some coffee?”
“This is a truce then?”
He held up three fingers. “Scout’s honor.”
“Okay.”
She walked next to him, keeping an eye on him to make sure he didn’t squat and pick up any more snow. As soon as he let her inside, the warmth made her nose run. She pulled out a tissue and blew it.
“I’ll get the coffee ready.”
“Where’s the bathroom?”
“Third door on the right.” He pointed down the hallway.
She quickly glanced around. The furniture was simple but looked comfortable. A large flat-screen TV took up one wall, and pictures like the ones in Bella’s house adorned the walls. When she came to the second door, she spotted Clay in a small room that contained a table and several computer screens.
She stepped in his enclave. “Hi.”
He looked up and smiled. “What brings you here?”
“Matt was trying to teach me to build a snowman. Apparently, I was a hopeless student, so he invited me in for coffee.” She couldn’t help but see the photos of Trent Stafford on the screen. “Where did you get those?”
“I took them.”
That didn’t seem possible. She stepped closer. “This one seems to be inside his house.”
“It was.”
She looked at Clay. What was going on? “You some paparazzo or something?”
He chuckled. “Trent and I went to school together. He’s from Pleasure. I’m the president of his fan club.” Clay turned around, clicked a few buttons and showed her the fan page. “I let Trent have first dibs on all the photos. The ones he doesn’t want, he lets me sell to the places like People magazine, TMZ and other magazines. The rest I put up on line for the fans to buy.”
“Holy shit.” She did the mental math. She knew marketing. Photos of big names stars went for a hundred grand a pop if the stars were at Trent’s level. Princess Di photos, even when she was alive, went for a million. Clay had to worth a shitload of money, yet he didn’t act like he had much to his name.
“I do okay.”
Matt called to her from the kitchen. “Matt’s making me coffee.”
“Have fun.”
When she came back into the living room after making a stop at the bathroom, Matt was holding a cup of coffee for her.
“Thanks. I was just looking at some pictures of Trent Stafford.”
“Clay really loves taking photos. Did you see the ones he took last week of Trent and Christina dancing?”
She assumed Christina was Trent’s wife. “No.”
“Hey, Clay?”
“Yeah?” The shout came from inside his room.
“You want to bring out those prints you did of Trent dancing?”
“Sure.”
Matt turned back to her. “He usually doesn’t have them printed, but he’s going to get some of the better ones framed and give them to Trent as a present.”
That was awfully nice of him. Matt motioned she take a seat. The first sip of the warm coffee heated her up. “This is so good.” Regardless of the added heat, she shivered.
Matt put down his cup. “Let me put on some logs on the fire.”
“I love fires.”
He smiled. “So do I.”
As Matt was tossing the wood in the fireplace and getting it to light, Clay came out with a few photos.
He sat next to her. “I think this is my favorite.”
“Oh my. This is beautiful.” She studied the couple. Christina was gazing up at Trent with so much love in her eyes. “I love the look on his face.” There was a slight smile as if he was seeing true beauty. “The connection between them is stunning. You caught them at the perfect moment.” She sighed. “I miss dancing.” She used to go to the clubs all the time before she worked at Matthew Williams.
He handed her the second print. “I took this last year.”
She inhaled. It was a photo of a nurse handing Christina their baby. Trent’s finger was under his eye as if he were swiping away a tear of joy. “It’s beautiful.” She handed him back the picture.
“Be right back.”
Matt drank his coffee. “You know the Mountain View has dancing every Friday night. If you want, Clay and I can take you.”
“Really?” That might be like inviting herself, but she didn’t care.
He glanced up at her. “You know how to line dance?”
“Not specifically. I’m a salsa kind of girl.”
Clay returned with a camera in hand. “Did I hear salsa?”
“Yes. Do you know how to do it?” Maybe that was a bad choice of words.
“Honey, I do all types of dancing. I’ll show you some Clay Stegman moves on Friday.”
She’d like to see that. “I can’t wait.”
Matt got up to fan the flames.
Clay waved his camera. “Do you mind if I take a few pictures of you?”
She chuckled. “You don’t want to do that. I’m so not photogenic.”
“Are you kidding? You’re gorgeous. Trust me. The camera is going to love you.”
Well, when he put it that way, she could hardly refuse. “You want me to pose?”
He sucked in a breath. “No. Just relax back and pretend I’m not here.”
That would be hard to do. The man had a magnetic personality.
Matt got the fire going. As soon as he moved from in front of the flames, the heat filled the room. The sweet, smoky smell of the wood helped to relax her muscles.
She leaned forward. “Tell me about your Arabians.”
Matt smiled. For the next half hour, he discussed his technique of how he bred the horses and all the issues involved. She had no idea how complex it was to get two horses to mate. “Do you hire out your stud?”
“Not yet, but I plan to. That’s where the real money is.”
After listening to him, she realized her job might have been a bit easier than his. Clay moved across from the fire and snapped off a few more shots. Not that she minded so much, but it was time to get back. She stood.
“I want to thank you for taking me shopping and showing me how hard it is to build a snowman.”
He laughed. “If it snows, we’ll try again. The wetter the snow, the easier it is to compact.” Matt got up. “I’ll drive you back.”
“That’s okay. I think I’d like to walk.”
“The truck’s open.”
Her packages were inside. “Thanks again.”
Clay waved his camera. “Before you leave, take a look at some of the photos.”
She really didn’t want to see herself, but he seemed so excited that she couldn’t turn him down and not appear rude. “Sure.”
Clay stood shoulder to shoulder, pressed a few buttons, and held up the camera. As he flipped through them, the images stunned her. Maybe it was the light from the fireplace coupled with the side lighting from the large window, but she actually looked pretty and thin.
“I’m impressed.”
He lowered his arm. “You are amazingly photogenic.”
Clay was just being kind. After all, Bella had asked them to be good to her for two weeks. “It’s a first.”
“I doubt that. Maybe you’ll let me do a photo shoot for you.”
She’d seen how amazing his work could be. “I might just be up for that.”
His grin caused her panties to dampen. She couldn’t remember the last time that had happened. “I gotta go.”
He chuckled as if he knew what being near him did to her.
“Remember tomorrow night.”
She had to think what she’d committed to. “Dancing! Yes. Bring your best salsa.” After she bundled up, she headed out into the cold. Just getting to the car chilled her. Once she got her packages, she held them tight to her chest and trudged toward Bella’s house.
* * * *
Bella knocked on the bathroom door. “You okay, Robin? You’ve been in there over an hour.”
“Yes. I’ll be o
ut in a sec.”
She smoothed her formfitting, red sequined dress, and rechecked that her makeup was perfect. Even by Miami standards she looked hot. She bet Matt and Clay would be wowed. Matt would smile, but not say much. Clay would probably gush.
Here goes.
She took her time walking down the hallway. Her four-inch heels were her thinnest and most difficult to walk in, but they were a must in order to look good while dancing the salsa. The living room was abuzz. She could hear Clay’s voice and Hawk’s.
As she entered the room, everyone turned their heads. Yes! She couldn’t resist a quick spin. “How do you like it?”
The silence that greeted her nearly made her turn and run.
Bella turned around. “Oh, darling, you look gorgeous. Doesn’t she, boys?”
Clay stepped forward. “Sugar, I think you’re a bit overdressed.”
Their appearance confirmed what he said. Clay and Matt both had on rather worn jeans and scuffed boots. While their shirts were button-down, their casual attire implied this dance wasn’t fancy.
Her gut soured, and she prayed the liquid brimming her lashes didn’t spill. Her smile faltered. “I guess I can change.”
Clay smiled and stepped toward her. “Let me help.” His grin implied he’d do anything but help.
Bella eased her way to a stand. “I’ll help. You boys take a seat. We’ll be as fast as we can.”
This was her worst nightmare. She thought she looked awesome in the dress. Bella came along side and threaded her arm through hers. “We’ll get you fixed up Montana style.”
She didn’t want to get fixed up. She knew salsa, and this was what they wore in Miami. She’d forgotten that this wasn’t Florida. “Fine.”
They got into her room before her eyes started to water. “I thought I looked good. I’m so humiliated.”
“Don’t worry about a thing. You look gorgeous. It’s just that in Pleasure, the men like the women to be themselves.”
That was a crock. She’d seen the way the men at Mountain View had ogled the skinny girl with the makeup but not the pretty girl who wasn’t as dressed up. “Right.”
Luring Robin [Pleasure, Montana 7] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 3