Barreling Through Christmas: (Sweet Western Holiday Romance) (Rodeo Romance Book 4)

by Shanna Hatfield

  “What are your grand plans for the future?”

  She broke off another piece of bread and popped it in her mouth, and ate it before answering. “I want to be a manager with our company. The possibility of me taking over an executive directorship at our Los Angeles office is on the table, depending on my exceeding a few criteria. Beyond that, I don’t know.”

  “You’d move to L.A. and leave behind your friends and sister. You two seem close. Wouldn’t that be hard for both of you?”

  Paige hadn’t wanted to think about how difficult it would be to move away from Randi and Dave, so she hadn’t even allowed herself to contemplate it. Instead, she focused on her goal of moving up the corporate ladder. There wasn’t any room on those top rungs for emotional ties or baggage.

  “It’s what I’ve been working toward for a long time,” she said, unable to offer any better explanation.

  “What is it about getting to the job in L.A. that appeals to you?” Cooper pressed.

  “In that position, I would have more control over the jobs we take. I could make things happen, instead of being at the mercy of those with more pull than I have to decide on clients that are ridiculous to work with. We could take on some charity cases that right now we pass up because they lack the prestige to make our boss look good, or so he thinks.”

  “What types of charities?”

  Paige returned to picking at the bread in front of her. “A few years ago, the children’s hospital came to us, desperate for help get the word out about a new program they’d started to provide housing for families with children being treated at their facility. Most of us wanted to help. However, my boss, who is the son of the company’s owner and also manages our office, refused. He didn’t see any long-term benefit to it, so he wouldn’t take them on, even though they were willing to pay, just not our usual exorbitant fees. I want to be in a position to say yes to things like that, instead of having to watch an idiot tell people no.”

  Cooper leaned back in his chair. “Why don’t you start your own ad agency? You’ve got the smarts to do it and the connections. Why rely on someone else when you could have full control yourself?”

  Paige’s eyes widened in disbelief. “I couldn’t do that. I don’t… it’s just not… No, that isn’t an option.” Even as she spoke the words, her mind began spinning around the possibilities. Until she finished Elliott’s project, though, she wouldn’t allow herself to indulge in the far-fetched dream.

  He shrugged. “I think you’re afraid to step out on your own. You might not believe in yourself, but I believe in you, Paige. Watching you doggedly track down what you wanted this week makes me think you can do anything you set your mind to.”

  “Thank you, I think.” She grinned. “There you are comparing me to a dog again. Is there something about the way I look tonight that puts you in mind of a canine?”

  Cooper smirked and let his smoldering gaze rest on hers. “Not in the least, sugar. In fact, the way you look tonight puts me in mind of things that have nothing to do with dogs and more along the lines of a sleek jungle cat.”

  Paige raised one eyebrow then dropped her gaze before the intensity in Cooper’s eyes encouraged her to do something she’d regret, like throw herself into his arms and kiss him until the gnawing hunger she felt for him was finally satisfied.

  Cooper shifted in his seat and gave her a wary glance. Something in her eyes, something a little untamed and wanton, made him feel like the collar on his shirt might choke him to death. He yanked off his tie and loosened the top two buttons of his shirt.

  When that didn’t bring the relief he sought, he gulped a glass of ice water then emptied the bottle on the table. The server happened by and refilled his glass, giving him a strange look.

  Cooper didn’t care. Paige was killing him. He’d been prepared for her to show up in business mode, her hair pulled back in a severe knot and a suit covering her incredible figure. Even if she’d arrived wearing boots and jeans, he probably could have handled it, since he’d seen her dressed that way the past few days.

  But she’d stepped off the elevator in a black dress that set his blood on a rapid boil. There wasn’t a thing provocative about the modest gown, except for the woman wearing it. He had no idea what to call the style with short sleeves and a hemline that hit her knees, but the way the fabric clung to her curves made his mouth flood with unexpected moisture. The black lace pumps on her feet elongated her legs and added several inches to her height.

  And her hair, that glorious dark blonde hair, fell around her face in tempting ringlets. He wondered if he reached out and fingered a curl if it would feel as silky as it looked. An almost uncontrollable urge to find out made him clench his hands on his lap as he studied Paige’s face.

  She wore more makeup than usual, mostly around her eyes. It accented those toffee-colored orbs that glistened with something he was afraid to examine and terrified to define.

  Cooper couldn’t afford the temptation Paige provided. She wasn’t the type of girl to engage in casual dalliances even if he was the type of guy who got off on that sort of thing, which he wasn’t.

  Although his own set of rules about right and wrong prevailed in most situations, he was almost ready to cast it all aside as he watched Paige in the soft candlelight across the table.

  If she’d wanted to create an incredibly romantic setting to try to woo him, she couldn’t have picked a better place in the whole town.

  Christmas trees in the corners, twinkling lights along the windows, a crackling fire and romantic holiday tunes created an inviting atmosphere that was hard to ignore. Especially when the woman across from him looked more like a seductress than a single-minded businesswoman intent on getting what she wanted.

  And what she wanted was his backside for her advertising campaign.

  Maybe she’d dressed that way just to taunt him. To get him so befuddled over her that he couldn’t think straight and would agree to whatever she wanted him to do for her client.

  Well, it wasn’t going to work. He hadn’t yet decided if he wanted to be her model, but he sure didn’t like the idea of her trying to coax him into agreeing through a little game of seduction.

  If a game was what she wanted, she’d find Cooper to be a formidable opponent.

  When the server brought their bill, Cooper quickly took it before Paige could get hold of it. Even if he hadn’t owed her a meal for winning the impromptu horse race on her unicorn, he would have insisted on paying anyway.

  He might be a loud-mouthed goofball when he was in front of fans, but in his everyday life, he was a traditionalist and a little old-fashioned when it came to women. Men asked women on dates, paid for the meals, and held open doors. His grandpa had instilled those rules in him at a young age and Cooper didn’t ever intend to forget them.

  Cooper paid the bill then rose as Paige stood. He followed her out of the restaurant to the elevator.

  In silence, they rode down to the lobby. Even if he was miffed at her for trying to coerce him into doing her bidding by using her feminine wiles on him, he wasn’t ready for the evening to end. He knew she was leaving tomorrow and he most likely wouldn’t get to see her before she left. With the rapidly approaching holiday season, he had no idea when, or even if, he’d see her again.

  Thoughts of never teasing a smile out of her, embarrassing her until her cheeks turned pink, or seeing her look at him as she had been all through dinner, made pain hit him in the chest with a brutal force. Casting it aside, he took her elbow in his hand as they left the hotel and guided her down the sidewalk and around a corner. One more turn and they stepped into a promenade of shops and eateries that had opened with much fanfare a few years earlier.

  Still something of a novelty, people lined the brick-paved walkway, laughing and enjoying a pleasant evening. In addition to the usual lights that lined the promenade, Christmas lights hung from many of the stores and several trees glowed with holiday flair.

  “Where are we going?” Paige asked, as he
guided her along the promenade.

  “For a walk.” He glanced down at her feet. “That is, if you can walk in those shoes.”

  She looked down, as though she’d forgotten what was on her feet. “They’re fine. This is lovely,” she said, looking around with interest.

  “It is lovely,” Cooper said, noticing the holiday lights reflected in her eyes, not the world around them. Of its own volition, his hand slid from her elbow to her fingers, meshing them with his.

  When she didn’t protest, he grinned and continued strolling down the promenade. Together, they gazed in windows and watched people hurry on their way.

  At the end of the promenade, Cooper directed her over to the wheel house for the world’s largest observation wheel.

  “Let’s go for a ride,” he said, pulling her along with him. As he paid for their tickets, Paige tipped her head back and gazed at the looming Ferris wheel.

  “What is this?” she asked as Cooper guided her around to where they would step into one of the glass-encased observation cabins

  “It’s the High Roller.” Cooper kept his hand at her back as they walked into an empty cabin. “At five hundred and fifty feet, it’s the tallest observation wheel in the world. Each cabin can hold about fifty people and the wheel never stops turning. That’s why we stepped on. It rotates at a speed of a foot a second and it takes thirty minutes to go all the way around, but the view at the top is something you’ll never forget.”

  Paige seemed a little unsteady on her feet, so Cooper took her hand and led her over to a seat.

  She closed her eyes, as though she tried to block out something unpleasant.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, concerned by the color rapidly draining from her face.

  “I’m not very good with heights,” she said, keeping her eyes closed and drawing in tight, shaky breaths.

  “It’s okay, Paige. I promise the cabins are secure. They won’t plummet to the ground, and we won’t get stuck at the top for hours on end. It’s really a nice, smooth ride with a view unlike anything you’ve seen in your life.” As he spoke, he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close against his side. She fit there so perfectly, molding her soft curves to his solid angles that he experienced the fleeting thought that she was the one woman meant to be there.

  “Do you get vertigo?” he asked, hoping she wouldn’t be sick. That could definitely put an unexpected twist on their last evening together.

  “Not usually, at least not too bad. It just depends on how high it is, what kind of barometric pressure I feel, that sort of thing.” Unaware of what she’d done, she leaned into him and rested her head against his shoulder. She released a long sigh then slowly opened her eyes.

  When she did, Cooper couldn’t help himself. Not with her tantalizing fragrance teasing his nose, her sweet warmth searing his side, and her lips begging for his kiss.

  He traced his thumb across her cheek, falling deeper and deeper into the heated look in her eyes.

  Slowly, he cupped her chin in his hand and tipped it up, granting easier access to her mouth. Although he expected her to jerk away or lambast him for his amorous intentions, she closed her eyes and raised her mouth toward his.

  The connection of their lips, tentative and gentle at first, quickly morphed into a wild, fiery exchange. Bursts of light sparkled behind Cooper’s closed eyes as liquid heat roiled through him. He slipped both arms around Paige and deepened the kiss.

  Her fingers brushed the back of his neck, causing him to shiver in response to her touch.

  Consumed with his need for her, his longing for her, he lifted her onto his lap and kissed her until she sighed in contented pleasure.

  Restraint stretched to its very limits when he pulled back just enough to kiss her on the nose and glance up. “Look, Paige. You have to see this,” he said as their cabin neared the top of the observation wheel.

  “It’s amazing!” she whispered, still nestled securely in his arms. Cooper shifted so she could get a better view, although he didn’t relinquish his hold on her. She stood and pulled out her cell phone, snapping several pictures before stuffing it back in her handbag.

  He moved behind her, slipping his hands around her waist and nuzzling her neck. “Want to pick up where we left off a few moments ago?” he asked as their cabin began its descent toward the bottom of the wheel.

  She shook her head. “I don’t think it’s a good idea, Cooper. After all, this is supposed to be a business meeting. I didn’t intend… it wasn’t my plan to…” She stopped and drew in a deep breath. “We need to keep it strictly business, Cooper. No matter how much I may have enjoyed your… affections, we still need to discuss the matter of you modeling for my client.”

  Annoyed that she’d so easily shifted from a woman who clearly enjoyed his “affections,” as she called them, to the cutthroat ad executive, he shrugged indifferently.

  “I might need a month or two to think about your modeling gig. Why don’t you call me after Easter and I’ll let you know then.” He turned away and walked over to one of the windows, hoping Paige felt even marginally as upset and disconcerted as he did.

  The kisses they’d shared had been unlike anything he’d ever experienced, and he’d kissed a lot of women in his day.

  But not a single one had left him so desperate for another.

  Cooper didn’t know if it was the kisses, the feel of Paige in his arms, or the invisible, magical threads he felt tying his heart to hers that left him so utterly discombobulated. Whatever it was, though, he didn’t like the idea that she was merely trying to get him to agree to be her model.

  The thought of her kissing anyone else like that, of tempting anyone the way she tempted him, left him angry and unreasonable.

  He glanced back over his shoulder to where she continued to stand, staring at him with a baffled look on her face.

  “Look, Miss Porter, I’m just having a little fun with you. If this whole thing,” he waved his hand at her, as though to encompass her from head to toe, “is your way of trying to seduce me into doing your bidding, it isn’t going to work. I’m not that kind of boy.”

  A devastated gasp met his cheeky grin. Hurt mingled with affronted anger as she glared at him.

  She opened her mouth and snapped it closed twice before a lone tear rolled down her cheek. The strength seemed to flow out of her and she moved on unsteady feet to one of the bench seats. She bent forward and cradled her face in her hands, muttering something he couldn’t hear or understand in between sniffles.

  One thing Cooper couldn’t handle was a woman’s tears. Not at all.

  He hunkered down beside her and placed a comforting hand on her back. “Listen, sweetheart, if it makes you feel any better, I’ll do the modeling job. Okay? I’ll let you plaster my posterior on billboards or magazines or whatever it is you want if you’ll just stop crying.”

  Paige lifted a watery gaze and blindly accepted the handkerchief he held out to her, dabbing at her eyes. “You will?”

  “I will,” Cooper said, nearly undone by the look in her eyes and the quiver in her lip as she worked to stem her tears.

  “You’re an idiot,” she whispered, wiping away more tears.

  Cooper frowned, deciding she wasn’t very grateful for someone who’d just gotten what she wanted by manipulating him with her tears.

  “On second thought…”

  She sniffled again and grasped his arm in her hand. He stared down at her small, slender fingers, wondering what she’d do if he kissed each one.

  “You already promised,” she said, dabbing at her nose. “If you think I dressed like this to… to…” Her lips quivered again and Cooper swallowed down a groan.

  “To seduce me?” he asked, brushing away a lingering teardrop on her cheek with the pad of his thumb.

  She nodded. “I had no such thing in mind. I just wanted to look nice. Admittedly, I did hope to distract you a bit, but I never intended to… I would never…” she sighed. “In truth, I almost changed into a suit
, but Randi shoved me out the door before I could.” Paige took a shuddering breath and Cooper feared she’d start crying again.

  “Hey, hey, look at me,” he said, lifting her chin so she stared into his face. “I’m sorry if I got the wrong impression. When a beautiful woman shows up for a supposed meeting dressed like a temptress, it’s hard not to jump to conclusions. I assumed you thought you could coerce me into doing what you wanted by flashing a little leg and luring me into kissing you.”

  Paige straightened so fast, her head bumped into his chin and he bit his tongue.

  Insulted, she appeared infuriated and wounded as she stared at him. “I had no such thing in mind. I’ll have you know I would never stoop to such ridiculous, scheming tactics to get the upper hand. The very suggestion I would is appalling, and unfounded, and...”

  Cooper’s lips settling over hers ended her tirade before it gathered more steam. Assured by her reaction to his accusations that her intentions were honorable, he could no more let the opportunity to kiss her pass by than he could give up breathing.

  The moment she surrendered to the passion, to him, he felt her stiff posture relax and her hands wind behind his neck. In one smooth motion, he stood, lifting her in his arms and carrying her to the doorway of the cabin. Without breaking the intense seal of their lips, he stepped off on the platform, oblivious to the laughs and stunned looks of those around them.

  He carried her to a bench near the promenade and took a seat with her still held close in his arms.

  Several long, involved kisses later, he lifted his head and smiled at her. She sucked in a gulp and glanced around, realizing they were no longer on the observation wheel. Embarrassed, she pushed against his chest, as though she planned to stand.

  Cooper tightened his hold on her and grinned. “Where do you think you’re going, PP? I’m not letting you run off. Not yet.”

  “Cooper, this isn’t…” She struggled to find the right word. What they’d just shared felt more right than anything she’d ever experienced in her entire life. To say otherwise was a lie. And Paige didn’t lie.