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

by Shanna Hatfield

  What did people see? A guy who wanted to make a little money? A man so charmed by a pretty girl he’d posed however she’d wanted and now felt like a chump and an idiot? Some cowboy so full of himself and his good looks, he’d been talked into modeling like some Fabio wannabe?

  At least in all the advertisements he’d seen, he was fully clothed. He hoped they decided against using the photos he’d posed for without his shirt on. Those would take cheesy beefcake to a whole new level.

  Angry, with himself and Paige, he clicked off the TV and sighed.

  “You all right, Cooper?” his grandfather asked.

  “Yeah, Gramps. I’m fine. Just a little tired, I guess.”

  Nick chuckled again. “Get your beauty rest, son. I have an idea you’ll be bombarded with women wanting to meet you. No doubt, you’ll need plenty of shut-eye to deal with all that.”

  Cooper growled. “You aren’t helping, Gramps. Not at all. Good night.”

  “Night, son. Talk to you later.”

  Would women be all over him once they realized he was the model in the commercial? Contemplative, Cooper tried to come to terms with the possibility of that happening. He wasn’t vain about his looks.

  In fact, how he looked had nothing to do with his career’s success. When he was in his clown makeup, entertaining fans in the arena, no one cared if he had a nice smile or looked good in a pair of snug jeans.

  To have something so entirely focused on his looks left him unnerved and a little uncomfortable. Another sigh rolled out of him and he raked a hand over his head. It was far too late to worry about the consequences of being the Lasso Eight model now.

  In no need to rush the next morning, Cooper worked out in the hotel’s gym, went for a swim, and then ate a leisurely breakfast. After showering and dressing in his Lasso Eight shirt and jeans, Cooper checked the messages on his phone.

  Hastily scrolling through them, one from Paige caught his attention. He read her request that he meet her at the vendor show at eleven near the entry doors.

  Quickly replying he’d see her then, he gathered his things and hurried out of the hotel. The valet brought around his rental truck and Cooper gave him a nice tip before driving to the vendor show. He left a bag with his clown costume and makeup in the pickup and strode across the parking lot to the main doors.

  The sight of Paige, dressed in jeans and boots with a shimmery green blouse that complemented her beautiful brown eyes, made him catch his breath. No matter how hard he’d tried to convince himself she was out of his system, one glimpse of her made his heart race while his palms grew sweaty and his mouth flooded with moisture.

  As he neared her, he breathed in her luscious scent and fought the urge to bury his face in the loose waves of her hair. She wore it a little longer than he remembered, but it pleased him she appeared casual and approachable, instead of her typical reserved business persona.

  “Hi,” she said, when he stopped in front of her.

  “Hey,” he whispered, wondering why his voice sounded so low and husky when it wasn’t what he intended. Or had he?

  How could she stand there, acting like nothing had happened between them when his heart still felt like she’d run it through a meat grinder.

  Paige turned to a tall, skinny guy standing beside her. “This is Gene. He’s going to be your personal cameraman throughout the rodeo.”

  Cooper tried not to bristle when she placed a hand on the man’s arm and offered him a sweet smile.

  “He’s one of the best in the business and we’re so lucky to have him working with us.” She turned back to Cooper. “Are you ready?”

  “For what?” he asked. Obviously, he’d missed a memo or an email somewhere, if they expected him to do something.

  Paige gave him an odd look. “You did read the contract Elliott sent over, didn’t you?”

  “Yeah, most of it.” Cooper hadn’t read every single line, but he’d read enough to get the gist of it.

  She flipped up a sheet of paper on the clipboard in her hand. “Part of the agreement is that you’ll do a daily appearance at the Lasso Eight booth, as well as participate in the fashion show a week from today.” Her gaze shifted from the papers she read to him. “You knew all that, right?”

  “Yep.”

  “Great. Then let’s get started.” She smiled and motioned to the cameraman to move behind Cooper.

  “Started doing what? I’m fine signing autographs at the booth, but I’m not sure what else you want.”

  Paige nodded and pulled him aside, to an area where people weren’t bustling all around and lowered her voice. “Initial reaction to our advertising campaign has been beyond anything we anticipated. To keep up the momentum and maintain a hint of mystery, Elliott and I decided to keep your identity a secret until the fashion show. I realize some people know who you are, but the majority do not. I’ve spoken to Shaun and the others about keeping things quiet, too. They’re all on board.”

  Confused, he watched hordes of people entering the vendor show. “So how do I sign autographs at the booth without giving away who I am?”

  “We aren’t going to actually have you sign any until after the fashion show, but we do want you to come every day. Here’s what we want to do…”

  Paige laid out a simple, engaging promotional plan that wouldn’t require Cooper to do anything embarrassing and would take less than half an hour of his time each morning.

  “That sounds good,” he said. Before they walked back to where Gene waited, Cooper allowed himself a moment to study Paige. She looked so pretty, his fingers itched to reach out and cup her cheek. He kept them at his sides by sheer will and tipped his head toward the cameraman. “Shall we get on with this?”

  “We shall,” Paige said, leading the way back to Gene. She smiled at the cameraman in a way that poked ruthlessly at every jealous cell in Cooper’s entire body.

  He ignored the little green monster of envy and listened as she went over the details with Gene to make sure they were all on the same page. Assured they were, Paige motioned for Cooper to step into the doorway that led into the vendor show.

  “And we’re ready in five, four, three, two, one. Go,” Gene said, following behind Cooper.

  Paige walked beside Gene, pointing out shots she wanted or things he should include. In three minutes, they’d arrived at the Lasso Eight booth where they finished the video.

  Gene replayed the footage and Paige nodded her head excitedly, pleased with their efforts.

  “If you can make those edits we discussed, Gene, and get it to me before noon, that would be amazing.”

  “Will do,” the man said, then leaned forward and shook Cooper’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Cooper. I look forward to working with you.”

  “You, too.” He returned the friendly handshake.

  Cooper took a moment to look around the well-stocked booth. He didn’t know how Elliott had managed to snag such a great location on the end of an aisle, but the booth had a great edgy western feel blended with traditional elements. It was a place he’d stop to see just because it looked interesting and intriguing.

  “Everything looks good, Paige. Really good.”

  At the surprised look on her face, he knew she questioned whether they were discussing the booth or her. Truthfully, his statement encompassed both.

  “Thank you,” she said, nervously twisting a golden wave of hair around her finger. “I know this will most likely be a little awkward, Cooper, all things considered, but I wanted to thank you for doing this. The preliminary numbers and reactions to Lasso Eight are off the charts, thanks to you.”

  “My pleasure, sugar.” He kept his back to people wandering by the booth, his hindquarters hidden by a table full of jeans. He had no problem honoring Paige’s request his identity remain a mystery. “I reckon I better mosey along or people might put two and two together.”

  “You’re right, of course,” she said, lifting her gaze to meet his.

  The look in her eyes, the hurt and longing
that matched his own, made him want to take her in his arms and kiss away the insecurities and fears.

  But he wouldn’t.

  He took another step back. “The Christmas song theme to the ads is a fun twist, especially with the holidays coming right up. Was it your idea?”

  She nodded and rocked back on her heels. “I convinced Elliott that we needed to hit the holiday emotions hard and then could switch it up in January.”

  “It’s a good plan.” Cooper took another step back and bumped into a rack full of shirts identical to the one he wore. “I’ll see you later, Paige.”

  “Okay,” she said, turning away from him and busying herself straightening a stack of jeans.

  He hurried away from the booth and glanced back once, gratified to find her watching him. Maybe she wasn’t as completely over him as she’d tried to convince them both.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Paige tried to force her gaze away from Cooper’s retreating form, but she couldn’t do it. Not when she’d been so hungry to lay eyes on him again.

  Although she’d spent months trying to convince herself she was over him, that a relationship with him was the last thing she wanted or needed, she was wrong.

  So incredibly wrong.

  The only thing she wanted was to be back in Cooper’s arms. To feel his lips pressed to hers and listen to that deep, rumbling chuckle that started in his chest and worked its way out while making those around him smile.

  Beyond the fact he was drop-your-teeth gorgeous, the attraction she felt to him was so much more. She loved the respectful, caring relationship he had with his grandfather. She admired the way he interacted with children, especially those who were sick or needed a little extra attention. She couldn’t help but enjoy his humor and wit, as long as she wasn’t the one he was teasing. Even then, she could still find a little amusement in it. Cooper had a way of putting someone at the center of a joke and making that person feel good about it.

  Oh, he had plenty of faults, like everyone, but it was hard to pay much attention to them when Paige saw all the good things about him with fresh eyes.

  Life for her had changed so much since she’d run away from Cooper and the love he would have willingly offered if she’d given him half a chance.

  As her boss became more and more demanding and unreasonable, Paige decided the last thing she wanted to do was uproot her life to continue working for a member of the Connor family.

  Cooper’s encouraging words about starting her own business echoed in her thoughts with frequency.

  Finally, she’d looked into what it would take to open her own advertising agency. When she told Elliott of her plans, he made her promise to handle all his business. He knew it was her, not Connor Creative, that had turned his failed urban men’s line into the hottest thing in Las Vegas.

  However, Elliott was under contract with Connor Creative through the end of the year. In a few short weeks, Elliott could do as he pleased.

  And he’d assured Paige it would please him greatly to hire her.

  With a huge client ready to give her all his business, Paige was ready to venture into the unknown as her own boss. She’d also connected with the children’s hospital and agreed to do some work for them free of charge.

  Soon, she’d give Joe Connor her two-weeks’ notice, and open her own business in January.

  Dave and Randi both applauded and supported her decision. Nick had even cheered her on when she told him of her plans. She’d been to visit him at the ranch several times, until Cooper came home for a few weeks during the lull in rodeos before the finals.

  Once, Nick had met her in the city and they’d gone out to lunch. Whether he was afraid to broach the subject or just didn’t want to stir up trouble, the old man wisely didn’t mention Cooper or her feelings for his grandson.

  Instead, Paige used him as a sounding board for her ideas and asked about life at the ranch.

  He’d laughed aloud when she’d showed him the Lasso Eight ad featuring him as a cowboy Santa.

  As a surprise to Cooper, Paige had talked Nick into participating in the fashion show. She would meet him at the airport when he arrived the night before the event. They planned to keep him out of sight until the end of the fashion show when he’d walk out with a big red bag full of Lasso Eight logo’d T-shirts that he’d toss to the crowd.

  Excited by all that would unfold over the next week and a half, Paige just needed to keep her feelings for Cooper in check.

  When he’d walked up to her at the door, looking like something out of a dream, she questioned her sanity. How could any woman with a lick of sense have let him go? Not just let him go, but ran away from him like a spineless coward.

  Paige stood a little straighter. No longer was she a coward or spineless. In fact, she’d found her backbone quite sturdy in the last few months as she stood up to Joe Connor and refused to be his doormat.

  She couldn’t wait to get started building her own advertising agency, even if she’d work out of her apartment at first. Eventually, she’d need to rent an office space and add some staff. For now, she could handle Elliott’s work from home, contracting with the talented people she’d used to make Lasso Eight a reality.

  Paige gave one last glance to Cooper’s delectable denim-clad backside before turning her attention to people streaming into the booth, eager to find out what Lasso Eight was all about.

  Elliott had hired an excellent team of people to sell his products and they didn’t need her hovering around. Regardless, it gave her a great sense of accomplishment to see the enthusiastic responses to their first day of advertisements.

  It hadn’t been easy to convince Elliott to go with a Christmas theme for his Las Vegas campaign, but Paige had known it would be a huge success.

  From all indications, she was right.

  Once Elliott understood the feelings she wanted to play on, the emotions she wanted to engage by incorporating the holiday songs into the advertisements, he embraced her ideas with enthusiasm.

  Confident in her abilities to make him money, he even asked her to book a series of television commercials. If she could get Cooper to agree to it, Elliott wanted her to come up with a radio campaign, too. But that would wait until after Christmas. After she returned home to her quiet, lonely apartment and began a new chapter in her life.

  Paige thought back to a year ago when she’d been in Las Vegas, trying to chase down the guy she’d snapped a photo of with her cell phone.

  Little did she know then that he’d be the only man she’d ever really love. Even if she’d messed things up so badly with him he’d barely spoken to her, she couldn’t imagine loving anyone but Cooper.

  Not after those unforgettable days she spent with him at the ranch.

  If she never fell in love again, she’d always have the memories of those moments that seemed almost magical.

  “Either you’re plotting to take over the world, or you’re lost in some deep thoughts.”

  Paige’s mouth dropped open as she turned around and gaped at her sister.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, wrapping her arms around Randi and giving her a tight hug. She squealed with joy when she noticed Dave standing behind his wife and gave him a big hug, too. “Oh, my gosh! What are you doing in Vegas?”

  “We came for moral support. That, and Elliott offered to pay all our expenses. He thought you might need to have a friendly face or two around this week,” Randi said, looping her arm around Paige’s and staring at the Lasso Eight booth. “This is the single most exciting and cool thing you’ve ever done.”

  “It is neat, isn’t it?” Paige asked, grinning at her sister.

  “Neat? That’s like saying Cooper James’ hind end is just okay.” Randi smirked at her husband. “Not that I notice these things.”

  Dave rolled his eyes and chuckled. “How did Cooper like seeing his butt plastered all over town?”

  “He didn’t really comment on that,” Paige said, wondering how he’d react to the
videos that would roll out that afternoon and the commercial that would air that evening. She hoped he liked them.

  “Are you really keeping his identity a secret?” Randi asked, surprised by the number of people purchasing Lasso Eight clothing. Both men and women lined up at the cash registers.

  “That is the plan.” Paige smiled at her sister. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were planning to come. What did your doctor say about you traveling in your condition?” Paige gazed down at her sister’s rounded belly. Randi and Dave would make her a very proud aunt sometime around Valentine’s Day.

  “That as long as I feel good, there wasn’t any reason to stay home. And I feel great! We had so much fun last year while we were here. I can’t wait to show Dave around.”

  “What about the rodeo? Are you two going to it, too?” Paige questioned. Elliott had provided nightly tickets for her to attend, since Lasso Eight was a sponsor of the event. He planned to attend a few nights, but assured her the rodeo really wasn’t his thing.

  Randi grinned. “Elliott said he had tickets for us if we wanted them. Of course, we said yes!”

  “Awesome!” Paige high-fived her sister then gave her another hug. “I’m so glad you both are here.”

  “We couldn’t miss out on all the fun,” Dave said, dropping an arm around Randi’s shoulders. “Now, my nose is telling me there are fresh roasted nuts in this place. Point me in the right direction.”

  Paige laughed. “Right this way, Dave. Prepare to have a sensory overload with all the things to see, smell, taste, and hear at this vendor show.”

  Two hours later, as they stepped out of a taxi in the heart of The Strip, the three of them stopped and stared at a large screen across the street playing a new Cooper commercial. In this one, he wore a green striped shirt with a pair of stonewashed jeans while he settled a red saddle blanket on Comet. The horse shook his mane, sending up a flurry of snowflakes, added by the special effects mastermind who worked on the commercial. The camera slowly zoomed in and focused on Cooper’s rear the moment he swung up onto the saddle.