Know When to Hold Him

by Lindsay Emory

  This was just what she needed.

  An entire day at the Buchanan ranch admiring a man that perfect. And knowing what he could do to her? It would be torture, plain and simple. International tribunals could be convened because of Liam and that sinful way he had with his eyes…his mouth…his ears.

  Spencer, get a grip. Ears are not sexy. His were, though. I bet if I nibbled on them, they could be extremely sexy.

  Thankfully, almost as soon as she joined the crowd, JT and Zach were whisking the men away for some bonding involving a deer stand and some corn. It was clear, from the glares JT gave her and Liam, that he didn’t want them near each other. Which was amusing and annoying. She could take care of herself.

  The rowdy group of men left the ranch house, and Spencer spent the morning first in polite breakfast conversation with the remaining ladies, making appropriate responses to Liddy’s bridal plans and Lane’s remodeling thoughts. Then Spencer went out in search of Anita to catch up on Buchanan Ranch gossip, involving either the employees or the owners.

  …

  If Liam had known Anita well enough, he could have gone to her for intel. But he didn’t, so he went to the person he knew best.

  JT.

  “Great party, man,” Liam started as their long strides matched the other’s.

  JT rolled his eyes and huffed.

  “What?” Liam asked, feigning innocence.

  “I should be used to it.” JT shook his head. “Back in law school, you’d always do the same thing, just show up late, wearing the same clothes, flip-flops and baseball cap from the day before.”

  Liam glanced down at his boots and jeans, confused about the sudden discussion about his fashion choices. “What was wrong with my clothes?”

  “Dude, you could look like you’d spent the month under a bridge in the Klondike, and it didn’t matter; you’d still get the girl.”

  The girl. Ah. “Spencer? Is that what this is about?”

  The men stopped, and JT made sure no one was around. The rest of the group was either riding back to the house in the ATV or was about a hundred yards back.

  “’Cause you said she was like a sister, and now you’re acting like there’s something more there.”

  JT suddenly appeared interested in the way the toe of his boots hit the dirt. “She’s like a sister—I guess. But she’s not. I mean, I’d do anything for her, and if she ever acted interested…” JT shook his head. “But she’s not. And now you’re involved.”

  JT was clearly not happy with that fact.

  How was he supposed to handle this? Honestly, he decided.

  “That’s why I wanted to talk to you. I asked her out.”

  JT made a disgusted noise.

  “Dude.” Liam fixed JT with a hard stare. “That’s uncalled for.”

  “You want to know about her?” JT asked. “She’s beautiful. But you know that. She’s intelligent as hell. While you and I were at UT, she was at Harvard on scholarship. She has a family that makes most people run away to the jungles of Africa, but she still shows up to all their shit because that’s who she is. She’s loyal and a workaholic. She’s a machine. And you two will never ever work.”

  That pissed Liam off. “Are you saying she’s too good for me?”

  JT threw up his hands. “Yes. No. If it hadn’t been for you, I would never have made it through law school. But I know you. You’re…you.” JT searched for a good way to say this. “You’re a guy. You like women. A lot of women.”

  “Being a heterosexual is probably a plus when it comes to dating, you know, a woman.”

  “Yeah, it’s fine,” JT said. “Until you get bored with this woman, like you always do, and then you two hate each other and I’m caught in the middle.”

  Liam frowned at JT’s assessment. “I don’t get bored with women, it just doesn’t work out.”

  “Because they bore you. I’ve seen it a hundred times. I lived with you, remember? I saw your eyes glaze over when they called for the four hundredth time. I heard you sigh when they asked you to go to dinner. You’re a guy with a short attention span. And that’s cool. But this is…my…” JT stopped himself.

  What was he going to say? My…what? My Spencer?

  For some reason, Liam’s reaction to JT’s claim on Spencer wasn’t a good one. He steadied, protective.

  “My friend,” JT announced. “This is my friend. And you’re like a brother. And I don’t want to see either of you hating each other.”

  Liam jammed his hands into his pockets as he and JT were joined by the slackers bringing up the rear. No need to continue the conversation, anyway. JT’s feelings were clear. And so were Liam’s.

  The second night of the weekend went pretty much as the first. Pretty people. Strong drinks. Spicy food. If this is what weekends were like in Texas, Liam could get used to it. A straightforward, good time, that was only slightly complicated by her. No, Liam thought. Spencer didn’t complicate anything. She enhanced. Enlivened. Interested.

  His interest only grew when she stayed for the poker game. “I thought you said you didn’t play.” Liam and Spencer settled into their chairs around the felt-topped table.

  “Who said I’m playing?” She asked.

  “I am!” And Zach Buchanan inserted himself next to Spencer and draped an arm around her.

  Spencer gave him a queenly nod across the table as two others joined the game. He purposefully raised an inquisitive eyebrow at Zach. She reached up and ruffled Zach’s wavy light brown hair. What the hell was that? JT had said he and Spencer weren’t together. But he hadn’t said anything about his little brother… the guy who knew her well enough to push her in a pool, to put his arm around her. They were obviously close, and he wasn’t sure he liked it.

  Spencer leaned over and whispered something in Zach’s ear as the cards were dealt. Liam didn’t like that, either.

  “Game is Texas Hold ‘Em, Aces High.” the dealer said.

  Bets were made. Everyone kept betting their nickel chips, for the fun of it, or because the game was just starting out. Then it was time to flip the cards over. Liam had a fairly good hand, but Zach pulled out two pair, one with aces. Spencer reached out and swept the small pile of chips over to her.

  “Not playing?” Liam asked again, watching his chips being pulled toward her low cut blouse.

  “Nope, just helping.”

  “My good luck charm,” Zach chimed in. “She taught me how to play when I was five.”

  “You were in Kindergarten,” Spencer corrected, pushing the new ante toward the center.

  “You took all my allowance.”

  “It was an important life-lesson.” Spencer said. “Your deal.”

  It was Liam’s turn to deal. He shuffled and then reached across the green felt card table to Spencer. “Ladies’ cut.” She fluttered her eyelashes and cut the deck. Seemed like she’d done it a time or two.

  Which was…fascinating. Liam played the hand.

  Zach shared his hand with Spencer. For the most part, Zach made his moves independently. But there were small nudges, shared glances, a whisper here and there. Although Spencer said she didn’t play games she couldn’t win, she apparently had no objection to telling other people how to play. Correction. Telling other people how to win.

  Liam had some experience at playing poker, too. A straight, three Jacks, and a pair of tens showed that. Of course, he folded a few times, as did the rest of the table, but Zach’s chips stood in the tallest tower by the end of the night.

  Typical.

  Liam peeked at his cards. A black six and a queen winked back at him.

  Spencer rested her cheek on Zach’s shoulder. She was sleepy, nodding, barely able to keep her eyes open. He was so busy watching her face, it almost didn’t register that bets had been laid. What the hell? It was the last hand of the night. Liam shoved in half his chips.

  “Well damn.” Another player pushed his two cards in, past small stacks of red and blue plastic chips. “I’m out.”


  Spencer rubbed her cheek on Zach’s shoulder and slipped an arm through his. “I’ll see that,” Zach said, moving the same amount to the middle of the table.

  All eyes turned to the last player. “Can’t do it,” he chuckled. “Y’all done me in.” He held up the deck. “Ready?” He dealt three more cards onto the table, face up. A queen of hearts. A six of hearts. A queen of diamonds. Liam now had three of a kind and two sixes. A full house. Not bad.

  Zach raised his brows and tapped his cards. It wasn’t much of a tell, but Liam was fairly confident. He pushed in the rest of his chips.

  “All in.”

  That got her attention. Spencer raised her head, reviewing the cards on the table, her lips pressed together. This girl liked to play. She nudged Zach and soon Zach’s chips were added to Liam’s.

  The dealer put down the turn card. Six red diamonds twinkled. It was nice to see, but it didn’t give Liam an advantage on his full house. A final card flew on the felt. An ace. Liam glanced up, Spencer’s gaze locked on him.

  Her face was almost blank but for the barest glimmer of triumph. As if on cue, Zach flipped over their cards.

  A pair of aces.

  “Holy shit!” One of the players exclaimed. “Two full houses!”

  “Congratulations!” Liam reached his hand across the table to Zach. They’d both had a full house, but Zach’s aces beat Liam’s queens. It sucked, but after years of playing football, Liam was an excellent sport.

  “Good game.” Zach offered a firm handshake. “That’s about twenty bucks in nickels, there.” He nodded toward the chips. “You sure you’re good for it?” Liam laughed good-naturedly but grew distracted by Spencer slipping away.

  He tossed off a joke about how Zach would get his money and followed Spencer out the door, not caring about the clean up or how freaking obvious it was. She wasn’t getting away this time.

  …

  The sconces on the walls cast a soft golden light over Spencer’s long blond hair, a little messy from Zach’s shoulder and teasing hands.

  “Are you and Zach together?” Liam whispered, mindful of the closed bedroom doors around them.

  “The Buchanan boys are like brothers to me.” Spencer’s voice was as quiet as Liam’s. He could hear her perfectly, but he still took a few steps closer.

  “So that’s a no.” Liam reached out, brushed a piece of hair from Spencer’s forehead, and tucked it behind her ear.

  “Why?” Her expression was a mix of amusement and open curiosity.

  “Wondering if anyone’s going to try to beat me up after I take you out on Monday.”

  Spencer laughed. “You never know.” Liam liked the sound of her laugh, soft voice, and flirty words.

  “You played well tonight,” he said, changing the topic.

  “I didn’t play. Zach did.”

  “But you still won.”

  Her lashes fluttered. “Funny how that works.”

  “What’s your secret? You had a pretty good run back there. What do you do? Count odds? Read faces?”

  Spencer shook her head. “You just have to know when to hold ‘em, when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away…”

  Liam couldn’t help but interrupt. “Know when to run?”

  Spencer nodded solemnly. “Every hand’s a winner.”

  “And every hand’s a loser,” Liam added. “Wouldn’t have pegged you as a Kenny Rogers fan.”

  “Who isn’t?”

  “You taught Zach well,” Liam said. “An excellent life lesson.”

  Spencer took a half step towards him. “That’s not the life lesson I taught him.”

  “What was it?”

  Spencer had a cheeky look about her. She was having fun, and so was he. “Don’t play against me.”

  Liam pulled her to him and placed a soft, barely there kiss on her lips.

  She sighed as their lips brushed. She smelled like lilies. Her lips parted slightly, and he responded, increasing the pressure, teasing her mouth with just the tip of his tongue. Then, to torture the cheeky poker player, he let go and stepped back.

  “I’ll see you Monday,” Liam promised.

  Spencer frowned in confusion. “You’re leaving?”

  “I have to leave early. Closing on my house tomorrow.”

  “On Sunday?”

  “’Night, Spencer,” he said in a quiet voice before turning and heading to his bedroom. Not the most gentlemanly thing to do, but, God help him, if he accompanied her to her room, he’d be damned if he could leave her.

  Chapter Six

  Sunday morning, there was no sign of Liam Connelly. Relieved from the stress of not knowing how to handle the Mystery Man’s reappearance in her life, she said her goodbyes as soon as possible after breakfast, not sure if she wanted to get back to Dallas as much as she wanted to leave the Buchanan ranch.

  Rainey and Nora had forced her to come to JT’s to get a break, so why was she more jittery and anxious than before the weekend? Maybe it was because she had dropped her phone in the pool. Maybe she wasn’t the type of woman who should take time off. Maybe it had to do with a certain man who set her on edge every time he locked those baby blues on her.

  By the time she hit Fort Worth, she’d decided her attraction to Liam was nothing but chemistry. Put two single, attractive people in close proximity with alcoholic drinks and no cell service, well, nature was going to do its thing.

  When she crossed the Dallas County line, Spencer had convinced herself that this whole encounter with Liam-the-Mystery-Man was funny, really.

  Funny as hell but nothing real. It couldn’t be.

  For one, her hormones were clearly in overdrive. Liam had only kissed her twice. Delicious kisses that were making her tingle from her lips to her fingertips to her toes, pressing into the gas pedal, speeding faster than she should. Kisses shouldn’t make her state trooper bait.

  So that meant that, two, she needed companionship. She’d been working a lot and it’d been almost a year since she’d broken up with Thomas. Shouldn’t be a surprise she’d reacted to Liam’s touch…plus, the man was one helluva kisser.

  Back at her condo, she unpacked the white cover up, and the tingling returned to her fingers at the memory of wet, muscular arms around her. It was strictly a chemical reaction. There was no other explanation for her to be this attracted to a stranger. With tattoos.

  She had reasons for relationships. Good reasons. Logical reasons. And there was no reason to deviate from them now.

  Who gave a shit if he had an amazing chest? Or how eyes with little crinkles at the side could make her feel like she had swallowed a wind-up toy, or how a single, sweet, kiss made her want to pound on Zach Buchanan’s bedroom door for spare condoms? (Zach always packed a few “just in case.” Had since he was sixteen.) Her reaction to Liam was a moment of temporary insanity, spurred by the bachelor party vibe of JT’s birthday celebration. She had real life to worry about, a firm to run, clients to represent.

  During the weekly Monday morning meeting at Hightower & Associates, the receptionist knocked on the door before entering and led a young man with perfectly gelled hair and a dark gray suit into the room.

  “Can I help you?” Spencer asked.

  “I’m looking for Spencer.” The man announced.

  “That’s me.” She nodded, and the man handed her a shocking pink box. Then he turned and left without another word.

  Nora, Rainey, and Spencer stared down at the box. “Wha…?” Nora’s question was cut off. The box vibrated. Rainey screamed. Nora jumped out of her chair. Spencer froze, trying to remember what the Secret Service had told her to do when a bomb was delivered in hot pink giftwrap. Then the opening notes of a song rang out. As far as Spencer knew, bombs didn’t serenade before exploding.

  Spencer unwrapped the box and pulled out a brand new Blackberry playing a ringtone.

  You got to know when to hold ‘em

  Nora frowned. “Is that..?”

  You got to know when to fold ‘em

&nbs
p; “Kenny Rogers?” Rainey asked in horror.

  Know when to walk away. Know when to run.

  Spencer checked the caller ID but she already knew who’d answer. Liam.

  “Hi.” Spencer answered the phone, unable to stop the grin spreading over her face.

  “Hey,” came Liam’s voice on the other end. “I didn’t have your number. I asked JT, but he didn’t want to give your number out.”

  “Smart man.”

  “Hey, I promised to be a gentleman, and he agreed that you should go out with me.”

  “Did he now?” Spencer asked.

  “No, he actually didn’t,” Liam said.

  “Sounds more like it.” She laughed.

  “You didn’t have a phone. I know Zach was supposed to replace yours, but I wasn’t sure when he was going to get to that. And since we have a date tonight, I needed a way to get in touch with you.”

  “So you bought me a phone?”

  “Yeah. Zach said we’re even for the poker game.” There was a silence.

  Spencer was aware she was beaming like a maniac, and that Nora and Rainey stared at her. It was a miracle they hadn’t grabbed the phone out of her hands and demanded answers from the mystery caller.

  “Thank you,” Spencer said, finding herself at a strange loss for witty comebacks.

  “No problem. So…about dinner.”

  “You want to take me out. Tonight,” Spencer said, partially for her friends’ benefit. Nora squealed and clapped her hands.

  “If you don’t have plans.”

  “I don’t.” Spencer closed her eyes and screwed up her nose, trying to forget her earlier resolutions.

  “I heard there’s a great Mexican restaurant close by.”

  Spencer bit her lip at the adorableness. “This being Texas, I think we can find a taco or two.”

  She hung up the phone then texted Liam her address and hit send. Done.

  Nora let out another squeal as soon as it was safe. Rainey gushed with a barrage of questions. “What? Who was that? Is that a new phone? Who is he? Where are you going?”

  Spencer held one hand up and the other hand went to her chest. Her heart beat like a kick drum. Hard and loud. “He’s someone I met at the Buchanans’.”