“He burned every piece of meat he tried to cook.” I laughed.
Finally, a smile broke through, and Sara began to laugh, making me feel a hell of a lot better. The mood had lightened, and I could enjoy my time with her again. She had become paramount in my life here in Bonanza, and I wasn’t sure what I would do when it was over.
Chapter 14
Sara
I could see this Alec guy, all suited up in a thousand-dollar dress shirt and an apron that said “Kiss the Chef” on the front of it, his grill practically on fire. I couldn’t help but laugh. It was definitely the most awkward thing I could imagine happening in a place like the Hamptons, which I had only heard of in magazines and movies. I took a bite of my food and shook my head, looking up at Ryan.
“Have you ever done any of your own cooking?” I asked. “Or do you have an army of butlers cater everything for you?”
Ryan threw his head back and laughed, a real, deep, genuine laugh. It was almost contagious, and I found myself giggling at him. He was so cute with those dimples and that perfect smile. It was almost hard to believe he was a real person sitting across from me.
“No butlers.” He laughed, taking a drink of his beer. “Not even a cook. I’ve been feeding myself since I was old enough to use a stove, which was probably still too young by normal family standards. My mother worked two jobs, one that started at about eleven in the morning working for a dry cleaner down the street and the other an overnight shift at the diner. She barely ever slept, and when she was home, she was either taking a quick nap before the next shift or tending to some mess my father had made. I was put in charge of cooking dinner for the family, even if the words weren’t actually spoken. It was that or my mother didn’t eat, and I lived off cereal and whatever I could scrounge out of the fridge.”
“Wow,” I said. “My mom taught me to cook but not until I was older.”
“I have to say,” he said, smiling. “Even though I do all the cooking for myself, it’s nice to know that if I wanted to, I could pay someone else to do the hard work and cleanup, especially the cleanup. I hate doing the dishes and even more so when I’m only cooking for myself. It took me a while to learn how to cook for one person. My first six months of living alone, my fridge was constantly full of leftovers because I cooked enough for an army.”
“I know how that feels. I used to do the same thing.” I smiled. “As far as affording someone to clean up and do the hard work, I would imagine it would feel good to be able to afford to do that, especially after working your way up from where you came from. It’s nice to see that you haven’t forgotten where you came from. That’s important to remember. Still, I’d really like to see you cook sometime, find out what that rich boy palette is really like.”
“You mean like sloppy joes?” He laughed.
“Oh, no.” I smiled and then giggled. “Why does that not surprise me?”
“Hey, I have an idea,” he said, his eyes heating up as he looked over at me. “Why don’t you let me cook you a poor boy, rich boy breakfast tomorrow morning. You can see what I can do first thing in the morning, you get fed, and I get an excuse to spend more time with you. As you can see, I’ve been looking for any excuse to spend more time with you, even getting barbecue sauce all over my face and telling you horror stories from my childhood.”
I shifted in my seat, putting my hands in my lap and gripping my napkin tightly. I knew exactly what he was trying to say, and it wasn’t for him to come over first thing in the morning but instead for him to still be there from the night before. I could already imagine us sitting around the breakfast table, feeding our stomachs after a hot night in the bedroom. Just thinking about it made me weak in the knees, and I could feel the heat almost radiating off my skin. What was so wrong about that anyway? We were two adults, two consenting adults, who were having a blast being around each other. The sexual tension between us was growing stronger by the minute, and we had obviously been attracted to each other since the first time we’d met. Maybe it was time I invited him over and saw exactly what he could do with that bulge I felt pressing against my side that night in my kitchen.
Then, my mind shifted, and I remembered Janson and the fact that he and his cronies were keeping a really tight watch on me. He had already sent his deputy after me, watching me as I went out to the ranch, and there was a serious possibility he had something to do with the animals in my driveway. Who knew what he would do if he found out Ryan had stayed over at my place? He was a wild card, one I wasn’t particularly interested in playing with. It would be like playing with fire, only I knew exactly who would get burned, and neither Ryan or I needed that in our lives. Janson was not someone to be fooled with.
I could feel Ryan staring at me intently across the table, and as much as I wanted to invite him over, I knew I couldn’t. I needed to change the subject, to get our minds on something else so I could avoid the discomfort of the moment. I didn’t want him to think I wasn’t interested, but at the same time, I didn’t want to tell him about Janson and how he’d been basically stalking me since Ryan and I started seeing each other.
“So,” I said, clearing my throat. “Do you do a lot of interviews like the one you did today?”
“Yeah,” he said with a smirk, watching me divert the attention. “I definitely do my fair share. There was a lot of attention when I sold that system to the social media site, and then it kind of escalated from there. It can be a good thing and a bad thing, but that’s why I have a PR team to schedule all of that, talk about what questions I won’t be answering, and try to push the interviews in a positive manner. I’m pretty open to them, though. It helps with business.”
“That sounds absolutely miserable.” I laughed. “Having to expose my personal life to everyone in the world. Having people scrutinize everything about my life from what I was wearing to what decisions I made. I don’t think I could handle living like that. I don’t know how you do it, and I especially don’t know how people like movie stars and musicians do it, either, people who are constantly in the public eye. I like my little, private, boring life with the only person asking me what I’m doing is the horse in the stables during feeding time.”
“Do you hear horses, sweetie?” He chuckled. “If you hear horses, we should go talk to someone and not a journalist.”
“No.” I laughed, throwing my napkin at him. “I’m an introvert. I like my me time, and I like only choosing to talk to certain people. I don’t understand how people can do it constantly being in the public eye like that. Everyone’s always watching, judging, making assumptions that aren’t true. It would drive me absolutely crazy, and on top of that, I have thin skin. I would be hunting down reporters left and right who lied about me and my life like in tabloids.”
“I understand that, and trust me, it’s not something I enjoy in the least,” he said. “When I started all of this, I never even thought about that side of the coin, about the public’s intervention into my private life, but when it came, I had to learn to accept it. I didn’t realize how important the PR part of a company really is. It can literally make you or break you. It’s a way to monitor my brand and try to maneuver the news in a way that keeps the public’s perception of me and the company positive.”
He made a lot of sense, but I still felt bad that he had to deal with it like that. When dinner was done, I felt that regretful feeling again, not wanting the evening to end. I could see in Ryan’s eyes that he felt the exact same way, but I knew I couldn’t invite him back to my house. He put his napkin on his plate and smiled at me.
“You know what?”
“What?” I smiled.
“I’m not ready for the night to end. Let’s go for a drive,” he said.
“I like that idea,” I replied.
We headed out of town, driving under the twinkling stars. I directed him to a butte with a nice lookout that I figured we could stargaze under. We pulled out past the trees and got out of the car. I stretched my arms up over my head and walked ove
r beside Ryan, looking down at the beautiful town lights sparkling beneath us. It was one of my favorite places in town. He put his arm around me and kept me close to him.
“I had a really nice time in your little town,” he whispered. “And it’s all because of you.”
I turned and looked into his eyes, breathless from his words. He leaned down and pressed his lips against mine, kissing me gently. I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck, feeling the passion ignite between us. It was suddenly my new favorite place to be.
Chapter 15
Ryan
My lips were pressed hard against Sara’s, and I couldn’t believe how addictive her taste was. She was the most enchanting creature I had ever had in my arms, and I was struggling to control myself. I picked her up around the waist and turned, leaning her back against the SUV, trailing my lips down her neck and over her collarbone. She gasped lightly, goosebumps forming all over where my lips touched. She grasped tightly to my shirt, spreading her legs apart and wrapping them around me. I ran my hand up her side and brought my face back to hers, pressing my mouth to hers. I ran my tongue over her lips, and she opened up, taking me inside. I groaned, tasting the passion of her lips, wanting more and more of her. Things were so hot and so heavy, and I stepped back as she pulled away, sliding down onto her feet. She gripped onto the hood of the truck, finding herself as weak in the knees as I was.
“We have to slow down,” she said, breathing heavily.
“I understand.” I stepped forward and kissed her forehead. “Come on. I’ll take you home.”
I drove her home and got out of the car, walking her up to the front door. I cupped her cheeks in my hands and kissed her passionately one last time before pulling back and looking deeply into her eyes. She turned toward the door, smiling, but I dropped my hands to hers and turned her back around.
“I know this is probably crazy and very sudden, but I can’t get my mind off you, not even for a moment,” I said. “Come away with me tomorrow, just the two of us.”
“Where?” She giggled.
“I won a night at a winery bed and breakfast at the auction,” I said.
“Oh, the one you paid ten times the current bid for?” She laughed. “I only got five times the current bid.”
“Too little in my mind,” I smiled. “But I want to spend that vacation with you. Originally, I was going to give it away to someone in town, thinking a solo trip to a winery would be depressing in some ways. But now, I have someone I want to be with there. It would be an amazing way to end my time here, just being with the person who made it so special.”
Sara’s skin was flushed, and her eyes twinkled in the moonlight. She shifted in her stance and looked down at her hands. I could tell she was torn. She wanted to come, but there was something holding her back from giving in. I didn’t want to pressure her, to make her feel like it was necessary that she say yes. Everything between the two of us had been a whirlwind, and she knew I was going to be leaving very soon. I smiled and tilted her chin up to me, leaning forward and kissing her gently once again. Her lips were so soft and so perfect, and it was incredibly hard to pull away from her.
“How about this,” I said with a smile. “Take some time to think about it. I don’t want to pressure you, and I won’t be upset if you say no. Call me in the morning with your answer.”
“All right,” she said with a shy smile. “Thank you for dinner. It was really lovely.”
“Anytime.” I smiled. “You go inside, get snuggled in, and have amazing dreams tonight.”
She nodded and turned, walking into the house. When I knew she was securely locked away, I turned and went back to my car, feeling like I was on cloud nine all over again. I got in my car and sat there for a moment, thinking about her lips and the possibility of having her all to myself for at least one night. I put the car in drive and headed back toward the hotel. As I drove along the dark strip, something caught my eye. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw flashing blue lights behind me. Instantly, I gripped the steering wheel, unsure of what to expect. I drove a little farther to where there was a streetlight and pulled the car over on the side of the road. The police car pulled up behind me, and I watched in my side mirror as the sheriff got out and started walking toward my SUV. He had one hand on his pistol, and his hat was shadowing his face.
Sheriff Janson walked up to my window that I had rolled down and looked at me with dark eyes. I breathed deeply, both of my hands on the steering wheel. I hadn’t been speeding or anything like that, so I knew this visit was more than just routine. He had followed me. I could tell it by the look in his eyes.
“Evening,” he growled. “Please step out of the vehicle.”
Immediately, I was on edge, wanting to protest but knowing in a small town like that, it really wouldn’t do me any good. There was no one to complain to, and it was obvious Janson did anything but follow the law in that town. He was more a bully than a sheriff. I sighed and reluctantly got out of the car, keeping my hands where he could see them. I didn’t want to give him any excuse to pull out his gun.
“It’s pretty late out,” he said, lifting the front of his cowboy hat and looking me in the face. “Where you coming from?”
I stood there looking at him, debating on what to answer him with. I wanted to assert my dominance and tell him the truth, really driving it home, but I knew that was probably a bad idea. The whole situation was a bad idea, so I went with the safe approach.
“I was dropping a friend of mine off at home,” I said.
“That’s interesting.” He chuckled.
“Why is that?” I replied, still staring directly into his eyes.
“I just think it’s strange seeing you’ve only been in town for a few days, maybe a week,” he said. “You must be one hell of a guy, making friends really fast.”
“I like to think I’m a friendly guy,” I said back. “I tend to attract like-minded people.”
“I really doubt there are any like-minded people in this town,” he said. “We don’t tend to keep the same views as rich boys from the big city. In fact, we don’t tend to take too kindly to people like you.”
“You’d be surprised how much in common I have with these folks,” I said, standing up straight.
“I think I’d be surprised if you had anything in common with the shit that falls out of the cow’s ass in the field.” He smirked. “How many friends you planning on taking back and forth while you’re here?”
“I guess that depends on how many friends I make, now doesn’t it?”
“I think you should be more focused on getting the hell out of town than making friends,” he said.
“Why is that?”
“Well, I grew up here, my daddy grew up here, his daddy before that, and so on,” he said. “This town has always done things a certain way, and if it ain’t broke, then it don’t need fixin’.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.” I smiled. “I think change can do good for most places.”
“I think I don’t like people like you, loose morals, thinking you can flash your money around and have whatever you want, coming into my town,” he said. “And even worse than that, trying to change the town and how certain people feel.”
The tension between the two of us was extremely thick. I could almost smell the liquor on Janson’s breath as he breathed heavily in front of me. He had a real complex, thinking he could tell people what to do and how to think. The worst part about it was, I knew he was trying to warn me away from Sara, and it pissed me off to no end. He was a controller, someone who would do anything and say anything to keep control of as much as he could. He looked at Sara like the dairy farm looked at their cows, nothing more than property to control. I had upset that for him, and now he was trying to bully me.
“I don’t think you understand what I’m saying,” Janson said, taking a step forward.
“Oh, I completely understand,” I said, watching him move even closer.
I couldn’t handle him in
my space like that, so I reached up and pushed him as hard as I could, watching him stumble back. I moved quickly, raising my arm to slug him, but then I stopped, looking down to his side at his hand on the butt of his gun. He smirked over at me, tapping his fingers against his pistol. I knew it was no use, so I put my hand down and held my tongue, completely enraged by this douchebag standing in front of me. He pulled his jacket straight and cleared his throat, spitting to the side.
“I’ll tell you what I’m gonna do,” he said. “I’m in a good mood tonight, so I’m going to let you off with a warning. I think you know what that warning is. Next time, though, I can promise you, I won’t go so easy on your ass.”
I stood there, breathing heavily, every muscle in my body tense as hell. I watched as he laughed, walking back to his car and climbing inside. He turned off the bright flashing lights and pulled out, slowing down and tipping his hat as he passed. Had I been any more tired, been the least bit intoxicated, or been any younger, I would have beat the hell out of the man, probably getting shot in the process. I growled, turning around and getting into my car, pounding my fists on the steering wheel. When I had calmed a bit, I headed back to the hotel, not saying a word as I passed the front desk and headed back to my room. I sat on the edge of the bed, pulling off my clothes, feeling totally enraged and almost out of control with everything.
Throughout the night, I tossed and turned in bed, having nightmares like I had never experienced before. Janson was there threatening Sara, and I was literally glued to the spot I was in. I was completely helpless to intervene, watching the whole thing go down right in front of my eyes. I had never felt like that before, so angry, so protective of a woman like that. When I woke up the next morning, I was in a terrible mood, still feeling the sting of confrontation between me and the sheriff. I wanted to give him a piece of mind, really let him know how small he was, but before I could, my phone rang, and it was Sara.
My Last First Kiss Page 34