Spinning around, he looked at Gigi. "I don't know how, but I'm going after her. Right now."
Gigi squealed. "Thank God. Boone said you'd go for the grand gesture once you realized you loved her." She pulled her phone from her pocket.
He loved her. It didn't hurt to think it. It did generate a burst of fear, but he could live with that. It was Kira he couldn't live without. How could he get to her? She would be at the airport and probably through security already. With his head spinning from the word "love" banging around in it, he couldn't think. "What do I do?"
Dialing her phone, Gigi smiled. "Boone and I figured it out on the way to your suite." She held the phone to her ear. "Leave this one to me."
****
Kira sat in a wide vinyl chair at the gate where her flight would take her home to New York. When she'd walked through security three hours ago, her tension eased. Dallas couldn't get to her here.
She'd turned off her phone and wandered through the airport for an hour then went to the deserted gate and sat at a window seat watching airplanes arrive. Was it just two days ago she'd flown in? Full of excitement and expectation knowing she'd see Dallas again? It felt like a week. When they'd made love, it had been the most amazing experience of her life. She let out a breath. She'd miss it. She'd miss him.
Saying goodbye to him had been one of the—no—the hardest thing she'd ever done. In less than twenty-four hours, he'd slammed into her heart like a rank bull, and left his mark. Permanently.
How difficult would it be to see him next weekend? To not touch him, not kiss him, or stare into his incredible eyes?
Someone jostled her as they sat next to her. She'd been too spacey the last couple of hours to notice the area filling with travelers.
"We will now begin boarding flight 4214 to New York LaGuardia…"
Boarding already? Kira jumped up and looked for the girls. Gigi, Annie, and Bree should be here by now. Taylor was staying, renting a car and driving to San Francisco to visit her grandparents.
She spotted Annie and Bree standing by the boarding gate. Hauling her suitcase, she picked her way through the crowd. "Hi. Did you just get here?"
Both girls looked exhausted. Annie nodded. "We've been trying to call you."
"Sorry. I forgot to turn my phone back on." She looked around the area. "Where's Gigi?"
Bree's forehead wrinkled. "We thought she was coming with you. We haven't been able to get her on the phone, either."
A bubble of panic threatened, then she remembered who Gigi was with. "She's probably coming to the airport with Boone. He's flying up to Reno today."
The girls nodded. Bree yawned. "I'm going to have a cosmo and crash."
"We will now begin boarding first class…"
They moved into the line and in minutes were settled in their seats. Kira had the window seat in the last row of first class, and Bree and Annie were across the aisle from her. Gigi would be sitting next to Kira, whenever she decided to show up.
As promised, both Annie and Bree had ordered cosmos, slurped them down, and now rested under blankets, with pillows beneath their heads.
As people filed onto the airplane, Kira watched for Gigi. She turned on her phone. No call from Dallas. Had she expected one? Stupid cowboy. She deleted the four voicemails from Annie, then called Gigi. It went right to voicemail. Maybe she was in line to board the plane, and had turned it off.
Twenty minutes later, the last passenger had boarded, and no Gigi.
The flight attendant took a call, hung up the phone, and announced to first class, "We're waiting for one more passenger. It'll be just a few minutes."
Kira took her first real breath in a half hour. That had to be Gigi.
Five minutes later, from near the cockpit door, the flight attendant said, "Welcome. You're in the last first class seat on your right."
Kira looked up but didn't see who the woman was talking to. It had to be Gigi. Thank God.
The voice that thanked the attendant wasn't Gigi's. Wasn't even female. It was low and growly.
Dallas walked down the aisle toward her. His black cowboy hat sat low on his head, and he wore a dark red cotton button down shirt tucked into his sexy jeans.
Her heart stopped for a couple seconds then restarted at an amazing rate. What was going on? Had something happened to Gigi? No, he was smiling at her.
The flight attendant found a spot for his duffle bag and inquired about stowing his hat, to which he thanked her but declined. The cowboy plopped into the seat next to her, and set a black shopping bag on the floor between his feet.
"Where's Gigi?"
"She's stayin' another night with her fiancé." He breathed a little fast, as if he'd been running.
"How?" Words wouldn't form.
"Gigi's friend in the travel agency. Cancelled her flight while booking mine at the same time, and…" He lifted one hand and gestured down his body. "Here I am."
"Why?"
"I'm not leaving you on Valentine's Day." His dark gaze locked onto hers. "Not leaving you ever, if I can make you see reason."
"Ever?" What was he proposing? The chance at a life together?
"We have a few hours trapped together on this plane for me to apologize. For me to tell you that I realized…" His jaw worked. "…that I…" His breath hitched. Reaching into the black bag, he pulled out a big, red, heart-shaped balloon. He held it for a moment and handed it to her.
"I love you, Kira. Here's my heart to prove it."
Chills ran through her and shimmied across every inch of her skin. Warmth surrounded her heart and pumped through her veins. She held the balloon tenderly in her hands. "Are you sure?" She hated to be skeptical, but this was too sudden. Especially for a man like Dallas.
"I don't expect you to instantly forgive me, tell me you love me, too, and ask me to marry you before takeoff." His smile was sad. "But please let me talk to you, and…share my feelings with you on the flight."
Dallas Burns? Wanted to share his feelings? "Did you hit your head or something?"
He laughed, low and slow. "I know. Hard to believe this is me talking." He took her hand. "I wanna give us a try." His thumb drew a heart on her palm. "I trust you." His eyes held more emotion than she'd ever seen in him. "I trust you with my heart, Kira."
Tears surged from nowhere and she blinked to keep them from falling. He loved her. Her cowboy loved her and trusted her. Nothing else he could have said would have melted down her resistance the way those words did. "That means a lot to me, Dallas." She leaned over and kissed him. "I…think I'm falling for you, too."
"Yee-haw!" he called, and pulled her close for a real kiss, a hungry, hot, fast kiss.
"I have something for you, too." Kira whispered it against his lips.
His dark gaze locked with hers. "That kiss was all I needed." He grinned. "For now."
"Mmmm." Would they be able to wait until they reached her apartment to peel off their clothes? She reached for her purse and pulled out the brown envelope. She handed it to him.
"This is what your lawyer gave you." His brow furrowed. Opening the flap, he pulled out an eight by ten color photo. His eyes popped wide. "My grand championship buckle. The one I never found." He swallowed and looked at her. "What is this?"
"Barret's PI spent the better part of last night searching for it. He found where it had been listed and sold online." Here's where her fortune came in handy. "He bought it back and will have it in New York this week. I'll give it to you at the rehearsal dinner…"
Dallas dropped the papers and reached for her. "God, Kira, that's the most incredible thing anyone's ever done for me." Wrapping his arms around her, his face was just inches from hers. "Thank you."
Her chest filled with sweet emotion. "When you told me the story, I knew I had to be the one to find it for you. It's…" She shrugged, trying to contain the love swirling around inside her. "It's my way of helping you heal and get on with your life." He'd dedicated the buckle to his parents. How could he live a full life know
ing someone other than him had the buckle?
He cupped her cheek. "You're incredible. I'm lucky."
She laughed. "We both are. Stupid lucky."
"Some of us…" He pointed to his chest. "…are more stupid than others."
"True." She tipped her head. "But smart enough to pull off this caper." She gestured to the space around them.
He leaned in for a kiss but stopped when his phone rang. His gaze fixed on hers. "That’s Jayden's ringtone. Okay if I take it? He's going to drive my truck back to Reno."
She nodded and busied herself carefully tucking the splendid heart back into the bag and stowing it under the seat next to her purse. The flight to New York would be intense, the two of them talking through a lot of issues, but for him to even say the things he'd just said was a huge step for him. She'd hear him out. And since there was no chance of his seducing her here on the airplane, she'd be able to make a smart decision. Her eyes rolled at that last thought. As if she'd ever be able to say no to him.
"Jay, you got the keys from Boone?" He listened for a few seconds. "Where are you?" Dallas's lips thinned. Something was wrong. A few seconds went by. "You what?" he snapped. His eyes widened and he looked at Kira. "Did you say married?"
She puffed in a breath and felt the color drain from her face. "Stormie?"
"Jay." Dallas looked at his phone then put it back to his ear. "You there? Jay?" Glancing at the phone again, he shook his head. "Lost him. He's in the mountains."
"Did he really say married?" She held back alarm. Stormie was a grown woman. If they'd done something stupid, her parents would have it fixed.
Dallas's brow furrowed. "I think so. He'll call back after he gets through the pass."
"Wow." She snuggled closer to her cowboy. "And we thought our problems were bad."
He wrapped an arm around her. "All our problems will be fixed by the time we reach NYC."
"Promise?"
He kissed her forehead then drew an X over his chest. "Cross my heart."
The cowboy could be so sweet when he tried. "Thank you for the balloon. It means a lot to me."
He chuckled. "You should have seen me running through the airport in full cowboy gear, blowing up a red balloon. People actually stopped to stare."
Laughter bubbled out of her, and joy at his doing something so conspicuous for her made her weepy again. "I'm sure I'll see a video of it online somewhere."
He sat silently for a moment, considering it. "Could happen." He didn't seem bothered by it.
"If we work things out today…" She already knew they would, but she wanted him to give it his best effort. "You can you stay with me. At my apartment."
"I'm plannin' on it." He tipped his head. "Unless you'd want to keep me hidden from your friends for a while."
"No. I want to show you off…and have you meet my parents."
His jaw tightened and his lips thinned.
She expected his usual silence.
"Yeah, I'd like to meet them. But I should probably go shopping for something less rustic to wear."
She shook her head. "Oh no. You're perfect just the way you are." She tapped the brim of his hat.
"I want to know everything about your parents. Your family. Tell me everything about your life."
His interest tugged at her heart. "I will. If you'll tell me everything I don't know about you. I want to hear about your business venture with Boone and Gigi, too."
He seemed hesitant for a moment. "While we're in NYC, I wanted to meet with your attorney." He ran his thumb along her chin. "Thank you for talking up the rodeo school to him."
She nipped at his thumb. "I'll go with you. I'd like to hear what he found out about the business."
"Oh, you're comin' with, all right. And we'll be hiring you to be our accountant, once we're at that stage of the business setup."
He wanted her involved in his business? He was serious about bringing her into his life. "I'd love to help."
"But, you may have to move closer to Reno. Like, really close." The hopeful look in his eyes took her breath away.
"Whoa, cowboy. One major shock at a time." She laid her hand on his chest. "You're going to have me seeing double if you keep throwing things like that at me."
"I'll slow down, sweetheart, but not for long. I'm not a patient man." His gaze took in all the features of her face. "Once I commit to something, I'm all-in."
Smiling, she asked, "Promise?"
"Yep."
The flight attendant stopped next to him. "Would you please turn off your phone? We're fifth in line for takeoff."
He pressed the button and slid it into his pocket. "See, Kira? There's another reason you have to take me back. I can't ever hear the phrase 'turn off your phone' without thinking of you."
She sighed and kissed him, her hand on his chest holding tight to the heart she'd never let go of.
####
Here's a sneak peek of the third book in the Cowboy Jackpot Series which will be coming in February
Jayden and Stormie's story:
Cowboy Jackpot: St. Patrick's Day
Chapter One
Jayden Hancock tucked his hand into the rigging on the back of Chicken Foot, the bay gelding he was about to ride bareback. "Who the hell names a horse Chicken Foot?" The object of his derision lurched in the chute, jamming Jayden's leg against the fencing.
The pain shot up his thigh. He had to get loose. He tightened his grip and shouted, "Okay, okay, okay."
Three point eight seconds later, he lay on his back on the hard packed dirt, staring up at the arena ceiling, his breath knocked out of him. "Fuck." He was careful not to move his lips when he cussed. He was still on camera, and on the big screen above the ring, someone could easily read his lips.
He scrambled to his feet and waved to the crowd in gratitude for the few claps and shouts. He heard women's voices woo-hooing as he walked out through the narrow opening between the gates. Gigi, who was married to his brother, Boone, and Kira, who was long-distance-dating his friend Dallas, were in the stands for the rodeo.
"Great." He pulled off his gloves and stomped back toward the locker room. Now both Kira and Gigi had witnessed his failure.
"Tough luck, Jay." His friend Rance smacked him on the back. "Chicken Foot is a tricky bastard."
"It ain't the horse, it's the rider." He hadn't won an event in months. He rarely hung on for eight seconds. "My head isn't in the right place anymore."
"Bro, don't jinx yourself." Rance was big into superstition, and it was working for him. He was getting close to Jayden's brother, Boone, in the bull riding rankings. "Walk it off."
How many times had he heard that in the last five months, since his rides had turned bad on him. He jerked off his chaps and stuffed them in his gear bag along with his gloves, vest, and spurs. "I'm gonna get a drink. Come with me?"
"I can't, Jay. I'm in the short go." The riders with the best times in the first round faced off in the final round for the win.
He punched his buddy on the arm. "Good luck. I'll be cheering for you from the first bar I find." Stuffing his gear bag into a locker, he secured it.
"Hey, you've got another chance tomorrow. Concentrate on that." Rance tipped his hat and walked away.
The two-day rodeo at the Old West Casino in Las Vegas drew some of the best riders. If Jayden didn't pull it together and win tomorrow, he'd drop off the bottom of the charts. His pro rodeo career would be over. Yeah, his mind wasn't in the right place. Instead of set on winning, he felt a hollow desperation.
Brushing the dirt off his jeans and his unlucky green "lucky shirt," he walked out of the arena into the casino. Poker would take his mind off his troubles. It was the day before Saint Patrick's Day, and he was half Irish. Things should be going in his favor.
He pulled off his brown cowboy hat and ran his fingers through his blond hair to release the curls. He kept it a little long. The buckle bunnies liked it that way. Maybe a cutie to spend the night with would help him feel luckier.
"Might as well practice." He pulled out a twenty and slid it into the machine. It binged and chirped a welcome. "Dollar poker. Crap." He'd thought it was quarters. What the hell. It was only twenty bucks. He played the maximum, five dollars, and won a few hands.
After he ordered a beer from the cocktail waitress, he took a break and looked around the casino. Both his brother Boone and their friend Dallas had met their women here, under very lucky circumstances.
The two of them had pooled their winnings and were in the process of starting a rodeo school where they lived in Reno. Jayden was part of the school, but he had no money to fund his piece of the partnership. And hell, the woman he met at the casino on Valentine's Day had turned out to be pretty darn unlucky for him.
His beer came and he focused on his machine, pressing the maximum button as he took a sip. Three aces with a king and queen. Now this was getting interesting.
"Jayden!" A female voice called from a distance.
He glanced around. A buckle bunny? "Oh man." It was her, the unlucky lady from February. Her parents were bucking horse breeders. Did they have horses in the rodeo? He waved, hoping she'd just keep going. She walked closer.
Stormie was a beauty. Long, straight, strawberry blonde hair, freckles, and green eyes. Her tank top and shorts bared her toned arms and legs. Muscles developed from working horses on their ranch in Oklahoma.
She plopped down on his lap, spilling half his beer. "I had a hard time finding you. I saw your ride. Kira invited me, and I told her not to tell you I was coming 'cause I wanted to surprise you."
Her sexy curves pressed against him and a hot flood of desire swamped his groin. Now he remembered why he'd chased her so hard. They'd never had sex, despite his best efforts, but their kisses were steamy and powerpacked.
"How've you been, cutie?"
She tipped her head and cupped his cheek. "I love it when you call me that." Then she slapped him, kinda hard. "Why haven't you returned any of my calls?"
Cowboy Jackpot: Valentine's Day Page 9