Jeanne Marie’s face gave nothing away as she studied them with blue eyes that were the same shade as Brodie’s. Caitlyn idly wondered if triplets ran in Brodie’s family.
Not that it mattered.
“I hope you can go in there and convey that same conviction,” she said. “Because it’s not going to be easy to win over everyone, but if anyone can do it, I believe you two can. So since the mayor has asked to hold this meeting in our barn out back because there are too many people for the Grill in town, I called in a favor. I asked him about the two of you doing a short presentation. He said for you to give his secretary a call and he will put you on the agenda for next Tuesday night.”
* * *
It felt like another victory, Brodie thought as he drove toward Caitlyn’s apartment in Vicker’s Corners. He’d stopped at the Wok In Carry Out Chinese restaurant where he’d picked up takeout for them to share for dinner. Before that, he’d picked up a bottle of nice champagne. Because tonight was a night that called for some bubbly.
After they’d left Jeanne Marie’s house, they’d decided to celebrate in a more casual atmosphere than the Cantina. When Caitlyn said she’d wanted to change into something more comfortable than the silk blouse and snug skirt she’d worn to work that day, he’d offered to pick up takeout and meet her at her place.
When she answered the door, the sight of her virtually knocked the breath out of him. She wore a pretty pink cotton sundress that even in its casualness hugged her in all the right places.
This thing between them was so new—well, it wasn’t new; these feelings, this chemistry, hadn’t gone away since the moment they’d met—but this renewal was fragile. Before he could overthink it, he decided to take the lead and kiss her hello. Standing there with his hands full of bags and the bottle, he leaned in and claimed her lips.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he held the parcels out to allow her to get closer. Blood pooled in the center of his body. Hot. Urgent. His senses screamed in a rush of want and need.
“I’ve been dying to do that again since we got down off that bloody ride this afternoon. Have I told you how much I love roller coasters?”
She laughed. “I thought you hated them.”
His lips still on hers, he said, “I’ve been cured. The tunnel of love ain’t got nothing on the Twin Rattlers.”
She gently bit his bottom lip and sucked it before she said, “Come in. I don’t want to put on a show for the neighbors.”
When he stepped inside, he set the goods down on the wooden coffee table in the apartment’s small living room. He pulled her to him again, wanting to feel every inch of her body pressed against his hardness. Needing to bury himself deep inside her.
She felt so right in his arms. All at once, all the uncertainty was replaced by a feeling so right, so profound he knew he had to have her.
All of her.
* * *
In Brodie’s arms, Caitlyn’s senses took flight. Or did they take leave?
She tried to think through the fuzzy haze that had invaded her brain. He smelled divine. That green and woodsy scent was so him. She breathed him in as he trailed kisses down her neck. That’s when she gave up trying to make sense of it all and gave in to the rapture.
A moan of pleasure escaped from somewhere deep in her throat. Brodie ran his hands over her back, down the soft cotton of her sundress, until he gently cupped her bottom and pulled the center of her to the rock-hard center of him.
“I want you,” he whispered.
The room tipped on end. She wondered if anyone had ever drowned in her own desire for a man.
“Caitlyn?”
“Mmm?”
“Is this okay? I mean, are you hungry?”
She smiled.
She nodded and buried her hands into his thick hair. “Yes, I’m so ravenous I don’t even know where to begin. Here—”
She unbuttoned the top button of his shirt.
“Or here—” She slid her hand down his flat stomach and dipped her finger into the waistband of his pants.
“Let me help you with that decision.”
He lifted her off the ground, cradling her in his strong arms, and kissed her as he started walking toward her bedroom.
Her heart beat so wildly she was sure he could feel it. She couldn’t remember a time when she hadn’t longed for this moment because everything before him had faded away. She searched his eyes and answered him with a kiss that spoke of all the passion and certainty she felt.
Just inside the door, he adjusted the dimmer on the overhead light so that it glowed a warm, subtle glow. Just enough light to see. Barely.
Gently, he laid her on the bed.
She was going to make love with this gorgeous, sexy man who would probably leave right after the park opened and never come back. And yes, she would be devastated.
But tonight he was all hers. They had this moment. Right now.
Looming over her, he stripped off his shirt and tossed it away, onto the floor, then eased down beside her and propped himself up on one elbow.
From this vantage point he looked huge, all muscled chest and broad shoulders. She shuddered, needing to feel his bare skin pressed against her own.
He stroked her cheek and lowered his mouth to meet hers, his lips closing over hers soft and gentle at first, then more demanding.
His hand had worked its way up underneath her dress. His finger deftly slid under her bra and brushed over her breast. Those thoughts of him leaving that had plagued her a moment earlier melted away under his very skilled hands. Desire shot through every inch of her body, pooling in secret, vulnerable spots that had been starving for him for way too long.
He seemed to know precisely how to work the hook on her bra, because before she realized what he was doing, he’d tossed it away. She tried not to think about how many women he must have undressed to be that good at it. She hadn’t had many lovers—none since Eric. But she’d hungered for Brodie the past few weeks, and any residual preoccupation left her mind as she focused on how tonight felt as if they were about to make love for the very first time. Well, for the second first time.
His hand on her breast sent tendrils of pleasure spiraling through her body. Brodie might be leaving soon, but she would show him how good they could be together, remind him how right they were for each other. He made her feel alive in a way she hadn’t felt in a long time. She wanted to make him feel just as good.
Her finger traced the edge of his pants, where a line of fine hair disappeared into the waistband. She slid her palm down over the bulge just below it. He moaned.
Fumbling with the button on his pants, she finally worked it loose. She hesitated and looked up at him.
He reached down and worked her dress up and over her head and tossed it away.
“You’re so beautiful.” He looked at her body in a way that was positively reverent. He touched her face and then softly stroked her neck and the cleft between her breasts as he worked his way downward. When his lips sought out her nipple, she was gone. Utterly gone. Incoherent, lost in the feel of him on loving her body.
His kiss found her lips again, and his tongue slid into her mouth, as his knee nudged apart her thighs. When his hand found her center, even through her panties, the sensation made her back arch off the bed.
She freed his hard length from his pants and caressed him. He responded with a shuddered moan and eased his pants and underwear off in one easy motion. Then he straddled her and slid off her panties with equal ease.
She lay naked and vulnerable and ready for him.
He kissed her slow and deep for the longest time and when he finally pulled back, she heard the sound of a foil condom package opening. Impatient for him, desperate for him, she watched as he sheathed himself.
He settled himself on top of her, propping his upper body on his elbows. Stroking her hair, his lips found that tender spot where her neck curved into her ear then trailed kisses down her neck. He was about to drive her insane from
the need, which had her body moving under him, straining, trying to get close.
One of his hands dipped between them. He shifted his weight, and she felt him positioning himself against her before he entered her body, filling her with an incredible rush of pleasure.
She gasped as fire burned through her veins to the very center of her womanhood. Arching against him, she grabbed on to his hips and threw her knees out as wide as they could go, needing to feel him all the way to her soul. He was sensuous and weighty, rolling on top of her, inside her, the friction of his body creating a growing heat. He gave her everything he had, pumping into her hard and deep until she cried out his name as waves of pleasure built. Swelled. Until she came completely unraveled and spiraling over the edge.
When she lay spent and pliable under him, his head fell to her shoulder, and his rhythm grew steadier, faster, until his entire body began to tremble. With a growl, he let go of his control and spilled everything he had.
Then there was stillness broken only by the sound of their breathing.
Chapter Ten
She thought making love to Brodie Fortune Hayes—again—would ruin everything she’d worked so hard to establish. But she was wrong.
It had never felt so wonderful to be wrong.
Things weren’t awkward or strained. Instead, there was a heightened sense of synergy between them. The only challenge she found was keeping her mind on the job and out of the bedroom. And really, when she thought about it, it wasn’t a challenge as much as it was the cherry on top.
They were so good together—both in the bedroom and out. And this intensified closeness helped on the night of the town council meeting.
Since the meeting was taking place in the barn on Deke and Jeanne Marie’s property, Caitlyn thought those in attendance would be friendly—or at least open-minded. However, even though the Fortunes did wield some influence, it was clear that the folks of Horseback Hollow had minds of their own and would not be easily swayed.
She was amazed by how many people came clutching the newspaper with Truvy’s story of the malfunctioning Twin Rattlers. With a headline reading Cowboy Country USA Off To Uncertain Start—Will Malfunctions Derail Memorial Day Opening?
Oh, Truvy, I thought you were on our side.
The reporter was seated in the front row, jotting notes in her reporter’s notebook. She wouldn’t make eye contact with Caitlyn. She wasn’t sure if it was intentional or not. Everything seemed magnified right now.
Her gaze searched the room for Brodie, who was in the back helping serve the fresh lemonade and cookies that Jeanne Marie had provided. They had agreed that he would man that station, and she would work the other side of the room.
The only thing was that she was suddenly feeling a bit paralyzed and what looked like the entire town of Horseback Hollow filtered into the barn. From the looks of things, the crowd might be as large as it had been for the wedding. These good people took their town seriously.
Well, Caitlyn’s convictions about Cowboy Country USA were just as strong and sincere. She wasn’t here to mislead anyone. That truth would be the North Star that guided her through the evening.
Brodie was talking and shaking hands and doing what he did best. He was with Cisco Mendoza and Delaney Fortune Jones. Caitlyn had met both of them when she and Brodie had arrived. Wonderful, warm people. Cisco looked animated and happy to be chatting with Brodie. That had to be a good sign, didn’t it?
When Cisco left Cowboy Country everything began to unravel. As part of their strategy, Brodie had asked Cisco to stand up tonight and mention that the only problem he’d had with the project and the reason he’d left was because he felt the design didn’t mesh with Horseback Hollow’s landscape. The plan was that Brodie would assure the citizens that since then there had been a change in personnel, and that Moore Entertainment was discussing a more harmonious plan for the Cowboy Condos. A design that Cisco Mendoza himself had had a hand in bringing to life.
Of course, the unspoken message was Mendoza might have pulled out—and for good reason—but a Fortune had come on board and was fully endorsing the park. Not only was it good for the small town, but it was also economically beneficial.
Yes, Brodie was in his element. Caitlyn envied his ease, the way he seemed so comfortable in his own skin. Granted, he could be a little aggressive when he’d locked in on something he wanted—loyal employees, an iron-clad opening date, a lover—
Inappropriate. Stop it.
Caitlyn blinked away the thought and refocused on how, for the most part, Brodie Fortune Hayes knew how to win people over to his way of thinking. He was headstrong, and Caitlyn didn’t agree with all his tactics, but she believed Brodie Fortune Hayes’s heart was in the right place.
Good thing, because she feared she was losing her heart to him.
Stop, Caitlyn. Focus. And quit being a wallflower. Get out there and mingle. Do your job.
She knew she needed to, but it was easier said than done. Being at the center of a new situation wasn’t her comfort zone. She liked to stand back and observe, get a read on a situation, absorb the vibe before she dove in. That’s how her gut worked, and when she abided by it, she usually wasn’t wrong.
However, today there wasn’t a lot of time to stand back and assess. She would be doing herself a favor by meeting as many people as possible before she and Brodie got up to speak. They were the last on the agenda, and if she was anxious now, she knew her nerves would only get worse as the clock ticked closer and closer to their presentation.
She scanned the room for a friendly face, and her gaze connected with Susie Silverman, who was just entering the barn. Susie smiled back, waved and headed in her direction. Good thing she’d worn the cuff bracelet she’d purchased from Susie at the art festival. It wasn’t just for show. She hadn’t thought about currying favor when she’d slipped it on her wrist to complement the powder blue dress she’d chosen for the occasion—something soft and feminine, something that didn’t scream city slicker, but still hinted that she was a professional and knew what she was doing.
All she knew was she loved the bracelet. It made her feel as if she were wearing a work of art.
“Hi, Caitlyn? Did I remember your name correctly?”
Caitlyn beamed at her. “You did, Susie. It’s great to see you again.”
“Hey, I love that bracelet.” Susie reached out and lifted up Caitlyn’s wrist. “You have impeccable taste, lady. I just finished making some earrings that would look great with it. Not too matchy-matchy, but close enough to harmonize.”
“Save them for me. May I stop by your house next week to pick them up? I’ve wanted to come in and see you and your studio since the art festival. Life has just been a little crazy.”
“I hear you. I understand you’ve had a full plate working toward the grand opening.” Suzie gestured toward a newspaper that an older woman with jet-black hair was using as a fan. “Don’t worry, though. People around here can be slow to embrace change, but most of them do eventually come around. I’ve lived here all my life, and I’ve seen it with my own two eyes. You’ll be fine.”
Susie waved at someone across the room. “There’s Mary Jane Hardy. She’s saved me a seat. Plus, it looks like the meeting is about to start. Knock ’em dead.”
Susie would be one friendly face in the audience, in addition to Jeanne Marie and Deke, Josephine, Amelia and Quinn, Christopher Fortune Jones and his wife, Kinsley. Then there was Galen Fortune Jones, who could sometimes be a loose cannon, but surely tonight he would support his cousin or say nothing at all. Right?
She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around to see Brodie. He handed her a small cup of lemonade and a fresh chocolate chip cookie on a red napkin. Caitlyn wondered if the napkin was left over from the wedding.
“Hungry crowd tonight. I saved these for you. Because until you’ve had Aunt Jeanne Marie’s chocolate-chip cookies, you haven’t lived.”
“Thank you.” As she reached to take the goodies, Brodie manage
d to squeeze her hand under the napkin. It was a private message that came with a smile that seemed to promise, Don’t worry. We’ve got this. Easy peasy.
Although, she couldn’t imagine that upright, handsome Brit actually saying easy peasy.
It really was a silly phrase. Yet the thought of it passing over those lips...those lips...
“What?” Brodie asked.
Caitlyn took a bite of the cookie. When she’d swallowed it, she said, “Delicious. That’s what. Let’s find our seats.”
They sat with his family about midway back. Just far enough away to feel a little anonymous—though being the lone non-Fortune to sit with them probably made her stand out all the more. Still, being that far back allowed her to look around and spot some of the people who worked at the park. There was Janie, who must’ve slipped in just as they were starting because Caitlyn hadn’t seen her earlier. And there was Les Campbell. And a group from food and beverage. But not as many as she would’ve thought.
Hmm...was that good or bad?
Caitlyn did her best to focus on the speakers, who stood on what looked like a modified version of the wedding stage. Before she knew it, it was time for Brodie and her to get up and deliver their piece. Before she stood, her throat went dry so she drank the last bit of lemonade, grateful for its tart coolness. They’d prepared a PowerPoint presentation, which was good because her mind was threatening to go blank right about now.
But all it took was one reassuring smile from Brodie, one touch of his hand as he helped her up the four wooden steps to the platform, and she caught her breath.
No need to be nervous. This is a win-win proposition.
Brodie went first, introducing her and giving the overview as he tried to get people excited. He worked through his part of the PowerPoint. Cisco stood at the appropriate moment and said the appropriate things. Still, something didn’t feel right.
All this talk about designs and money flowing in from the outside through taxes and tourist spending seemed cold and...typical. Just a cordial way of saying, or not saying, like it or not Cowboy Country was here and really, there’s nothing you can do about it.
My Fair Fortune Page 12