“Ouch!”
“Sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to.” Toady wrapped an old-fashioned hair net around the bun she had been creating and affixed more bobby pins to it. Then she placed a classic brown derby bowler hat on her head, adjusting it so that the blond bun was visible at her neck above her shirt collar.
Cam viewed the hair pinning process with rapt interest. He’d never seen such a production that transformed Aimee from a beautiful woman with long, flowing hair into a stately equestrienne wearing an old-fashioned bun, her hair pulled back from her face giving definition to her lovely features. A medium charcoal tropical weight worsted wool suit coat hung on a nearby hanger. Aimee wore matching Kentucky jodhpurs.
When she stood, he ogled the close-fitting, from-waist-to-ankle jods that ended with a flared bell-bottom covering her black, ankle-length boots.
She glared a warning at him and he stepped back.
“You’re in class seven, Aimee,” Toady said. “Best be getting on your coat. Rodney and Jimmy will have your horse ready for the warm-up.”
Standing between Aimee and her coat, Cam intervened and lifted it from the hanger. He held it out, ready for her to put on. A slight flush crept up her neck, which he wanted to attribute to his actions, not the hot June evening.
“Thank you,” she said, and he slipped the suit coat over her white French cuff shirt.
Toady handed her a riding crop and black, leather gloves. Aimee stood silently, watching Rodney lead Wedded Bliss down the shed row, and Cam watched her with ever-growing awe. Dressed in a brown saddle seat riding suit, closely modeled on men's business suits but with an extra long coat, Aimee was down right gorgeous. Traditional and dignified, a picture worth posting in a magazine, she took his breath away.
When Jimmy gave her a leg-up, Cam longed to be the one to touch her and hold her, even for the one-two-three count before she was boosted into the saddle. He stood aside, unable to speak, as she and his expensive horse moved out of the stable area toward the practice ring.
“Best grab a seat,” Toady suggested. “Holt Stables has a box just on the corner. You can sit there.”
He nodded, trying to calm his heartbeat, and went to find the reserved box seats. It struck him as he sat down in the folding chair that this is where Aimee belonged. She was more at home here, wearing her fancy riding clothes and doing what she loved, than wearing a skimpy cocktail dress and socializing with the wealthy elite in Chicago. Oh, there was money here at the show ring, no doubt about that, but there was so much more. Whether rich or poor, these people shared a love of horses and spirited competition, making everyone equal.
The ladies five-gaited stake proved to be one of the most competitive classes of the night. Put a horse under a woman and nothing can stop her. That’s how Cam saw Aimee as she aggressively showed his horse, making all five gaits seem flawless to his untrained eye. The women riders circled the outdoor arena at the trot and then the slow gait and rack. Cam liked the rocking chair canter the best, but the rack was what started the crowd cheering.
The second way of the arena, Aimee urged Wedded Bliss into a rack that covered ground like a Ferrari. She floated on the horse’s back, hardly moving. Only her head turned as she sped around the end of the arena and down the straight away in front of the judge. Her long legs and upright posture gave her a commanding appearance. Cam found himself actually hooping and hollering, just as he said he would do.
They didn’t win the class, but were called out as reserve. A red ribbon at Rock Creek was nothing to complain about. Yet Cam felt disappointment for Aimee. She’d tried so hard.
He didn’t go back to the barn because he knew Aimee had another class almost back-to-back. After that class, one that she won with flying colors, he walked back to Jimmy’s stabling area just in time to see Aimee dismount. Rodney led the horse away and Toady stripped Aimee’s coat from her shoulders. Aimee was dripping with sweat, her face red from the heat, but she had a broad smile on her face.
“Congratulations!” He wanted to grab her and spin her around out of happiness, but he didn’t.
She glanced up at him, removing her derby. “Thanks. We had a great show, but the competition made mistakes like I made in the first class.”
“I didn’t see any mistakes,” he said, bathing her with the soft tone to his voice. “You looked perfect to me.”
She glanced at him and then averted her eyes. “I bet you say that to all the trainers.”
He shrugged and came closer. “No, only the pretty ones.”
Aimee lifted her head and glared at him. Then reaching up behind her head, she removed the net and pulled out the hairpins. He watched spellbound as she let her hair fall over her shoulders. She shook it briskly two times and then ran her fingers through her scalp.
Right then and there, he wanted her so badly he thought he’d die from need. It had nothing to do with his earlier, less noble motivation. He had helped himself immensely by flying Aimee to Chicago. Maybe that would be enough to close the deal. What he felt at the moment dragged up his emotions from six years ago, throwing them out in the open, making him ache with desire.
This place was too public. He wanted Aimee alone. On his turf. He wanted to get to know her better. Make love to her. God help him, maybe he had fallen in love again.
“You have one more night of showing,” he said to her, stepping behind and whispering in her ear so that no one else could hear. “You deserve a break. Come swimming at my house on Sunday afternoon. It will give you time to relax.”
She turned to face him. “I don’t know.”
“I’m staying at my parents’ house while they’re away. They have a large pool that’s hardly used. Say you’ll come.”
Aimee searched his face. He had to control himself. Give her space.
“I’ll let you know,” she said.
“Good. You have my cell phone number?”
Aimee nodded. He’d given his number to her before last weekend’s trip.
His fingers strayed to her flushed face. He felt the heat radiating from her skin. “I expect to see you Sunday,” he said and spun on his heel, leaving the barn before he made a complete and utter fool of himself.
Aimee watched Cam go. A delicious shiver cooled her face where he had touched it. Waves of longing washed over her. Damn him! He had not wanted to marry her six years ago when she’d been young and infatuated. Now she was older, wiser and jaded. She had no time for this kind of game. She had no need to be bothered by Mr. Sexy Ex-Boyfriend.
“What was that all about?” Toady asked.
“I’m not sure.” Aimee shook her head. “He asked me to swimming at his parents’ place. He said I need a break.”
“You do. You work damn hard.”
“But it will feel too much like a date. He’s our customer and, besides, I don’t date.”
Toady fisted a hand on her hip. “I know you’re independent and don’t take advice from your parents, but I’m not a parent. Maybe you’ll listen to me,” she said. “What’s to hurt? He hasn’t asked you for anything else. It’s not as if he wants a relationship.”
That had been the problem, Aimee thought. Aloud she said, “I know. I’ve kissed too many toads and you might say I’m gun shy.”
“Toads? That’s right down my alley. Don’t toads sometimes turn into Prince Charming?”
“That’s what my friend Sarah tells me.”
Toady dropped her fist and turned away. She walked away muttering. “I don’t know, but if I was young, and a handsome, eligible bachelor asked me to go swimming, I sure wouldn’t hesitate.”
Aimee licked her lower lip, realizing she needed a drink of water. More importantly, she needed to get back to work. That’s what mattered. Work kept her grounded. She had a goal and a future to create that didn’t include Camden Brennan.
Chapter Six
Exclusive East End Subdivision
Louisville, Kentucky
This wasn’t a date, Aimee told herself. She drove up to the B
rennan’s sprawling walkout ranch located on a wooded lot. It was four o’clock, not prime time for sunbathing, but with her fair skin, she didn’t need the sun exposure. She wondered if she needed the exposure to Mr. Oh-So-Hot, Sexy Ex-Boyfriend.
Toady was right. She should take time to relax. Just how much relaxing she’d do this afternoon remained to be seen.
“I’m glad you came,” Cam said when he opened the front door. He was wearing a black t-shirt, swim trunks and Teva sandals.
“I brought my swimsuit.” Aimee grinned and held up her beach bag, trying not to be self-conscious.
“Great!” He stepped aside. “Come on in.”
The entrance foyer paled in comparison to the Renfro’s, but immediately Aimee liked it. This was a real home, not a pretentious showplace, and she grew more comfortable as she followed Cam through the great room with its antique beams across vaulted ceilings, and into the kitchen. A pitcher of lemonade and two clear plastic tumblers sat on the granite countertop.
“Did you get all the horses back home?” Cam asked. He opened the freezer and pulled out a bucket of ice.
“Yes, all safe and sound,” she said, standing awkwardly by the island. She engaged his gaze for a moment, and then shifted hers toward the French doors and out to a wooden deck.
“If you go outside and down the steps, you can get to the pool house on the other side of the pool. It’s safe to change there,” he told her. “Away from prying eyes.”
She turned back to look at him and found a gleaming, mocking light in his eyes. “Do I need to be wary of prying eyes?”
He shook his head as if to express his innocence. “Not from me! You’re here to relax, remember?”
“I remember.”
“Go on then.”
Aimee escaped out the French doors and down the back steps. The clear, blue water of the pool looked inviting. She couldn’t remember when she’d been swimming last. Horses took a lot of work and didn’t leave much free time.
The pool was surrounded by trees, making the whole area quiet and secluded. The charming pool house sat on the edge of a fall-away lot. Aimee walked around the pool and in to the pool house. She changed quickly and was outside in a flash. Cam was placing a tray of drinks on a side table by two lounge chairs.
He hadn’t seen her step out of the pool house. She hesitated, watching him. In a swift motion, he pulled the t-shirt over his head and tossed it on the chair. She shouldn’t be staring, but she couldn’t help it. She had often found herself in trouble because she was a sucker for a handsome male. This man was no exception. His well-defined six-pack and broad shoulders were something to die for.
This was a mistake. She shouldn’t have let Toady influence her.
Aimee dropped her beach towel on the concrete by the pool’s edge. She removed her flip-flops and without testing the water, dove into the deep end.
When Cam heard the splash, his head jerked up. Aimee was already swimming across the pool in long, graceful strokes. Her hair was hidden by an old-fashioned white swim cap, something that looked as if it came from the nineteen fifties. He kicked off his Teva’s and stepped nearer to the edge of the pool. Aimee reached the shallow end and turned around, swimming back to the deep end.
She climbed out of the water then. He watched mesmerized. Water sluiced from her body. Her long legs were muscular and her bottom round and taut. She wore a classic, navy blue one-piece suit. She was even more alluring in it than other women he’d seen wearing bikinis with spaghetti straps and thongs.
A part of his anatomy reacted to what he saw. Cam walked down the steps into the cold water and then swam leisurely across the pool, using the breaststroke so he could keep his eyes focused on her the whole way. He reached the other side and rested his arms on the concrete edge by Aimee’s left thigh.
Looking up, he said, “Hi, gorgeous.”
She blushed. He loved the way he could tease her.
“This is a beautiful home.”
Cam looked away toward his parents’ thirty-year-old house. “Yes, it is. I love it here. Someday I want to have a home like this.”
“Where do you live now?”
“Here while they’re away, but I have a condo downtown. You?”
“I’m staying with the Burkes in their basement. They have a house in Simpsonville, and I can’t afford anything on my own.”
He hadn’t known that about her. “You must want this job badly to leave your family and live with strangers.”
His comment offended her. Cam saw the tension in her jaw and the stiffness in her shoulders. “The Burkes aren’t strangers. Jimmy worked for my dad when I was a kid and he had his own training barn. I’m lucky he gave me a chance and a place to live or else I’d be working a real job, as my father calls it.”
“I’d say you work a real job. I’ve seen what you do and it’s a lot of hard labor, pitching in to groom, feed and muck stalls, because you know Rodney needs help and Jimmy can’t do it.”
She shrugged. “Well, it’s part of the job. Somebody has to do it. Those eight horses are like family. We’re paid to train and show them, but we’re also paid to give them the best care possible.”
“I think you’d do it even if you weren’t paid.”
They’re gazes connected. “You’re probably right.”
“It’s in your blood, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” Her voice was soft, wistful.
For the first time, he understood Aimee, her passion and her loyalty to her employer and her clients. Cam liked that about her. She had a work ethic that mirrored his.
But she didn’t lie to people to get what she wanted. A fit of guilt hit him like a heavy brick, and he looked away.
“When we broke up, you said you didn’t plan to marry—ever. Has anything changed your mind?” Her voice caught. “I mean, do you ever want a family? A house like this cries out for a family to go with it.”
“It does. I haven’t thought about it, but I’m not getting any younger.”
She kicked out with her right leg, sending a splash of water over his back. “Oh, come on. You’re not old.”
“Thirty seems old, as if you’re at a fork in the road or something. Like you’d better get on with your life or else time will run out.”
“Is that what happens when you turn thirty?”
He shrugged. “It’s an eye-opener. You begin to realize you aren’t going to live forever.”
“Is that why you bought Wedded Bliss? Determination to follow your dreams?”
“You can say that,” he hedged.
“Well, I’m following my dreams, and I love it.”
Cam searched her eyes, reveling in her honest and sincerity. Damn his need to lie to her! He hated himself.
“Race me to the other side,” he said, wanting action to cover up his guilt.
Aimee surprised him by slipping into the water beside him. “One, two, three, go!”
She took off swimming free style, catching Cam off guard. He raced after her, hitting the other side of the pool seconds after she touched it.
“You cheated!” he sputtered as he gathered his feet under him and stood up.
“Hey, guys are faster than gals. I needed every advantage I could get.” She laughed.
“Fast, you say?” Cam surveyed her, noticing the flush on her face and the drops of water on her eyelashes. He took a step toward her. Water lapped his waist. “I’ll show you fast.”
He gently grasped her shoulders and pulled her toward him, the water swishing around them. Her lips, when he took them, were warm, moist and inviting. She answered his kiss tentatively at first. Then a moan escaped her lips and her arms encircled his waist.
“You like?” he muttered against her mouth.
“Too much.” Aimee’s voice was breathless.
Cam walked her backward through the water until she was stopped and supported by the side of the pool. Then he kissed her again. She tasted of sun and water. She tasted of passion and desire. He wanted to pleasure her as
much as he wanted to make love to her.
This wasn’t part of his plan, but it seemed so right. He unsnapped the clasp on her bathing cap and tugged the white monstrosity from her head, which allowed her hair to tumble to her shoulders.
“Why do you wear this thing?” he asked, pushing her back against the side of the pool.
“Chlorine,” she gasped between his kisses. “It gums up my hair.”
“Ah, a shame.” He trailed down the length of her long neck with his lips, offering his kisses as gifts.
Cam couldn’t concentrate on words. His mind was blank except for searching out his next tidbit of delight. Her sun-warmed shoulder was next. He layered kiss upon kiss, pulling down her swimsuit strap and descending upon her chest, then the fullness of her breast.
She sucked in a breath when he touched his tongue to her left areola and nipple. Aimee let him continue, never asking him to stop, never protesting his pursuit, and it emboldened him. Waves of need surrounded him much as the cool pool water splashed on his naked skin. The sun beat upon his back. He tangled his fingers through her damp hair.
Lifting his head, he gazed into Aimee’s desire darkened eyes. “Oh, God, Aimee,” he muttered.
“It was always good, wasn’t it, Cam?” She whispered his name as if she were his guardian angel.
“I had forgotten.”
“I hadn’t.”
“Oh, God, Aimee, I want you.” It wasn’t a romantic admission. He sounded like a broken record and he didn’t feel like a gentleman. He was what he was—a male seeking a mate. A mate in the sexual sense, not a soul mate or long time lover. Not a wife.
“I want you too.” Her confession was as if a sigh of resignation.
“It is what it is.” His lacked the ability to be profound in moments like this. All of his of suave, he-man verbiage faded in the arms of this beautiful woman.
“I know. That’s okay. It’s just today. Now.”
“Now is okay?”
She nodded and he kissed her again, rubbing up against her so she would feel the evidence of his need. “The pool house has been a rendezvous spot for my brother,” he said. “He keeps condoms there.” Would she be off-put by his comment or consider it thoughtful?
Kentucky Bride Page 5