“You okay, Jessa?” Naomi asked her. “You’re awfully quiet.” Her sweet friend happened to be doing smashingly well after a potent elixir that consisted of prosecco and lavender liqueur.
“I’m great,” she fibbed. She didn’t need a chorus of I told you so’s ringing out all around her.
“Sure looked like you and Lance were having a wonderful time,” Darla mentioned with a probing arch of her eyebrows.
“Yeah,” Cassidy agreed. “Things were looking pretty hot between you two on the dance floor.”
She evaded all of their curious stares with a long, savoring sip of wine.
“Of course they were hot,” Naomi said with a giggle. “Once you have sex with someone, you tend to dance a little differently.” Her eyes went wide and she slapped a hand across her mouth.
“Sex?” Darla repeated.
“Sex?” Cassidy echoed.
Well. Apparently it was harder to keep secrets at the Cortez Ranch than she’d thought. Calmly, Jessa set down her wineglass. “He told you?” she asked Naomi, wishing her voice didn’t sound so strange. It was one thing for her to be humiliated in private, but now his rejection was about to go public.
“No.” Rounding her eyes apologetically, Naomi rested a hand on her leg. “He didn’t tell me. I figured it out and he didn’t deny it.”
That was so much better.
“Oh my God!” Darla wailed. “I can’t believe you’ve been holding out on us!” She scooted to the edge of her seat as though the suspense was killing her. “When? Where? How?”
“How?” Jessa rolled her eyes. “You of all people know how it works, Darla.”
Her friend laughed. “Truer words.”
“But we do need details,” Cassidy urged impatiently.
“Fine.” They’d never let her get out of there until she spilled her guts. Might as well get it over with. “We were in his kitchen. Talking. And…” The images of him holding her body flashed. She couldn’t stop them. They took her over…
“And?” Darla prompted.
Jessa sighed. “And it just happened. One minute we were talking. The next kissing. Then…” She let them fill in the blank.
“In the kitchen?” Darla mock-whined. “I love kitchen sex!”
“Pretty hot,” Naomi agreed. “Not that I would remember. It’s been years for me, ladies,” she said a bit sloppily. “I mean years.”
“Okay, honey. Maybe we should take a little break from this.” Cassidy slipped Naomi’s drink out of her hand and set it on the coffee table. “So are you two together, then?” she asked Jessa. “Because it sure looked like it.”
“No.” She steadied the tremble out of her voice. “We are definitely not together. He doesn’t have feelings for me.” She’d simply walked in on him at a vulnerable moment and they’d both let down their guards.
“How do you know he doesn’t have feelings for you?” Naomi asked too loudly. “Because I’ve known him forever and I have to say…he looks different when he talks about you.”
“No. Trust me.” Jessa tried to laugh, but it felt more like a gag. “I overheard him tell his brothers he doesn’t have feelings for me. So…”
“Are you serious?” Cassidy nearly spilled her drink.
“What an ass,” Darla said, looking truly pissed on her behalf.
“I doubt he would tell his brothers if he did have feelings for you.” Naomi reached for her glass again, her glare warning Jessa not to take it away. “It’s not like they’re close or anything. You saw how they were acting tonight.”
“Maybe not, but we all know how Lance is.” Hell, he’d told her himself how much he loathed the prospect of committed relationships. “You’re the one who told me to avoid this in the first place.” Then she’d thought maybe she really did simply want a one-night stand. Something easy, uncommitted. But that hadn’t worked for her. Because now she knew what it could be like with Lance, how he could touch her and satisfy her and how his gaze could pierce her heart. She knew, but she couldn’t have him. Lesson learned.
“Wow.” Cassidy shook her head slowly back and forth. Being as busy as she was, working two jobs and going to nursing school, she didn’t have a lot of her own drama. But she always confessed to loving other people’s drama. “So now what’re you going to do?”
“Nothing.” Jessa shrugged, as though it would really be that easy to move on. “It’s fine. It was fun and everything, but I’m not looking for someone like Lance, anyway.” Besides, he’d gotten what he wanted. Now he’d probably leave her alone.
“Well you can’t stay there,” Darla scoffed. “For God’s sake, here you are doing him a favor and he totally takes advantage of the situation.”
“It’s not his fault.” She wasn’t some naïve teenager. She’d wanted it. She’d wanted him. And the sad truth was, she still did. Even hearing those words play back in her head. That’s why she had to leave the ranch. She couldn’t see him every day. Not the way her soul seemed to crackle to life whenever he was near.
No. She had to walk away. Ever since she’d gone to stay with Luis, she’d felt like she was part of a family, but it wasn’t real. “You’re right.” She took in a breath of courage. “I need to move back home. Lucas and Levi can help out now, keep an eye on Luis.”
“Exactly.” Darla refilled her wineglass. “If Lance can’t see what a treasure you are, he doesn’t deserve you anyway. If you ask me, the best one out of that bunch is Lucas.”
She had a point. While Lance seemed suspicious and closed off and Levi was capricious, Lucas was serious and quiet, but also tender, given what she’d seen when he’d been with Naomi earlier. “He really seems like a good man,” she said to Naomi. “Maybe you two could reconnect…” Someone had to find a happy ending in this whole thing. And no one deserved it more than Naomi. Not after what she’d been through with her ex.
“No.” Her expressive green eyes teared up again. “He’s only here for a short time. Then he said he’s headed back to the McGowens’ place.” She blotted her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt. “He seems happy. Like he’s built a good life for himself down there.”
A good life, but maybe not the best life. From the way he’d looked at Naomi, Jessa could swear he’d give up everything to be with her. “He wouldn’t want to come back?” she asked. “Even to be with Luis?”
“He’s convinced no one in town would want him back here.” Naomi sighed. “Not after everything that happened.”
“But that was years ago,” Cassidy said. “Surely everyone’s over it by now.”
“Ha.” Darla rolled her eyes. “Not around here. They wouldn’t trust him. They’d be watching his every move. Sorry, honey. But I don’t blame him for not wanting to come home.”
“It’s okay.” Naomi finished off her drink. “It’s not like we even know each other anymore.”
“Except you still feel a connection to him.” Jessa didn’t usually resort to stating the obvious, but how could Naomi give up that easily?
A smile brought life to Naomi’s eyes. “He was my first love. So I’ll probably always feel connected to him.”
“That’s exactly why you should give it a chance,” Jessa argued.
“You watch too many Hallmark movies,” Darla said in her dry way.
“Maybe I do.” But those stories kept her heart searching for something real and true. And not just for herself, either. “I think if you have a chance at finding true love, you should take it.” No matter what. While the rest of them rolled their eyes and laughed in their Oh, Jessa way, she studied Naomi. She had no doubt the woman was scared. She’d been burned in the worst way possible, and now she didn’t want to even consider the possibility that the man she loved might still be in love with her, too.
That was okay, though, because Jessa wasn’t afraid. She had no problem launching her own secret investigation into the possibility. She had plenty of experience with these things. All she had to do was talk to Lucas.
While she might be surrounded by cynic
s, she still believed. No matter what happens in her own life, a true romantic never gives up on love.
Chapter Eighteen
Jessa zipped up her duffel and did a quick sweep around the room. She’d managed to shower, get dressed, and pack her things all within twenty minutes. The voices and breakfast noises from downstairs had lit quite the fire under her.
From the sound of things, all three brothers were downstairs with their father.
Levi had crashed in the other main floor bedroom of Luis’s house and Lucas had stayed at Lance’s place, she found out after she finally made it home around one o’clock in the morning.
Not home.
This was not her home. Luis was not her father. And Lance, while a good lover, was not boyfriend material. So, yes. It was time to go. She had to do this fast. Like ripping off a piece of medical tape that had gotten tangled in her hair while she was attempting to bandage a wounded squirrel with a major attitude problem. It’d happened to her only three times, but it hurt every time. She’d learned from experience, the faster you ripped, the faster you got through the pain.
Bravely, she stepped into her flip-flops before kneeling down to clip Ilsa into her harness. “Time to go home, lil’ sweetie.” She patted the pig’s head affectionately. At least she wasn’t going home alone. “We’ll have so much fun. We can make popcorn and watch movies. You’ll love it.” Holding the leash in one hand, she hoisted her bag onto her shoulder. Eventually she’d have to come back for Ilsa’s crate, but she wasn’t about to ask for help loading her car.
Keeping her spine straight under the guise of confidence, she walked regally down the narrow staircase with her adorable little piggy and halted in the kitchen.
The men were all there together, and they were four peas in a pod. It wasn’t their looks so much as their mannerisms, the way they ate, the way they sat hunched slightly, laid back and comfortable. She was glad to see they weren’t silent strangers anymore, but talking easily about the ranch.
“I can help get things started,” Lucas was saying. “At least from a distance. If you need me to consult on any purchases or—”
“Oh, hey, Jessa.” Levi was the first one to notice her.
Lance straightened and turned around.
She looked through him. “So, the fumigator people let me know that my house is done.” She gripped the suitcase strap tightly in a fist. “Which means Ilsa and I can move back home and you guys can have the place to yourselves again.”
Lance’s chin dipped forward slightly as he studied her from across the room. She didn’t let her gaze settle in his.
“Thanks for letting me stay, Luis.” She quickly led Ilsa over and planted a kiss on the man’s cheek.
“Not a word about it.” He reached up and pulled her into a half hug that dangerously weakened her resolve. “It’s great having you here, Jessa,” the man said, cutting a stern look at his firstborn. “Don’t be a stranger, now.”
“Why don’t you stay for breakfast?” Lucas offered, rising to pull out another chair for her.
She swallowed hard. The threatening tears heated her throat. “Actually, I should get going so I can drop off my things at home before I head to the shelter.” She turned before they could read any trace of sadness on her face. “But I’m sure I’ll see everyone soon.” Without a more formal goodbye, she stooped to pick up the pig and walked out, keeping her head low as she made her way down the porch steps. “Here we go.” She opened the driver’s-side door and settled a snorting, grunting Ilsa on the passenger seat. As she loaded her bag into the back, the screen door banged open behind her.
She didn’t turn around. Didn’t have to. She could feel Lance behind her, feel him looking at her. Unable to face him, she climbed into the truck next to Ilsa and slammed the door shut. But the damn window was open, and before she could peel out he leaned in to gaze at her with those perceptive silvery eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said, slanting his head convincingly. “For what I said last night. I didn’t mean…well…it wasn’t what it sounded like.”
Jessa kept her gaze centered on the windshield. She couldn’t look at him or he’d see everything. “It’s fine,” she insisted, shoving the key into the ignition. “You don’t owe me an apology.” Technically, he didn’t owe her anything. That one morning in the kitchen, she’d told him she wasn’t interested in a relationship, either. She’d pretended to be just as detached as he could be.
“Come on, Jessa.” His hand rested on her thigh and sent sparks shooting up her chest. “Levi was being an ass. Okay? I was just trying to shut him up.”
“Sure. I get it.” She moved her leg so his hand fell away, so he couldn’t influence her with his touch. “The kitchen thing was…” Incredible. Impressive. Ravishingly hot. Not that she’d admit it right now. “…Fun. But you don’t owe me anything. It just happened. Not like I’m expecting you to change your whole philosophy on relationships or anything.” A humorless laugh slipped out. “I mean, I knew what I was signing up for. It was only a one-time thing and you—”
He pressed a finger against her lips to quiet her. “Let me take you out.”
“What?”
“On a date.” He paused as though the words had surprised him, too, but then he nodded. “Yeah. I want to take you on a date.”
“A date?” she repeated through a laugh.
“Yes. Is that so hard to believe? Isn’t that what people do when they like someone?”
“People, yes. But you?” As far as she knew, Lance had never dated a woman. He’d met women at bars. He’d met women out on the circuit. He’d for sure had women in his hotel rooms. But he didn’t date.
“Why not me?” he demanded with that sexy half grin that had gotten her into so much trouble in his kitchen.
“Listen…” She raised a hand to stop him right there. “I know what you’re trying to do here.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
He leaned in through the window, moving his face dangerously close to hers. “What am I trying to do, Jessa?”
Seduce her again. He was so damn good at it. Those eyes. They could practically undress her. “Um.” She attempted to focus. “You’re trying to make me feel better about things. Because let’s be honest. I don’t do one-night stands. Or one-afternoon stands. I’ve never done that. So maybe you feel bad and now you think you’re obligated to take me on a date, but—”
This time he lowered his lips to hers.
A sharp breath sliced through her lungs, cutting them open. God, it was the best kind of pain…
He pulled back. “Or maybe I just want to take you on a date.” His eyes held her in a daze. “Maybe I don’t want you to go home. Because that means I won’t see you every day. And maybe I want to see you. Maybe I was just trying to get my asshole brother off my back. And maybe I really do like you, Jessa. Did you ever think of that?”
One kiss and her lungs were nearly out of air. “That possibility hadn’t occurred to me,” she whispered, which brought back his grin.
“Please go on a date with me, Jessa. I’ll beg if I have to. I’ll get down on my knees right outside your truck.”
He was teasing her again and damn it, she couldn’t not smile at the man. “Um…”
He draped his arms over the open window and leaned close again. “Pretty please?” Tenderness crinkled the corners of his eyes. “You have to know I’d never tell Levi anything about how I really feel. We don’t have that sort of relationship.”
That was true. From what she’d seen, the eldest and youngest Cortez brothers had some competition between them.
“Let me take you out. I’ll make it worth the trouble.” The promise in the words matched the one beaming suggestively in his eyes.
“Okay.” She relented through a put-out sigh, hopefully covering the sudden rush that had her body humming. “Sure. Why not? I guess I’ll go on a date with you.”
His eyes brightened. “When?”
Yeah, like she had any ability to think through he
r schedule with her heart racing this way. Let’s see…he was leaving on Friday for Vegas, so… “Thursday?” she tried.
His lips quirked with exaggerated disappointment. “That’s a long time to wait.”
Okay, so it didn’t matter what she had going on. Based on her kitchen experience with the man, she’d cancel everything. “Wednesday?”
“Much better,” he murmured, giving her lips a long, sexy glance. “I’ll pick you up. Six o’clock.” He glanced at Ilsa. “Leave Pork Chop at home and wear jeans.”
Before she could ask him why, he walked back into the house.
* * *
He could get used to this. Having his brother home. Lance tossed his gloves onto the stable’s shelf. He’d been out training this morning, and somehow with Lucas out there, things had gone smoother than they had in a long time. Not that Lance didn’t appreciate Tucker, but Lucas had a way with animals. Somehow he’d calmed Wild Willy at the right moments and gotten his engine going when necessary. “Thanks for helping out today,” he said, hanging the halter on a nail.
“You’ve still got it, you know.” Lucas paced the length of the bull run, seeming to inspect it. “Same thing that made Dad great.” He ran his hand along the rotted fence railing. “Even with this shitty setup, you’ve got the perseverance. You can get the win this year.”
“Hope so.” Lance joined him near the fence, noticing for the first time how shitty it was. “Haven’t had much time for keeping things up around here lately.” That wasn’t his thing. The equipment. The facilities. He wanted to ride. He wanted to raise bulls. “We’re gonna need help getting our operation off the ground. Can’t do it myself.”
“I can make some notes while I’m here. Look around and give you suggestions.” Lucas stuffed his hands into the pockets of his Wranglers and strode out of the stables and into the sunlight.
Lance followed. It was a hot day for the elevation. Had to be at least eighty. He slipped off his hat and swiped at the sweat that ran down his temples. “I’d sure appreciate it.” He’d appreciate it even more if his brother would stay on at the ranch. He could use the expertise. But he knew when to push and now was not the time.
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