by Maisey Yates
She looked out at the crowd, thousands of people filling the auditorium, and millions watching online, and took a deep breath, ready to get started unveiling the new line of Julerro automobiles. Julia had nearly gagged on that name, but when you said it fast, it really did work.
She sneaked a glance at her reflection in the monitors. Strange to be in color, bright pink in fact, for a presentation, but…she didn’t need to avoid any colors anymore. She didn’t need to try to blend in.
“Thank you for coming today to the product launch of what, I believe to be the biggest and best endeavor for both Datasphere and Anfalas.”
The screen behind her flickered, and rather than the new logo for the company, Ferro’s face appeared.
She turned and put her hands on her hips. “Um…excuse me, I seem to be getting interrupted. Mr. Calvaresi, you’re aware that this is a product launch you have a stake in, aren’t you?”
Ferro had elected to have her do the speaking for the launch, since she was more experienced in “spectacle.” She should have been suspicious at his willingness to share the spotlight.
Really, she should have been. She knew him well enough by now to know that she couldn’t trust the man worth a darn. Except when it came to the important things like love, faithfulness and accepting her for who she was. On that score she could trust him perfectly.
“I am completely aware of that, Ms. Anderson. I’m not here to interrupt the launch. Much.” He stood from wherever he was and disappeared from the screen, leaving only an empty chair and a black background.
“My partner,” she said to the crowd, “seems to be acquiring some of my flair for the dramatic. Who knew he had it in him?”
Then she heard footsteps and looked to the left, to see Ferro walking out from behind the curtain. He was immaculate and perfect in a suit and tie—black, of course, her favorite color.
“I got an idea in my head last night and I just couldn’t shake it,” he said.
“It’s too late to make any changes to the car.”
The audience laughed and she was sure they thought it was scripted.
“That’s not it. I have a question I need to ask and it can’t wait, not for another moment.”
“All right then, Calvaresi,” she said, starting to tremble, “you better ask before the nice people get bored.”
Ferro lowered himself to one knee in front of her, taking her hand in his. “Julia, I have spent my life alone. But this past year with you has erased all of it. I can’t remember what it’s like to be cold at night. All I know is what it feels like to go to sleep with your arms wrapped around me. I can’t remember ever feeling detached, because with you, I feel everything. I want to be with you, always. You have blotted out my past, made me feel new. Clean. You have made my present happy, beautiful. Now I’m asking you to be my future, always. Julia will you marry me, and make me the happiest man alive?”
Julia sank down to her knees, too, not caring that there was a massive audience looking on. Nothing mattered but him, but this. “You know, you’ve pulled some pretty crazy stunts, but this…this wins.”
“It only wins if you say yes.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring box. She couldn’t even be bothered to look at the jewelry. She was too busy looking at his eyes, shining with so much emotion, so much love, it warmed her everywhere.
“Then yes. Yes, because…because where else am I going to find a man who will stay up all night with me and play video games? Where else am I going to find a man who loves me just like I am?”
He pulled her in close and kissed her. The entire auditorium filled with the roar of the crowd cheering them on.
“Any other reason?” he asked.
“Well, yes, the most compelling reason being that I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“Money didn’t bring me happiness. It didn’t bring me peace. You did, Julia. And I can never thank you enough.”
“I don’t need you to thank me. Just love me. And kiss me.”
And he did.
* * * * *
ISBN: 9781460315378
THE COUPLE WHO FOOLED THE WORLD
Copyright © 2013 by Maisey Yates
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Shy tomboy Kaylee Capshaw never thought she’d have a chance of winning the heart of her longtime friend Bennett Dodge. But when a chance with the cowboy presents itself, can she finally prove to him that the woman he’s been waiting for has been right here all along?
Read on for a sneak peek of
UNTAMED COWBOY
the latest in New York Times bestselling author Maisey Yates’s Gold Valley series!
CHAPTER ONE
KAYLEE CAPSHAW NEEDED a new life. Which was why she was steadfastly avoiding the sound of her phone vibrating in her purse while the man across from her at the beautifully appointed dinner table continued to talk, oblivious to the internal war raging inside of her.
Do not look at your phone.
The stern internal admonishment didn’t help. Everything in her was still seized up with adrenaline, and anxiety over the fact that she had texts she wasn’t looking at.
Not because of her job. Any and all veterinary emergencies were being covered by her new assistant at the clinic, Laura, so that she could have this date with Michael, the perfectly nice man she was now blanking while she warred within herself to not look down at her phone.
No. It wasn’t work texts she was itching to look at.
But what if it was Bennett?
Laura knew that she wasn’t supposed to interrupt Kaylee tonight, because Kaylee was on a date, but she had conveniently not told Bennett. Because she didn’t want to talk to Bennett about her dating anyone.
Mostly because she didn’t want to hear if Bennett was dating anyone. If the woman lasted, Kaylee would inevitably know all about her. So there was no reason—in her mind—to rush into all of that.
She wasn’t going to look at her phone.
“Going over the statistical data for the last quarter was really very interesting. It’s fascinating how the holidays inform consumers.”
Kaylee blinked. “What?”
“Sorry. I’m probably boring you. The corporate side of retail at Christmas is probably only interesting to people who work in the industry.”
“Not at all,” she said. Except, she wasn’t interested. But she was trying to be. “How exactly did you get involved in this job living here?”
“Well, I can do most of it online. Otherwise, I travel to Portland, which is where the corporate office is.” Michael worked for a world-famous brand of sports gear, and he did something with the sales. Or data.
Her immediate attraction to him had been his dachshund, Clarence, who she had seen for a tooth abscess a couple of weeks earlier. Then, on a follow-up visit he had asked if Kaylee would like to go ou
t, and she had honestly not been able to think of one good reason she shouldn’t. Except for Bennett Dodge. Her best friend since junior high, and the obsessive focus of her hormones since she’d discovered what men and women did together in the dark.
Which meant she absolutely needed to go out with Michael.
Bennett couldn’t be the excuse. Not anymore.
She had fallen into a terrible rut over the last couple of years while she and Bennett had gotten their clinic up and running. Work and her social life revolved around him. Social gatherings were all linked to him and to his family.
She’d lived in Gold Valley since junior high, and the friendships she’d made here had mostly faded since then. She’d made friends when she’d gone to school for veterinary medicine, but she and Bennett had gone together, and those friends were mostly mutual friends.
If they ever came to town to visit, it included Bennett. If she took a trip to visit them, it often included Bennett.
The man was up in absolutely everything and the effects of it had been magnified recently as her world had narrowed thanks to their mutually demanding work schedule.
That amount of intense, focused time with him never failed to put her in a somewhat pathetic emotional space.
Hence the very necessary date.
Then, her phone started vibrating because it was ringing, and she couldn’t ignore that. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Excuse me.”
It was Bennett. Her heart slammed into her throat. She should not answer it. She really shouldn’t. She thought that even while she was pressing the green accept button.
“What’s up?” she asked.
“Calving drama. I have a breech one. I need some help.”
Bennett sounded clipped and stressed. And he didn’t stress easily. He delivered countless calves over the course of the season, but a breech birth was never good. If the rancher didn’t call him in time, there was rarely anything that could be done.
And if Bennett needed some assistance then the situation was probably extreme.
“Where are you?” she asked, darting a quick look over to Michael and feeling like a terrible human for being marginally relieved by this interruption.
“Out of town at Dave Miller’s place. Follow the driveway out back behind the house.”
“See you soon.” She hung up the phone and looked down at her half-finished dinner. “I am so sorry,” she said, forcing herself to look at Michael’s face. “There’s a veterinary emergency. I have to go.”
She stood up, collecting her purse and her jacket. “I really am sorry. I tried to cover everything. But my partner… It’s a barnyard thing. He needs help.”
Michael looked… Well, he looked understanding. And Kaylee almost wished that he wouldn’t. That he would be mad, so she would have an excuse to storm off and never have dinner with him again. That he would be unreasonable in some fashion so that she could call the date experiment a loss and go back to making no attempts at a romantic life whatsoever.
But he didn’t. “Of course,” he said. “You can’t let something happen to an animal just because you’re on a dinner date.”
“I really can’t,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
She reached into her purse and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill. She put it on the table and offered an apologetic smile before turning and leaving. Before he didn’t accept her contribution to the dinner.
She was not going to make him pay for the entire meal on top of everything.
“Have a good evening,” the hostess said as Kaylee walked toward the front door of the restaurant. “Please dine with us again soon.”
Kaylee muttered something and headed outside, stumbling a little bit when her kitten heel caught in a crack in the sidewalk. That was the highest heel she ever wore, since she was nearly six feet tall in flats, and towering over one’s date was not the best first impression.
But she was used to cowgirl boots, and not these spindly, fiddly things that hung up on every imperfection. They were impractical. And how any woman walked around in stilettos was beyond her.
The breeze kicked up, reminding her that March could not be counted on for warm spring weather, as the wind stung her bare legs. The cost of wearing a dress. Which also had her feeling pretty stupid right about now.
She always felt weird in dresses, owing that to her stick figure and excessive height. She’d had to be tough from an early age. With parents who ultimately ended up ignoring her existence, she’d had to be self-sufficient.
It had suited her to be a tomboy because spending time outdoors, running around barefoot and climbing trees, far away from the fight scenes her parents continually staged in their house, was better than sitting at home.
Better to pretend she didn’t like lace and frills, since her bedroom consisted of a twin mattress on the floor and a threadbare afghan.
She’d had a friend when she was little, way before they’d moved to Gold Valley, who’d had the prettiest princess room on earth. Lace bedding, a canopy. Pink walls with flower stencils. She’d been so envious of it. She’d felt nearly sick with it.
But she’d just said she hated girly things. And never invited that friend over ever.
And hey, she’d been built for it. Broad shoulders and stuff.
Sadly, she wasn’t built for pretty dresses.
But she needed strength more anyway.
She was thankful she had driven her own truck, which was parked not far down the street against the curb. First date rule for her. Drive your own vehicle. In case you had to make a hasty getaway.
And apparently she had needed to make a hasty getaway, just not because Michael was a weirdo or anything.
No, he had been distressingly nice.
She mused on that as she got into the driver’s seat and started up the engine. She pulled away from the curb and headed out of town. Yes, he had been perfectly nice. Really, there had been nothing wrong with him. And she was a professional at finding things wrong with the men she went on dates with. A professional at finding excuses for why a second date couldn’t possibly happen.
She was ashamed to realize now that she was hoping he would consider this an excuse not to make a second date with her.
That she had taken a phone call in the middle of dinner, and then had run off.
A lot of people had trouble dating. But often it was for deep reasons they had trouble identifying.
Kaylee knew exactly why she had trouble dating.
It was because she was in love with her best friend. Bennett Dodge. And he was not in love with her.
She gritted her teeth.
She wasn’t in love with Bennett. No. She wouldn’t allow that. She had lustful feelings for Bennett, and she cared deeply about him. But she wasn’t in love with him. She refused to let it be that. Not anymore.
That thought carried her over the gravel drive that led to the ranch, back behind the house, just as Bennett had instructed. The doors to the barn were flung open, the lights on inside, and she recognized Bennett’s truck parked right outside.
She killed the engine and got out, moving into the barn as quickly as possible.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
Dave Miller was standing there, his arms crossed over his chest, standing back against the wall. Bennett had his hand on the cow’s back. He turned to look at her, the overhead light in the barn seeming to shine a halo around his cowboy hat. That chiseled face that she knew so well but never failed to make her stomach go tight. He stroked the cow, his large capable hands drawing her attention, as well as the muscles in his forearm. He was wearing a tight T-shirt that showed off the play of those muscles to perfection, his large biceps, and the scars on his skin from various on-the-job injuries, and he had a stethoscope draped over his shoulders. Something about that combination—rough-and-ready cowboy meshed with concerned veterinarian—was her very particular catnip.
“I need to get the calf out as quickly as possible, and I need to do it at the right moment. Too quickly
and we’re likely to crush baby’s ribs.” She had a feeling he said that part for the benefit of the nervous-looking rancher standing off to the side.
Dave Miller was relatively new to town, moving up from California a couple of years ago with fantasies of rural living. A small ranch for his and his wife’s retirement had grown to a medium-sized one over the past year or so. And while the older man had a reputation for taking great care of his animals, he wasn’t experienced at this.
“Where do you want me?” she asked, moving over to where Bennett was standing.
“I’m going to need you to suction the hell out of this thing as soon as I get her out.” He appraised her. “Where were you?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“You’re wearing a dress.”
She shrugged. “I wasn’t at home.”
He frowned. “Were you out?”
This was not the time for Bennett to go overly concerned big brother on her. It wasn’t charming on a normal day, but it was even less charming when she’d just abandoned her date to help deliver a calf. “If I wasn’t at home I was out. Better put your hand up the cow, Bennett,” she said, feeling testy.
Bennett did just that, checking to see that the cow was dilated enough for him to extract the calf. Delivering a breech animal like this was tricky business. They were going to have to pull the baby out, likely with the aid of a chain or a winch, but not too soon, which would injure the mother. And not too quickly, which would injure them both.
But if they went too slow, the baby cow would end up completely cut off from its oxygen supply. If that happened it was likely to never recover.
“Ready,” he said. “I need chains.”
She spotted the chains laying on the ground, picked them up and handed them over. He grunted and pulled, producing the first hint of the calf’s hooves. Then he lashed the chain around them. He began to pull, his muscles straining against the fabric of his black T-shirt, flexing as he tugged hard.
She had been a vet long enough that she was inured to things like this, from a gross-out perspective. But still, checking a guy out in the midst of all of this was probably a little imbalanced. Of course, that was the nature of how things were with Bennett.