He threw his left arm around her and drew her close. “You are…”
“What?” she asked.
“I can’t find the words.”
It was the most beautiful line she’d ever heard.
Chapter 10
Laura had never slept with a man in her entire life. In the two relationships she’d had, they’d gotten together in motels and in their apartments but never in hers. And she’d always, always gone home long before daylight. When she awoke that morning, it took more than a minute to get her bearings. When she realized what she’d done and where she was, she threw a pillow over her head and hoped it didn’t catch on fire from the scarlet blush burning her face.
“Good morning,” Colton said cheerfully.
She mumbled something but didn’t move the pillow. She couldn’t look at him and she’d have trouble looking at herself in the mirror. She still had months and months of work to do at the ranch to pay Andy and she had to sit at the supper table with Colton and… the list went on and on.
“Wake up, sleepyhead. We’ve got a full day ahead of us.”
She wanted to crawl inside the pillowcase and flat-out die, but she sat up and managed a weak smile. She kept the pillow close in case she needed to use it again and looked everywhere in the room but at Colton.
“Hungry?” he asked.
“Mmmm,” she mumbled.
Food was the last thing on her mind.
“Are you awake or are you still sleeping even though your eyes are open?” he asked.
She glanced in his direction. He wore lounging pants printed with the Dallas Cowboys’ logo and a gauze undershirt with the tail hanging out. He was barefoot and he definitely had bedroom hair.
“Breakfast in bed. We’ll share,” he said.
“Coffee?” she muttered.
He nodded and headed back toward the door. “The beast does not wake without coffee?”
“The beast has been known to bite before coffee.” She pulled the covers up over her naked body and looked around for her underpants and shirt but couldn’t locate them anywhere.
Colton rolled a small cart into the room with a coffee service on the top and two dome-covered plates on the second shelf.
“Pancakes, bacon, and eggs, but first coffee. I would have pegged you for beauty, not beast.” He poured two cups of coffee and handed one to her before adding lots of cream and sugar to his.
She tucked the sheet tightly under her arms and held the cup in her hands for a few seconds, savoring the steamy aroma as it spiraled up. “Thank you.”
“No cream or sugar?” he asked.
She shook her head and sipped.
“So you like your coffee like your men?” A wicked, sexy grin put a twinkle in his green eyes.
She cocked her head to one side.
“Strong and hot,” he answered the question in her expression.
High color filled her cheeks.
“Is that a blush I see?” he asked.
“I don’t… I haven’t… I mean,” she stammered.
“Spit it out, Laura.” He chuckled.
“That was not make-believe and I’m not that kind of woman.” The words tumbled out.
He patted her bare shoulder. “It was what it was and it was fantastic. Want me to find a robe for you?”
Their eyes met in the middle of the bed and held.
“Please,” she whispered.
He kissed her on the forehead. A whisper of warm sweet coffee, his very breath told her that Colton didn’t think she was cheap and easy.
He handed her a thick white robe monogrammed with the hotel logo and turned his back while she slung her legs off the bed, dropped the sheet, and tied the belt firmly around her waist.
“Decent?” he asked.
“Yes, and thank you,” she said.
“Good. Come on around here and sit beside me while we have breakfast. We’ve got about an hour before we have to be down in the lobby.”
She tucked the robe in between her knees when she sat down. He set the two plates on the top of the cart and removed the domes. Her stomach growled at the smell of bacon and warm maple syrup.
“We worked up an appetite, didn’t we?” he said.
She blushed again. Couldn’t they pretend it never happened? In the other two relationships, the fellow called the next day but they didn’t talk about what they’d done the night before. But then, in those relationships there wasn’t much to talk about, not when compared to what had happened with Colton. She’d never been so hot, so wanton, or so satisfied when it was over.
“What’s on your calendar for the day?” he asked.
“We’re doing a day of beauty,” she said.
“Then you can call Karen and tell her that you will see her at the dinner tonight because you don’t need to do a day of beauty. You are gorgeous just like you are right now.”
The giggle was barely there but it relieved a whole lot of tension. “That is a line of shit. I just woke up and my hair is a fright. My eyes have bags under them and are droopy. I have to wear my glasses today if I get to wear contacts tonight, and remember, I’m the nerdy girl, not the sexy one.”
“I just see one lovely sexy woman in my bed eating breakfast with me, and if you don’t do the day of beauty, I can skip lunch and we can spend a whole hour in bed at noon.”
That time she was able to fend off the blush, but his words created a stirring of desire that she couldn’t brush away.
“I don’t think so. I’ve never had a day of beauty and I’m going to see what I’ve been missing.”
Her mouth said one thing; her brain thought another; her body screamed for a third that sounded much better than anything else.
He slid close enough that he could cup her cheeks in his palms. The kiss was one of those hungry ones that made her forget about food, beauty, and even breathing. It ended as abruptly as it started and he went back to eating.
“What was that all about?” she asked.
“While you are getting your day of beauty, I want you to think about what you are missing,” he said.
She picked up her last piece of bacon and crammed it into her mouth. She would have thought about him all morning anyway without the kiss, but now she wouldn’t be able to put him out of her mind for sure. No wonder so many women had been chasing him. If they knew what she did, they’d run even harder. Too damn bad theirs was a fake relationship. She could fall so easily for Colton and just as easily get her heart shattered into a billion pieces. No billion-dollar cowboy would ever settle for a woman who had worked in a greenhouse, who lived in boots and jeans, and could care less if her fingernails were painted pink, red, or even blue!
***
“It’s really not fair for Laura to be in the same room with us,” Bunny fussed.
“That’s right, Karen. You damn sure dropped the ball on this one. We’re all going to have self-esteem issues after today,” Tootsie said.
“God, I’d give half of my billions to have firm upper arms like you’ve got, Laura,” Melanie said.
Karen piped up from the end of the row of massage tables. “If they’re up for sale, I’ll give you more than she can rake up out of her bank accounts.”
Laura smiled. “Y’all are too funny.”
She swallowed a moan when the masseuse dug into the tight places in her neck and shoulders. It felt almost as good as the sex did the night before. Not as good by any means. Nothing was that wonderful.
“I bet you brought that slouchy old black pantsuit for tonight, didn’t you, Karen?” Melanie asked.
“Jesus, I live in jeans and boots on the ranch. I hate to shop and it’s worked fine for five years, so it will be fine for one more boring dinner and dance.”
Laura listened to their conversation with one ear and to the trickling waterfall over against the far
wall with the other. She imagined skinny-dipping in the small pool with Colton. She had to turn off the pictures or she’d be making sex noises right there on the massage table.
“Jesus ain’t goin’ to help you, Karen. You are not wearing that thing again. It’s out of style. We are going shopping right after the hair salon stuff. I made arrangements for an hour at a little boutique right beside the beauty shop. If we’re ready except for slipping into our new outfits, it won’t hurt to get back to the hotel thirty minutes later than we’d planned,” Melanie said.
“Gloria’s?” the lady massaging Bunny asked.
“That’s right,” Melanie said. “We may all buy something new, but Karen is definitely not wearing that ugly outfit she’s worn for twenty years.”
“Five, not twenty,” Karen said.
“Well, it’s damn sure ugly enough for twenty years. What’d you bring, Bunny?” Melanie asked.
“I’m not saying jack shit. I’m just going to buy something new. I don’t want you bitchin’ at me. What about you, Tootsie?”
“I’ll buy whatever Melanie and Gloria pick out, long as it doesn’t show my bat-wing arms or my flabby stomach. I swear gravity just sucks fat cells down faster and faster.”
“Laura?” Melanie asked.
“You mean I can’t wear bibbed overalls and go barefoot?” she asked.
“Honey, you probably could and even in that put everyone else to shame, but you ain’t goin’ to. What did you bring?”
“A cute little red dress, but I’m not afraid to change my mind.”
“Good girl,” Melanie said.
After the deep massage, Laura felt like a wet noodle. She was amazed that her legs carried her to the next room, where curtains separated five deep Whirlpool tubs. Her personal lady-of-the-day, Sarah, waved a hand in front of dozens of containers filled with bath salts.
“What’s your favorite fragrance?”
She glanced down the row and finally pointed at the warm vanilla sugar. The woman opened the top and put three heaping scoops into the bubbling warm water. She motioned for Laura to get inside, hung her robe on a hook when she dropped it, and tucked a rolled towel under her neck when she was comfortable in the tub. Then she massaged Laura’s face and temples for ten minutes before applying a mud mask.
“We’ll let that set for twenty minutes before we remove it. I’ll leave you to relax while it does its job,” Sarah said softly.
Laura couldn’t wait to share what it meant to have a day of beauty with her sister. Janet would squeal when she heard about a thirty-minute soak in a Whirlpool that smelled like vanilla.
“What flavor did you go for?” Karen hollered from the other side of the curtain.
“Peach,” Tootsie said. “If I wasn’t already through menopause, I’d swear I was pregnant. I’ve been craving peaches like when I was expecting both my girls.”
“Honey, you passed menopause twenty years ago. And you have to be exposed to get pregnant.” Bunny giggled.
“Hey, now! I’ve been exposed. Maybe not as often or as wild as I used to get exposed but I haven’t dried completely up yet.”
Karen’s voice was louder than theirs. “You two are going to embarrass Laura. I swear, I see a red glow from behind her curtains.”
“I’m not blushing,” Laura protested. “Good for you, Tootsie. I’m not going to dry up when I get to be forty either.”
“Forty, my ass!” Bunny exclaimed. “Forty has done bypassed her like a wild Texas tornado.”
Tootsie giggled. “We were all wild as Texas tornadoes in our day, weren’t we, girls?”
Melanie piped up. “I wouldn’t know what y’all are talking about. Changing the subject before we do embarrass Laura… what time did you say that afternoon snack was coming around? I’m hungry.”
“Soon as they wash the mud off our faces, we get to eat,” Karen answered.
Lunch was served at a glass table at the edge of a bubbling waterfall. They wore their white robes as they nibbled on finger sandwiches, pepper poppers, strawberries, and grapes, and sipped chilled glasses of wine. After that they dressed in their jeans and boots to go to the hair salon. Five women waited with snap-front robes for them to slip over their clothing and then the next step began.
“Oh, darlin’, I love your hair and the way it’s cut; we could do it up like Marilyn Monroe in the picture where she’s standing over the vent. The old styles like that are making a comeback and you’ve got just the figure and face to wear it.”
“I agree,” Karen said.
Laura nodded. “I’m at your mercy.”
“Oh, let’s find her a dress like that for the dance tonight,” Bunny said.
“There’s one in the window over at Gloria’s,” the hairdresser said. “I looked at it but it was too small for me to fit into. I bet it would work great on you. It’s shorter than Marilyn’s and there are sparkly stones on the halter, but it would have the same effect. It would be perfect with the hairstyle I’ve got in mind.”
“You’re going to knock Colton’s eyes out,” Bunny said.
“I don’t know…” Laura started.
“Honey, in twenty years your arms are going to look like shit and your boobs won’t be all perky. Enjoy your time because it won’t last forever,” Bunny said seriously.
Chapter 11
Colton changed into a Western-cut suit, his best black eel cowboy boots all polished to a shine, and shaved for the second time that day. He was halfway across the floor, heading over to knock on Laura’s door when it swung open. And his boots were instantly glued to the floor. His mouth felt as if someone had swabbed it out with a big ball of cotton, and his brain had gone to pure mush. The reaction against his zipper said that he’d best get it all under control or he was going to be in for a mighty rough night.
He blinked and she did not disappear. It wasn’t the late great Marilyn or Miranda Lambert but reminded him of a fine mixture of both. When she popped a hand on her hip, it was all Laura, turned from the nerd into the princess. He couldn’t take his eyes from her or wipe the silly grin from his face.
He swallowed several times and finally said, “You look amazing.”
“You clean up pretty good yourself.” She smiled.
“I’d best stop by the hotel gift shop and buy all the drooling bibs they’ve got in stock. The other men at the dinner are going to need them,” he said.
He wasn’t just shooting her a line. Her white dress tucked in at her small waist and flowed out over her hips. The back was bare and there were stones that sparkled on the part that fastened around her neck. Her hair had been styled to look like Marilyn’s did in that famous picture where she was standing over the air vent. He looked down expecting to see high heels but she wore brand-new white cowboy boots sporting an inset heart of bright red decorated with sparkling stones.
“Does that mean that you like it?” she asked. “I was a little skeptical about the boots with the dress but Tootsie said they were the finishing touch. Do any of the other women wear boots with a dress like this?”
“It don’t matter what they wear. I won’t be able to keep my eyes off you all evening. Shall we?” He crooked his arm and she slipped hers inside it.
They stepped inside and he stared at her in the mirrored sides. First at her from a side view, then a glance over his shoulder at her from the back view, and finally a full frontal shot just before the doors slid open. There wasn’t a single angle that she didn’t look like a million bucks.
Hell, no! She looked like a billion bucks that night.
***
Laura had been full of self-confidence until she stepped inside the double doors of the banquet room and everything went from a low buzz to total silence. Then she had to rely on pure bullshit bluff because her self-confidence did a backflip right out the enormous window at the end of the room.
She had ov
erdressed. The ladies had steered her wrong and everyone would think that Colton had brought a slutty hooker to the dinner. She tried to think of a reason to cut and run but she couldn’t. Her stomach wouldn’t even cooperate and make her nauseous in her time of dire need.
“I told you,” Colton leaned down slightly and whispered.
“Told me what?”
“That you look awesome. Everyone in the place is thunderstruck. They think I’ve reincarnated Marilyn and brought her to the dinner.”
“They think you brought a prostitute to the dinner,” Laura whispered.
“Honey, there is not a hooker in Texas who’d be as stunning as you are or as classy.”
His comment gave back a tiny bit of her confidence.
Melanie appeared right beside her. “I told you that you would knock ’em dead. I bet Karen is glad now that she didn’t wear that ugly old black pantsuit.”
People began to talk again but Laura could still feel their eyes on her. She glanced down to make sure neither of her breasts had popped out of the halter top. Thank goodness, they were still covered.
“She is gorgeous, isn’t she?” Colton said. “Did you know that she’s a whiz on a computer? She can pull a calf and work magic in flower beds and then look like this for a dinner.”
“Yep,” Bunny said as she crossed the floor in her brand-new electric blue dress, “you done good when you landed this one, Colton. There ain’t enough money in the world to buy quality goods like this woman brings to the table. You’d best hang on to her because there’s a dozen billionaires in this room tonight and they are snortin’ at the gate for a chance at her. Now let’s go on over to the bar and get a drink. I want a White Russian and Laura here wants a good cold beer, right, darlin’?”
Laura felt like a queen again. “Coors, please. Longneck if possible.”
Colton squeezed her hand. “Make that two and we’ll be right behind you. There are a few folks I want to introduce Laura to on the way.”
She wound up sitting between Colton and Tootsie at the dinner table. Steaks, dinner rolls, baked potatoes, and steamed baby vegetables were served. A dessert cart offered a variety of cheesecakes, cobbler, and pies. Tootsie told her the gossip during dinner and she enjoyed that even more than the food. Besides, the steaks were better at the ranch, Chester made much better hot rolls, and the cheesecake was bought, not homemade.
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