by Sara Orwig
“Intense physical attraction isn’t love,” Ashley said, wishing her voice was more firm, wanting to look away and break the eye contact with him, yet unable to do so.
“But it’d be interesting to see where it leads.”
Thunder rattled the windows and lightning flashed. The lights in the restaurant went off and they were left in candlelight.
“C’mon, Ashley, think about my proposition. It might be a lot more fun than staying single. Better for everyone. You’re making decisions that will affect your baby as well as your father and yourself.”
Candlelight flickered, reflecting in her blue eyes. She was beautiful, and Gabe meant every word he said to her. He was fascinated with this feisty lady.
The lights came back on, and she leaned back in her chair. “I’ve heard what you had to say, so it’s time to go home,” she said abruptly.
“Don’t you think it’s workable?”
“Yes, it is, but I still don’t want to do it.”
“I’m making progress if you’ll admit it’s workable,” he said, standing and coming around to hold her chair.
As Ashley stood and turned to walk out, he remained where he was, beside her chair, blocking her way. She looked up with wide eyes.
“It’s been a fun evening,” he said, and she tilted her head, studying him solemnly. His gaze drifted down to her full lips, and he wondered what it would be like to kiss her.
She smiled, a wonderful, happy smile that made him draw a sharp breath. “Yes, it has been, but it doesn’t make me want to accept your proposal. It’s only a few hours together.”
“It’s a good start.” He was close enough to catch the scent of her perfume. Her hair was sleek and thick and he itched to tangle his fingers in it.
Knowing this wasn’t the time or place, he took her arm and they left. They stepped outside beneath a canopy and waited for a valet to bring the car. Rain was coming down steadily.
A car drove up, slowed and stopped. A valet ran around the car to take the keys from the tall, handsome, brown-haired cowboy in jeans, boots and a sport shirt who climbed out.
“Looks like our dinner isn’t going to stay a secret,” Gabe said.
Four
“That’s Josh Kellogg,” Ashley said, touching Gabe’s arm.
At that moment Josh turned, saw Gabe and grinned. As he looked at Ashley, his brows shot up.
When he walked over to them, Ashley realized they couldn’t have selected a worse scenario for someone to discover them. Josh had found them coming out of a hotel together. Once word got around, that would stir rumors beyond her wildest imagination.
“Are you both real or is this just a figment of my imagination?”
“We’re real,” Gabe said. “Josh, this is Ashley—”
“I know Ashley,” Josh answered easily. Curiosity filled his eyes as he looked back and forth between them. “Hi, Ashley.”
“It’s not what it looks like,” she said.
“Not at all,” Gabe added, reaching out to shake hands with his friend. “If we had to run into someone, I’m glad it’s you. I have a business deal I’m trying to interest the Ryders in and I talked Ashley into going to dinner to listen to me.”
“Did you now?” Josh asked, his eyes twinkling, and Ashley realized he didn’t believe a word of what Gabe had just told him.
“Josh,” she said firmly, “Gabe’s telling the truth.”
“Sure, Ashley,” Josh said solemnly, but she knew he didn’t believe her either. “I’ll forget that I ever saw y’all. What you two do is your business. I’m meeting Trixie and I’m late because of the rain. See you.” He turned to enter the hotel.
“He didn’t believe either of us,” Ashley said.
“Nope, he didn’t. But he won’t tell anyone.”
“You sound really certain.”
“I am. Josh is one of the best friends I’ve ever had. I would trust Josh with my life.”
In the car, Gabe headed out of town. “Who’s Trixie?” Ashley asked, trying to remember if she knew anyone from Piedras or Lago counties with that name. “His girlfriend?”
“Josh? Josh doesn’t date. He spends every waking minute just trying to hang on to his ranch. Trixie is one of his multitude of stepmothers.”
“I’d forgotten. His dad bought horses from us, and I’ve known Josh forever, but he’s older, so I never knew him well.”
“He’s my age,” Gabe said dryly. “We went all the way from kindergarten through high school together in Stallion Pass.”
Ashley settled in the seat. It was comfortable in the car, and Gabe had driven carefully going into town. Until they had run into Josh Kellogg, she had actually enjoyed the evening. For too many nights on the ranch she had been lonesome and bored. Long before dawn her father left to take care of his horses. By nine o’clock at night, he was usually in bed, so she ended up spending a lot of time by herself. She hadn’t been out on a dinner date in a long time.
Would it be so bad to be in a paper marriage to him? He had some valid arguments. She turned to stare at the rain sliding over the window.
“Has the doctor told your dad to cut back on his work?” Gabe asked.
“Yes, he has,” she replied.
“And does your dad work less?”
“No. Perhaps an hour or two less in the evening sometimes. Gabe, your proposition is enticing in some ways, but it’s totally impossible.”
“What’s impossible?” I’m trying to join the two ranches. Join, not take.”
“It’s you and I locked into a loveless relationship,” Ashley told him.
“That doesn’t mean we can’t work out a viable way of living that would be mutually beneficial,” he said quietly.
“You sound like a commercial,” she said.
Gabe smiled. “You have some of the finest quarter horses in the world. Your dad is one of the best horse trainers ever. I don’t want to change that. I’d leave your horses alone.”
A huge bolt of lightning streaked the sky, making everything silvery for an instant, followed by thunder that banged like a cannon shot.
“Watch what you say. The heavens may open up and lightning strike you for such prevarication.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever known anyone as stubborn as you.”
“Careful,” she cautioned. “Your Brant fangs are showing.”
They rode in silence for a time. When they reached Cotton Creek, Gabe switched on the brights and she stared out at the creek in concern. “We must have had a lot more rain out here than in town,” she commented. Water was almost high enough to cover the wooden bridge and had spread out on both sides of the creek.
“You might not be able to get back across after taking me home. Of course, you could stay in the guest house.”
“And you could fumigate it the next day.”
Surprised, she looked at him and laughed. “It hasn’t been that bad getting to know you,” she said, touching his arm lightly. The moment she touched him, Ashley was intensely conscious of the contact.
“I’ll get back across,” he said. She watched the dark waters lapping at the bridge, splashing over the wooden edge as he drove slowly across.
“You don’t scare easily, do you?” Ashley inquired.
“Maybe not. I’ll bet your bridge has been there a long time without sweeping into the creek.”
“You’re right. It’s the original bridge—as old as the ranch.”
Rain began to pour in great driving sheets that blinded them to everything. Gabe cut the motor. “We’ll wait this one out. It’s comfortable in the car. You’re not expecting anyone else to come along here, are you?”
“No. Everyone with any sense is somewhere out of this storm.”
“So now to add to my list of sins, I don’t have any sense,” Gabe said with a sigh.
“Unfortunately, you’re plenty smart. Too smart. That makes you all the more dangerous,” Ashley told him.
He unbuckled his seat belt, turned to face her and scooted clos
er. She was aware of being closed in such a small space with him, of the drumming rain that shut them off even more from the world. Now she could detect the faint scent of his aftershave, and she felt his intense gaze on her.
“I find it interesting that you consider me dangerous.”
“How many times do I have to tell you that any Brant is dangerous to any Ryder?”
“I thought maybe it was just you and me you were talking about,” Gabe said softly.
He traced his finger along her cheekbone to her hair, lifting a tendril to let it curl in his hand. Tingles always followed his touch. “I don’t think your baby’s father made the decision about whether to get married or not. I think you did.”
“Well, he did make the decision,” Ashley replied stiffly. “And he’s not the father of my baby. If you really want to know, I went the sperm-bank route.”
“Now I’m surprised.”
“I suppose I should tell you,” she said, hating to open her private life to him, especially with him sitting so close, with his fingers still toying with her hair. In the next few minutes Gabe Brant might be as repelled as Lars had been. “I have endometriosis. My Chicago doctor told me that if I wait much longer, I might not be able to have a baby. I want a baby. I meant it when I said that I love children. Hence, the sperm bank.”
“Wow. Are you in pain with the endometriosis?”
“No, thank goodness.”
“There was a man involved somewhere here—you said it was his choice to part.”
“That’s right. Lars Moffet. We were practically engaged. But when Lars found out I had endometriosis, he wanted out of the relationship. He didn’t think I could have the family he’d want.”
“You talk about the Brants being bad! This guy sounds like a first-class jerk.”
“I thought that he was very nice until my…crisis,” Ashley admitted, the pain of Lars’s rejection still haunting her. “I’m wary of trusting a man again.”
“I’ll keep my word.” Gabe promised.
“Coming from a Brant, that doesn’t reassure me.” Ashley stared at the rain hitting the windshield. “You’ll have to stay in our guest house tonight,” she said.
“No, I don’t have to. I can make it across your bridge.”
“In spite of the feud, I’d hate for a Brant to get washed into the creek because of me.”
“Ashley,” Gabe said softly, and she turned to look at him. Lightning flashed and the desire she saw in his dark eyes made her grow warmer. “I think we can at least break the ice here,” he said in a husky voice. Her heart pounded louder than the rain on the roof and words failed her.
Gabe put his hand behind her head, slid his arm around her and leaned closer, his lips brushing hers so lightly.
His soft kiss played havoc with Ashley’s insides. She melted as his lips pressed against hers and his tongue slipped into her mouth. Her hands flew up against Gabe’s rock hard chest. Ashley shook, lost in a spiraling kiss, then suddenly she was returning it, sliding her arms around his neck, thrusting her tongue over his, remembering how she had dreamed of this kiss a thousand times in her girlhood. And it was better than all the wildest imaginings she had ever had. Hotter, sexier, far more devastating.
And then thought was gone, taken away on a wild escalation of desire that made her want more. She wanted him never to stop.
Ashley ran her hands through Gabe’s hair, kissing him fiercely until she realized just who she was kissing. Startled, she pushed away. Gabe looked as surprised as she felt.
“Damnation, we’ve been wasting a lot of time,” he whispered and leaned toward her again.
Ashley placed her hand on his chest and he paused, his brow arching as he met her gaze.
“You’re just going to complicate everything,” she whispered. Her heart was pounding and she was breathless and his kiss had turned her world upside down.
“All right, I won’t rush you,” he replied solemnly, sliding his arm across her shoulders and holding his other hand against her back. “But I want to get to know you. I want this marriage, and I’m thinking there can be a lot more to it.”
“Has it ever occurred to you to wait and take things as they come?” she demanded.
“No. I don’t like waiting and you can’t tell me that your dad doesn’t need help now. From what I’ve heard, every day your ranch goes deeper into debt. That has to stress your father badly.”
She drew a deep breath, thinking of the long hours her father tried to work and how exhausted he looked at night when he came home. “You’re right,” she whispered.
“Ashley, marriage could be a good thing,” Gabe said quietly. “Heaven knows that kiss was,” he added.
“It was a kiss, nothing more. That doesn’t change anything between us or our families.”
“If we do marry, they’ll have to accept it. And if it helps your father, do you really care what the others think?”
She ran her fingers across her brow. “Our marriage. I can’t believe I’m seriously considering this.”
“You are because it’s a good offer.”
“And you would get our ranch in the bargain,” she said. “You’re taking advantage of a bad situation.”
“Not advantage of it. I would be helping to alleviate it.” He waved his hands. “Look at me some other way than as a Brant whom you’ve been taught to hate. You managed to forget about a feud for a few minutes there when we kissed.”
“So did you.”
“Damn straight I did.” He caught her chin and looked into her eyes. “It was fine and good, wasn’t it?”
Her pulse jumped again. “All right, it was, but don’t let it go to your head. A sexy kiss can’t change everything else.”
“It changed things for me. Let’s go to dinner tomorrow night.”
“You’re rushing me,” she protested.
“Go out with me tomorrow night,” he repeated softly. “Seven o’clock, all right?”
“All right,” Ashley answered, wondering if she was doing the right thing or if her brain had turned to mush with his kiss. “I’d better go in now. It’s just a sprint to the house,” she said.
“No running over wet ground,” Gabe said, starting the car and driving as close as possible to her back door. He leaped out and dashed around to open her door before she could react. Dropping his coat around her, he put his arm across her shoulders. “Let’s go.”
They hurried to the porch and she laughed, shaking her head. Before she could shrug off his coat, he caught the lapels with both hands, pulling her close. Her heart missed a beat and her insides fluttered.
“We can both think about tonight,” he said solemnly.
He stood close enough to kiss her, his hands and arms rested lightly against her, although her clothing and his coat were between them.
“It’s not any solution at all,” she said, but the force had gone out of her voice.
“Think about it and you’ll see. You’re an interesting woman, Ashley. From that first moment, you’ve surprised me. I had a good time tonight.”
“Actually, I’ll have to admit, I’ve enjoyed the evening.”
“Son of a gun, I’m making progress. Let’s celebrate,” he said and leaned down to kiss her again, his arms sliding around her waist. He held her lightly, while his mouth covered hers.
She opened her mouth, her tongue touching his as he held her and kissed her long and soundly. Her heart thudded, and thought was gone in a dizzying spiral. The man could kiss beyond her wildest dreams.
She didn’t know how much time passed before she pushed against his chest and stepped back. All her senses were heightened and she was aware of the drumming rain—the fresh, wet smell mixed with a faint scent of Gabe’s aftershave—of touching his chest and feeling his drumming heartbeat, of his gaze enveloping her.
“We need to call it a night,” Ashley told him.
“Sure,” he said, stepping back and taking his coat. “Thanks for going to dinner and listening. You think over my offer.”<
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“I have thought about it, and every time I come up with the same answer—no. It’s impossible.”
“Don’t decide yet. Give it more time,” Gabe said and then he was sprinting through the rain back to his car.
“Impossible man!” she called, knowing he couldn’t hear her above the rain. She watched his long stride eat up the ground. He was filled with energy which made him sexier. She touched her fingers to lips that still tingled. She had finally had some of that girlhood dream come true, and it had been fantastic.
Marry him, a small voice inside her said. She shook her head and knew she had to get a better grip on reality. The reality of everyday life, the reality of the Brants and the Ryders who hadn’t mixed for five generations.
The best kisser ever or not, Gabe’s proposal was ridiculous, and she couldn’t consider it.
In her room, dressed for bed, she sat in her rocking chair and placed her hand on her stomach as she felt her baby move.
She could marry Gabe, have help for her father, someone to help run the ranch, a father for her baby and a sexy man for a husband. And she would have two children—her own and Gabe’s little boy, Julian.
His proposition was tempting until she considered her family. Her relatives would disown her. Her father would be upset. And Gabe might have another side to him she hadn’t seen. She didn’t really know him.
Ashley remembered Lars and the pain he’d inflicted only too well. After working together and dating for two years, she had thought she had known Lars. Yet, he had betrayed her trust completely.
She sighed. Tonight’s dinner date had been fun, but she had no illusions about Gabe Brant. He was attracted to her land, not to her. She needed to turn down his wild proposal and get on with her life. And she needed to find some way to get more help for her father. Tomorrow night she would give Gabe his answer. He wouldn’t like her decision, but he was going to have to live with it.
The next day, her father left for a horse sale. Ashley spent the day working on the nursery, getting it ready for the baby. She spent an hour trying to decide what she would wear to go out with Gabe that night.