Taking Kelli from Adam, Courtney made a teasing face at the baby. “About what?”
“You’re busy now.” Sheila affected a nonchalant shrug. “I’ll tell you all about it later.” She took Ben’s arm and started for the door.
Flicking a glance over his shoulder, he wondered exactly what his sister had been right about. He smiled at the slack-jawed look she now wore and escorted Sheila out the door.
In the hallway, Andra stood next to an enthusiastic Hank, who was still on the phone.
“I’ll get right back to you.” He clicked off the call and gave them a look as if he were about to bust.
“Sweetie, what is it?” Andra tugged at his sleeve.
“That was my real estate agent, darlin’. He said that the other rancher withdrew his offer and he wants to know if I want him to submit mine.” He gave her an entreating look. “So what do you think?”
Without missing a beat, Andra backhanded his upper arm. “What are you waiting for, cowboy? Call him back and say yes.”
A big grin took over his face, and he threw his arms around her and twirled her around. Sheila squeezed Ben’s arm and they both laughed.
“Just think.” Andra got her footing as he set her back down. “Maybe someday you’ll get around to asking me to marry you and we can live there together.”
As they turned to go, Hank looked over his shoulder at Ben and gave him a thumbs-up. Ben just about laughed out loud as he watched his friend walk down the hall with his girl on his arm. He had to think that the good Lord had known that Ben would need a friend to spur him on this past week. It felt satisfying to think that maybe he had helped Hank, too.
Turning to Sheila, Ben took her hands in his. “I think I have a phone call to make, too.”
“Oh, really?” She faked a playful innocence. “To whom?”
He smiled. “My boss.”
“Oh, right.” The corners of her mouth quivered as if she might be suppressing a smile. “And what are you going to say to him?”
“Hmm...I don’t know.” He looked at her as she lifted her chin and closed her eyes. He gave in to the urge to bend down and let his lips meet hers.
When they parted, he could barely speak above a whisper. “So what do you think? Should I call my boss and tell him yes?”
She smiled that sweet smile, the one he didn’t want to live another day without seeing, then wrapped her arms around him. “What are you waiting for, cowboy?”
Chapter 10
The elevator door at Sheila’s condominium opened and she and Ben glided out, fingers laced together and each pulling a rolling suitcase. As their eyes met, they shared the giddy smile that had led more than one person they’d encountered in Cancun to ask if they were on their honeymoon.
Of course, that hadn’t been too hard to guess, considering that the water-park resort where they’d stayed specialized in honeymoon packages. It couldn’t have been a more perfect week.
Now, as they walked down the hall toward the condo that had been Sheila’s but now officially belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Ben Jacobs, Ben leaned over and gave her a spontaneous kiss. Caught off guard, she teetered on her Dior Escapade wedge sandals. Immediately, he dropped the handle to his suitcase and scooped her up in his arms.
With a shriek, she let go of her own suitcase and threw her arms around his broad shoulders. “What are you doing?” Breathless from giggling, she could scarcely get the words out.
“Well, considering the circumstances, Mrs. Jacobs, it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out.” He continued to walk the few feet to their door and stopped, realization creasing his brow.
Seeing his dilemma, she couldn’t hold back a smirk. “Should have thought this one through a little better, huh?”
He stuck out his lip. “Things like this always look so easy in the movies.”
“It’s okay.” Letting go with one arm, she eased her feet toward the floor. “You’re allowed a second take.”
He set her down, keeping his arm around her waist as he stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out his keys. After unlocking the door, he pushed it open and moved to pick her up again, but she stopped him.
“Aren’t you forgetting something else?”
Raising a questioning brow, he followed her eyes to their suitcases standing in the middle of the hallway like a couple of orphans.
He let out a little groan. “Okay, wait here.”
She giggled as he retrieved the two bags, rolled them through the door and came back out into the hallway. He picked her up and gave her his signature grin, then kissed her as if he meant it. She relaxed in his arms. That kiss held all the promise of the vows they’d exchanged just a little over a week ago and made her heart sing with joy.
His eyes filled with tenderness as he maneuvered her through the door and actually managed to shut it with a well-placed kick.
She looked around their sunny condo, which looked even more cheerful now that it had his belongings filling in what she hadn’t even realized were empty spaces. “Welcome home, husband.”
“Thanks.” He kissed her again.
She smiled. “You can put me down now if you want to.”
“What if I don’t want to?”
“Then your arms are going to get mighty sore.”
“Hey, I’ve got roper’s muscles now, remember?”
“Right. And I thought it was the racquetball court you went to every morning before work.”
“Racquetball, rodeo.” He set her down on the cocoa-colored leather sofa and held up his arms in a Popeye pose. “They’re really not that different.”
Laughing again, she reached over to grab his treasured Stetson from where he’d left it on the end table and flung it at him. “Sit down, cowboy.”
He put the hat on and sat next to her, throwing his arm around her shoulders, then grabbed hold of her hand and kissed it.
Relaxing back into the sofa cushions, she glanced over at the coffee table, which was still brimming with the wedding gifts they’d opened the night before leaving for Cancun. “We have to find places for all these new things, you know.”
“I know.” He reached over to shove aside a box, pulling something out from underneath it. “Except this one. We need to put it to good use.” He slipped the gift card from Karl out of its sleeve. “Couples golf lessons. I never thought I’d feel motivated to take up golf, but it’s worth a try.”
“Hey, it’ll be fun.” She flicked a hand across his chest. “We can buy cute matching golf outfits so everyone will know we’re together.”
He chuckled. “At least I know they won’t be pink.”
“True. Besides, you might decide you like golf.” She laughed. “And Karl will be happy to go with you anytime you want.”
“If he has time. Mr. Hotshot Designer.”
“True.” Her heart warmed at the thought of Karl and how his confidence as a designer had skyrocketed since his promotion. Sheila missed working with him, but her new assistant, Allison, was a gem.
Besides, Sheila herself had received an unexpected promotion as a result of her appearance on Food Fight. The national exposure had brought Claude so many new clients that he needed a new partner. Sheila now had not only a larger office to go with her larger paycheck, but also more control over her schedule. What a blessing.
Leaning forward, Ben reached for another gift. “I know exactly where this should go.” He held up the well-worn first edition of The Great Gatsby. “I think this should sit on the shelf over there, right above the desk. Where we can see it every day.”
She smiled. “That was so nice of Mrs. Greene...oh, I mean Mrs. Bloom, to give it to us.”
“Perfect wedding gift. Hey, speaking of gifts...” He stood, pumping his eyebrows like Groucho. “Wait here.”
She scrambled to her fee
t as he moved across the room. “Hey, mister. Don’t think you’re the only one who remembered that we were arriving home on Valentine’s Day.”
While he disappeared into the bedroom, she scurried over to the desk. As she opened the drawer, she caught sight of the silver-embossed invitation they’d received from Andra and Hank just days before their own wedding. It sure was great to have an excuse to go back to Montana this summer. Not that she needed an excuse to visit her best friend-slash-sister-in-law, not to mention little Kelli. But it was always fun to attend a wedding. This would be her fourth trip to watch a Thornton Springs gal walk down the aisle. She smiled at the thought. There had to be something in the water in that place.
Plus, she was dying to see the Golden Pear now that the girls had used some of their Food Fight winnings to put the finishing touches on her original design.
She took the little white bag out of the drawer and shoved it quickly behind her back as Ben came out of the bedroom, also concealing something. Looking each other in the eye, they met in the middle of the room as though they were about to duel.
She craned her neck, pretending to try to see what he held behind his back, and he shifted to prevent it.
She sighed. “Okay. On three. One. Two. Three.”
They each whipped out a small white bag and handed them to each other.
Ben looked pleased as he took his. “Don’t think that valentines are easy to shop for when you’re trying to avoid all things pink.”
“Hey, you have it easy with me.” She sifted through her bag. “Who needs chocolate and flowers when the world still has jelly beans?”
That won her a laugh. “I’m glad we’re in agreement.”
She watched as he fished around in his bag and took one out, then held it up to her mouth.
She gave it a discerning look. “Wait a minute, mister.”
He examined it, somewhat defensively. “What?”
She angled him a look that said he shouldn’t have to be told.
He looked at it again. “Hey, it’s green.”
“It’s watermelon.”
“It’s green.” He twisted her a look. “And it’s red on the inside, not pink.”
“Close enough.”
“Expand your horizons.” He tried again to put it in her mouth.
She scurried away, darting to the other side of the coffee table. He ran after her, easily catching her and pulling her back down onto the sofa.
“I’ll make a deal with you,” she said, holding up a defensive hand. “I’ll be adventurous and eat the watermelon if you’ll promise to wear your cowboy hat when you’re a groomsman in Hank’s wedding.”
“Deal.” He put the candy in her mouth.
“Mmm.” It was delicious. She grabbed his bag to search for another one. “What have I been missing all these years? Oh, you’re going to look so cute standing up in church with your hat on.”
“Well, thank you, ma’am. But in the interest of full disclosure, that was an easy deal to make. Hank already told me all the guys are wearing their hats in the wedding.”
A little huff came out of her throat. “So it wasn’t really a fair deal. Why didn’t you tell me?”
He shrugged. “If you had asked me, I would have told you the truth. I’ll always tell you the truth.”
She smiled. The truth would set them free.
Unexpected tears of joy started to well up in her eyes, and she gave in to her urge to wrap herself around him. His arms felt warm and protective, and she didn’t want to ever let go.
* * * * *
We hope you enjoyed this Heartsong Presents title.
Are you looking for more inspiring faith-filled contemporary and historical romances that reflect and strengthen your Christian values?
Connect with us on Harlequin.com for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!
Other ways to keep in touch:
Harlequin.com/newsletters
Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
HarlequinBlog.com
ISBN-13: 9781460326251
ROCKY MOUNTAIN ROMANCE
Copyright © 2014 by Lesley Ann McDaniel
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
www.Harlequin.com
Rocky Mountain Romance Page 16