3 Book Romance Bundle: "Loving The Bull Rider" & "Cowboy Down Under" & "The Escort Next Door"

by Helen Evans, Ruth Bailey, & Clara James

  Chapter Six

  Three months later, life had slipped into a routine. My new home didn’t seem quite so foreign. I’d pretty much learned my way around campus. I’d made a few friends, and spring was kicking in, which (even though the winter hadn’t been much of one to speak of) brought a certain optimism. Meanwhile, my PhD thesis was starting to look better and better, and my supervisor, Professor Bowman, was a fascinating and slightly eccentric woman who was always ready to offer the most remarkable advice. Often, that advice was related to the subject at hand. But on occasion, she’d say things like, “If you get stuck, go out and have a couple of drinks. That’ll loosen the brain.”

  As it happened, I didn’t do a great deal of going out or drinking. I’d managed to find a job at the local library and, between that and my studies, I was kept occupied. It wasn’t all hard work, though. My roommate, someone I’d found through the student website to help make ends meet, would encourage me down to the pub at least once every couple of weeks.

  Life was good.

  “Don’t forget, it’s Anna’s birthday party on Saturday,” Kim mentioned as we walked side-by-side from the lecture hall.

  “Yes,” I breathed. I had completely forgotten. Pulling my shoulder bag from my side, I rummaged for my phone and made a note of it on my calendar. “Thanks,” I added, smiling,

  “I don’t think it’s gonna be a biggy,” she shrugged. “Just something tossed on the hot rocks and a few tinnies.”

  Despite the twelve weeks that had passed, I was sometimes still convinced that these people spoke a different language. But, in this instance, I knew she was talking about barbecue and beer.

  “Cool,” I replied, casting my attention down to my phone again as I saved the date, and made a separate alert reminder to buy Anna, who was another of the PhD candidates and one of the sweetest people I’d ever encountered, a gift.

  A huffed irritably beneath my breath when my stupid iphone decided I needed reminding to ‘Buy Anna a girl’. Then, as I jabbed at the screen to delete it, my shoulder collided with something hard.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” a voice said.

  “No,” I quickly insisted. “It’s my fault.” Lifting my face to the thing, or rather the person, I’d plowed into my jaw fell open. “I wasn’t looking where I was going,” I finished on a whisper.

  “Faith,” he grinned in surprise. “How are you doing?” Dressed in a pair of black dress pants, with smartly-shined loafers, and an open-necked white cotton shirt, he looked markedly different from the first time I’d laid eyes on him. His soft, thick hair was parted and had a little gel keeping it in place. His face still carried that shade of stubble, though.

  He looked good. He looked really good. And I struggled to decide whether I preferred this ‘clean’ look or the dirty one that had also made me weak in the knees.

  “I’m...er...” I muttered, nudging my brain back to the fact I’d been asked a question. “I’m fine, thanks. How are you?”

  “I’m good,” he nodded. “Y’know, I’d half hoped I might run into you here, but I didn’t think it’d be literally.”

  A warm palm at the base of my spine reminded me that my friend was still beside me. “I’ve got to return a few books,” she said. “I’ll catch you later, all right?”

  I’d been about to introduce her to Jay, but she was already walking ahead with easy strides of her lithe legs. “OK,” I said to her retreating back, although I’m not sure if she heard me. There was certainly no sign that she did.

  “It’s great to see you,” he said, that warm smile of his still beaming at me. “You look good.”

  “Thanks,” I returned, allowing my eyes to move over him with a little less timidity than a few seconds before. “You look pretty good, too. You scrub up nice, cowboy,” I added with a teasing grin.

  “Stockman,” he breathed, flashing me threatening eyes that were entirely belied by the dimples in his cheeks caused by his grin. “I’m a stockman, not a cowboy.”

  “Oh, that’s right,” I said, nodding as though it was something I’d forgotten. “Sorry,” I continued, while a quirk flicked across my mouth and, I guess, removed any doubt of my attempt to get a rise out of him.

  “That’s OK,” he replied before jabbing at the inside of his cheek with the tip of his tongue. “It’s understandable you’d get confused. After all, you’re a city girl. Of course, you’re a Yank,” he added with a mischievous glint in his vibrant eyes. “And you people didn’t get Copernicus’ memo. You’re under the impression that the universe is actually America-centric.”

  For the briefest of seconds, I was ready to slap him. But there was no mistaking the humor in his teasing lips. Given how I had intentionally been teasing him, I couldn’t really complain about getting it slung back at me two-fold.

  I was not about to let the comment slip by unchallenged, though. “Is that so?” I tartly began, pulling myself to my full height. “Well, you-”

  “Faith!”

  That shout of my name was probably one of the best things that had ever happened to me. The fact is, I had no smart remark to toss at him. I was floundering for one even as I was speaking. And there is no doubt in my mind, if I’d been able to carry on unimpeded, I would have made a complete ass of myself.

  Twisting my face behind me, I spotted the six feet and three inches of the man who had called me. Wearing board shorts, which were his permanent fashion choice, and a red T-shirt with the words, ‘Train, Eat, Sleep, Repeat’ printed over his expansive chest.

  “Hey,” he smiled, breaking into a jog as he drew closer. “I know I’m a complete pain in the arse, but I need a favor.”

  “Uh, sure,” I replied, blinking curiously up at his intimidating height. Of course, there was absolutely nothing intimidating about him. You only had to know him for five minutes to realize that. Yes, he was built like a tank; played rugby and Australian rules football, but he was a gentle giant in every sense of the phrase.

  “Oh, sorry, mate,” he added, noticing Jay. “Didn’t mean to interrupt.”

  “No worries,” Jay muttered. Without the benefit of looking at his face, it was difficult to be certain, but I felt sure there seemed to be an unusual stiffness to his reply.

  “Oh, err,” I stuttered. “Matt, this is Jay,” I hurriedly said. “Jay, this is Matt.”

  “Nice to meet ya,” the tall man beside me smoothly and amiably stated.

  “Yeah, you too,” Jay countered, although there was not quite as much warmth.

  Focus shifting away from the guy I’d just introduced him to, Matt looked down at me. “I’ve left my frigging keys at home,” he explained, sweeping a hand through his short, jet black hair. “Can I borrow yours?”

  Already digging a hand into my bag, I nodded. “Of course.”

  With a grateful sigh, he held out his hand in wait. “You’re a lifesaver.”

  “No problem,” I chuckled, placing the bunch of keys into his warm palm.

  The pink, heart-shaped keychain that read, ‘Courage and Faith’ (a bon voyage gift from Laura) looked peculiar in his big hand, but he thought nothing of it. “If you’re not back by the time I go to footie practice, I’ll call you,” he promised, “and we can arrange to meet someplace.”

  “That’s fine,” I assured him casually.

  “All right,” he grinned. “Well, I’ve gotta go. Thanks, babe.” As he spoke, he bent at the waist and pressed a kiss to my cheek. Then, with his usual manners, he lifted his attention back to Jay. “Nice to meet you, mate.”

  “Yeah,” came the less enthusiastic reply.

  It seemed to me that Matt hadn’t noticed the frosty reception. In his flustered rush, he left me with another quick, “Bye,” and ran back the way he’d come.

  By the time I stopped looking at him, I realized the atmosphere between Jay and I had become more than a little frosty, too. As I met his eyes, I wanted to ask him what was wrong. But I didn’t have to ask. He answered by posing a query of his own.

&n
bsp; “So, you two live together?”

  I wasn’t too dense to see where this was going. But I was too unwilling to believe that a man like Jay could be jealous...especially over me. He was a handsome guy. He could have any woman he wanted. Even as we stood talking, several young female students had cast him more than just a fleeting glance. Now, Matt was a good-looking man too, no doubt about it. But it beggared belief to think that Jay could be insecure no matter how good-looking another man was.

  “Uh, yeah,” I shrugged. “He’s my housemate.”

  “Just your housemate?” he probed, his eyebrows pinching in suspicion.

  My jaw flopping feebly open, I was both flattered and alarmed by the fact that he cared one way or the other. Over the previous twelve weeks, I’d secretly hoped that he might call me and restate his request that we get together. I’d eventually dismissed the notion, figuring that he couldn’t really be that interested in me. Perhaps the invitation had only been a friendly one anyway. After all, he hadn’t been the one who was aroused just by being near me. And I knew he wasn’t, because there would have been no hiding it if he had been!

  “Well, he’s a friend,” I eventually stammered.

  “Oh,” he nodded, seeming to read more into the word ‘friend’ than I’d written into it. His gaze falling away from mine, he shifted his smart shoes uncomfortably. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, staring at my feet. “I shouldn’t have asked. It’s none of my business, I just-”

  “He’s gay,” I suddenly blurted. “So...” I let the vowel dangle in the air awhile, knowing that nothing else needed to be said. And knowing that what I had spoken was proof that I wanted Jay to be under no illusion about the relationship Matt and I shared. We were more like brother and sister than anything else. Although we did talk about men in a way that, if I had a brother, I couldn’t imagine doing.

  The small movements of his body ceased for a moment, and then he lifted his face to mine once more. “Oh,” he breathed. “Oh, right,” he added. “Well, that’s good...I don’t mean him being gay. Not that I’m saying that’s a bad thing. I mean, good on ’im. I’ve got no problem with-” stopping himself with a stern shake of his head, he huffed a self-deprecating laugh. When he opened his eyes again, it was with a bracing inhalation. “What I mean to say is, I’m glad you’re still single.” His slightly embarrassed smile drooping somewhat, he added a wary; “You are still single, aren’t you?”

  Unable to prevent the light chuckle that rocked my entire body, I nodded. “Yeah, I’m still single.”

  “Good,” he whispered. “See,” he continued, moistening his lips, “I was hoping that, now you’re settled in, you might reconsider spending a bit of time with me.” Shrugging his right shoulder, he made it seem like a relaxed question, but his awkwardness of just a few moments earlier told me that it was more than just casual to him. “And I’ll try to keep my foot out of my mouth,” he added coyly.

  Two feelings battled within me. First, the more impulsive side of me (which, oddly enough, had made very few appearances in my life) was telling me to go for it. Second, the sensible me was aware of danger. There was danger in allowing myself to be distracted from my thesis. And there was an even greater danger of getting hurt. Jay seemed very interested. What if it all went wrong? What if his interest extended only as far as having sex?

  I was a student, I was abroad...so, he might quite naturally assume I wasn’t looking to get tied down. Anything that blossomed between us would be temporary. And I had never done temporary. Well, I had, but I’d never gone in with that view. I’d gone into all of my relationships thinking they had staying power. I’d been fantastically wrong.

  “Faith?” Jay nudged, reminding me that he’d asked something. Well, in truth, he hadn’t asked. He’d skirted around a direct question. It hung between us nonetheless. “I just thought it’d be nice to get to know you a bit better.”

  “I’d like to get to know you better too,” I responded, the words flowing easily and honestly. Maybe it was a mistake to let my barely-used reckless side dictate my decision. But, I figured, as long as I didn’t give it too much free reign, I’d be OK. I mean, there really was no harm in getting to know him better. I didn’t have to leap into bed with him. I didn’t have to go anywhere near his bed if I didn’t want to.

  The problem, of course, was I already did want to. Something about him made me hornier than I’d ever been in my life. So horny that, if he suggested it, I would have been happy to jump him those second, damn the consequences.

  But he hadn’t suggested it. His invitation was pretty platonic - the twinge of jealousy over Matt notwithstanding.

  “Great,” he beamed. “So, are you free at the weekend?”

  “Err...yes,” I said. “Oh, shit, no,” I hurriedly added, my illiterate phone still clutched in my left hand a reminder of what I’d been doing. “I’m going to a friend’s birthday party on Saturday. But, hey, I’m sure you could come along.”

  “I wouldn’t wanna impose,” he smiled, shaking his head.

  “You wouldn’t be,” I assured him. “It’s just a barbecue in the backyard.”

  “Thanks,” he politely said, “but it’s not really my thing.”

  “Not your thing?” I chuckled. “What red-blooded Aussie guy says a barbie and four X aren’t his thing?”

  His grin growing broader, mischief drifted into his eyes again. “You’re picking up all the lingo, aren’t ya?”

  Finding his smile as infectious as ever, I shrugged. “When in Rome.”

  “I appreciate the offer,” he uttered quietly. “But how about Sunday?”

  I can’t deny, I was a little hurt. Silently, I attempted to find reasons for his refusal. There were dozens, but none of them made me feel good about myself; maybe he didn’t want to be seen with me; perhaps he thought my friends were beneath him. The latter didn’t seem as likely, but it was still a possibility.

  “Um, I’m not doin’ anything,” I lazily replied.

  “Good,” he enthused. “D’ya wanna come back up to the ranch?”

  “You don’t want my friends to be able to identify you, and you’re suggesting I drive alone to your very secluded home?” I challenged, but I was only teasing. No matter how creepy the idea may have seemed on the surface, there was nothing creepy about the man proposing it.

  “Do you trust me?” he grinned with a broad wink.