If the Boot Fits

by Rebekah Weatherspoon

“He’s a real gentleman. Promise,” Ignacio said with his broad smile. They said their goodnights and Amanda started back for the lodge. Tom fell into step beside her, thumbs still moving over his screen.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled as they walked. “Work thing.”

  “Completely understand.” And she did. Dru had texted her three times about a pair of boots she wanted to buy but couldn’t decide on.

  When they reached the lodge, Amanda thanked Tom for the escort. He turned and headed back toward the party with a goodnight that was more of a grunt.

  Exhaustion flooded over her as she made her way through the lobby and back to her room. She was shocked and a little worried to find a note tacked to the door under the iron-crafted number twelve. A smile hit her lips when she read the words on the piece of ranch stationery.

  Miss McQueen, Please call the front desk when you return to your room.

  —a friend of Bam Bam’s

  She used her keycard to let herself into the room and went right for the phone beside the massive wooden bed. She dialed zero and the phone started ringing.

  “It’s a beautiful night at Big Rock Ranch. This is Naomi.”

  “Hi, this is Amanda McQueen in room twelve. There was a note here for me to give you guys a call.”

  “Hello, Miss McQueen. We hope you enjoyed your evening.”

  “I did, thank you.”

  “Mr. Pleasant had to return home, but he had us prepare some dessert for you. A late-night snack, if you will. Could we interest you in a s’mores pie with our house-made vanilla bean and almond ice cream? It’s one of my personal favorites.”

  Climbing into her pajamas and eating feelings sounded like a great idea.

  “I’d love to try the s’mores pie. Thank you.”

  “We’ll get that over to you.”

  Amanda thanked Naomi one more time, then hung up the phone. She changed into her super-sexy sweats and a tank top featuring her favorite Adventure Time fan art. After she washed her face and pineappled her braids on top of her head, there was a knock on her door.

  “Your s’mores pie for you, Miss McQueen,” she heard a young woman’s voice call out in a stage whisper. Amanda rushed across the room and opened the door. There was a girl close to her age wearing the signature white, green, and blue plaid shirt and carrying one of those warm skillet plates piled high with gooey goodness.

  Behind her was Sam, with two flutes and a bottle of champagne.

  Chapter 7

  “Good evening, Miss McQueen. We have your super-delicious s’mores pie. Where would you like it?” The girl’s name tag said TAWNY.

  Amanda glanced around and looked at the small coffee table between the love seat and the fireplace. “Um, right there is perfect. Thank you.” After she set the dessert skillet down on top of a small protective mat, she produced some spoons seemingly out of thin air.

  “There you are. Enjoy,” Tawny said, her voice sweet and bright. Amanda slid her the bit of cash she had waiting in her palm and then stood by as Tawny left the room. Sam was still standing in the hallway.

  “I thought you’d called it a night,” Amanda said, fighting a smile and failing miserably.

  “Ah, no. My brother was heading back and I figured I’d go with him. Didn’t want to make it obvious that I was waiting for you.”

  “Oh. Would you like to come in?”

  “I would love to.” He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Closed her inside with him. Inside another hotel room with Sam Pleasant. How did this keep happening? He carefully set down the champagne bottle and glasses, then removed his hat. He nodded toward a set of oddly shaped hooks by the door.

  “Do you mind?”

  “If I say I don’t, that doesn’t mean we’re betrothed or anything, does it?”

  “No, it just means I’m asking before I hang my hat any old place. Just trying to respect your space is all. Ma’am.” Amanda rolled her eyes at the entirely unnecessary twang he added at the end.

  “Knock yourself out, Tex.”

  Sam threw her a devastating wink and settled his white hat safely on the hook. He turned then and took her hand and led her over to the couch. They sat together, just enough space between them for Amanda to pull her knee up to the cushion. The huge scoops of ice cream were melting atop the warm pie, but Amanda couldn’t bring herself to care at the moment. Sam draped his arm over the back of the couch and lightly brushed her shoulder.

  “Did you enjoy the rest of your night?” he asked. For some reason she didn’t expect such a simple but sincere question. She expected more lines. More come-ons, more jokes. Instead she got that soft look in his eye. The same one she’d caught a glimpse of before they’d tumbled into his bed at the W.

  “I tried.”

  “That bad, huh?”

  “No. I had a great time. The square dance was amazing. I haven’t been to one since Girl Scouts.”

  “Oh, I bet you were the cookie champ.”

  “No. One year I pooled all my resources to help this other girl win ’cause her parents were getting divorced? That made me feel like a winner.”

  “I would say so,” Sam said, chuckling a bit.

  “I just wish I’d had a proper pair of cowboy boots so I could have really gotten into the spirit. My wedges got the job done, but I would’ve really liked to have committed to the whole ranch aesthetic if I’d known it would be so involved.”

  “Oh, you need some proper boots. Your feet haven’t truly lived without them,” he said gravely. She had a feeling he was right.

  “I’ll add them to my footwear bucket list. So what’s next for you?” Amanda nudged his knee, then realized it was time to stop neglecting their dessert. She grabbed a spoon and dug in as Sam replied.

  “I’m taking a little time off. I’ve been filming and traveling for the better part of two years. I’m exhausted. I missed my family too.”

  “Must be nice to be home,” she said before she took another bite.

  “It is.”

  Just then Amanda heard her phone vibrate once on the bed.

  “I missed seeing my brothers and my grandma.”

  “I’m sure they are glad to have you back. Are you gonna get in on this? ’Cause I will eat the whole thing,” she said, going in for another spoonful. “This ice cream has angel tears in it or something.”

  “Yeah, I’m gonna have some, but first, a toast.”

  “Oh, to what!”

  “Hold on.” Sam grabbed the bottle of champagne and made quick work of the foil and the wire before he twisted the cork off into his palm with a light pop. “There’s no reason to send a cork flying.”

  “I agree with you.”

  Amanda watched his confident hands as he filled her glass and handed it to her.

  “Here’s to us,” he said.

  Amanda felt her eyebrow jump up. “To us?”

  “To us. And the do-over story we have to tell our grandchildren.”

  Laughter sputtered out of Amanda. “What?!”

  “What? You want to tell them how you seduced and then robbed me on Oscar night?”

  “I mean, yeah. It’s a better story than telling we met at a wedding. Sometimes you need to know that your grandma liked to steal.”

  “Like I said, to us.”

  Amanda rolled her eyes as she gently clinked her glass to his. She fought the urge to toss back the champagne and took a small sip. “You know, you’re going to feel real silly when you wake up Monday morning and realize I was just a figment of your imagination.”

  “Oh really!”

  “You know all this is too good to be true,” Amanda said, and she flipped an imaginary hunk of hair off her shoulder. Sam laughed in response, but his deep chuckle died on his lips as Amanda slid her fingers over his thigh. She savored how nice his muscles felt under the perfectly tailored dress pants.

  “Be careful now,” he said quietly.

  “Or what?”

  “I’m gonna sex you into a coma and make off with your horse.�
��

  “No, please. Not my horse,” Amanda begged.

  “You know what they say when you take something with you?”

  “What’s that?”

  “That you didn’t want to go,” Sam said.

  “No, no. That’s if you leave something behind. It means you wished you could stay and you’re looking for a reason to come back. If you take something that just means that. You like. To steal.”

  Sam shook his head, another smile spread over his face. “Imma kiss you now, Cha-Cha.”

  Amanda leaned forward, making it clear that was exactly what she wanted. Her eyes slid closed just as their lips met. Before, there was kissing, but it was that sort of anonymous stranger kissing. Good, fun, but almost as a formality. This kiss felt different, more intense. The payoff for a day of discreet flirting when she wished she could do so much more. She knew she couldn’t keep Sam, but she gave herself permission to enjoy this kiss.

  She took all the moments she needed to savor the soft, perfect fullness of his lips. She didn’t shy away from the way his tongue slid into her mouth and brushed against hers. She only stopped his hand from moving farther up her thigh when her phone started buzzing incessantly on the bed.

  Amanda pulled back, breaking the warm connection between them.

  “I should grab that. It could be my mom. One second.”

  “Yeah,” Sam said as he let out a deep breath. The way he scrubbed his hand over his face as she walked over to the bed sent a little tingle over Amanda’s chest. She was glad she wasn’t the only one affected by the kiss. Amanda reached for her phone, dread draining the joy from her body as Dru’s name scrolled across the screen. She silenced the ringer, then turned back to Sam. There was no way she was answering with him still in the room.

  “I hate to do this, but I have to take this. My friend is—”

  “No. Absolutely.” Sam cleared his throat, then stood carefully. He failed to hide the erection pressing against the seams of his pants. Later, when she wasn’t dreading a conversation with Dru in front of him, she’d be flattered by the presence of it. She watched him as he came around the back of the couch and kissed her on the cheek. When he pulled back, there was an intensity to his eyes, something she wanted focused on her the next time she found herself under him. And there would be a next time. One last time before she had to turn back to her real life.

  “Tomorrow?”

  “Tomorrow.”

  He leaned closer again and kissed her one more time on the lips. “Get some sleep. ’Cause tomorrow, we’re going to wear this bed out.”

  A burst of laughter came from Amanda’s mouth as he backed toward the door. “Okay. Then. I’ll make sure I stretch too.”

  “Night.”

  “Good night, Sam.” He grabbed his hat off the hook with a wink, then slipped out the door.

  The air rushed out of Amanda’s lungs as soon as she heard the door click shut behind him. Sam Pleasant was dangerous. Lucky for her she didn’t have the time or live in the alternate reality where pursuing him made a lick of sense. No, all she wanted was tomorrow and she was giving herself tomorrow, dammit, even if it meant blocking Dru’s calls.

  Her phone vibrated in her hand again several times as Dru fired off a series of texts.

  Call me back you fucking hag.

  I didn’t get the part.

  They already gave it to Lacy.

  “Oh God,” Amanda groaned out loud. Lacy. Frenemy Number One. The two had known each other since they were kids, and if there was anything they both loved more than the attention that came from acting it was getting under each other’s skin.

  Amanda hit the phone icon next to Dru’s name and braced herself for one hell of an outburst. Dru answered, screaming. Some of it was unintelligible, but Amanda managed to get the central themes of her rant. She waited patiently until Dru was out of steam.

  “Did either of you know the other was up for the part?” she finally asked. Lacy was white, blonde, tall, and slim—she and Dru would normally not be up for the same parts by Hollywood standards.

  “I mean, I told her I was going in for it, and she told her agent she wanted to read for it.”

  Amanda closed her eyes and managed not to sigh. Of course she did. Lacy was still upset that Dru had booked Andromeda over her.

  “I’m very sorry she did that to you. What can I do?”

  “Not a damn thing, but maybe next time do your homework. You know I don’t like going up against her for parts. I usually get them and then when she does, she’s extra petty about it. It’s not good for our friendship.”

  “Hmm, you’re right. I’ll pay closer attention next time,” Amanda said, like she actually had access to Lacy like that. Her mother, Justine, was her manager and her PA. She did everything for her daughter. She would never tip Amanda off to her comings and goings. Dru knew that, but the truth wasn’t relevant to this conversation.

  “When are you coming back?” Dru huffed.

  “Like I said, Sunday night. Why aren’t you out tonight?”

  “I am. I’m in a car.”

  “Oh.”

  “I was out with Lacy. I just left her ass at Cargo.”

  “Oh okay. Well, go home and get some rest.”

  “No, fuck that. I’m going to meet Kellie at Lux.”

  “Or go meet Kellie at Lux.” Kellie was another fair-weather friend, but as a top-tier social media influencer they at least didn’t find themselves competing for work. Guys, on the other hand, were another issue. Hopefully, there were enough men at Lux to keep them both distracted.

  “Be safe,” Amanda said.

  “Yeah, whatever.” Dru ended that call.

  Amanda chewed the inside of her lip and sighed as she looked at the dark screen. She looked across the room and caught sight of the top of the champagne bottle peeking over the back of the couch. She tossed her phone on the bed and went straight for the bottle. After a deep swig, she considered the remains of the dessert. The ice cream was completely melted, but the sweet smell still lingered in the air. She reached for the spoon and took another bite, then washed that down with another sip of the champagne.

  At least her night had gone according to her original plan. Alone with ice cream and pie in her pajamas.

  * * *

  Sam sat behind the wheel of Zach’s truck, pushing back on his rising disappointment as he waited for the gates to Pleasant Lane to open. The slow parting of the heavy wood and steel was usually a comfort to him. After a long drive from Los Angeles or fresh off a flight to Ontario Airport, through the town he never really felt good calling home, arriving at this family cul-de-sac hit a reset button for him. He knew what waited on the other side. He knew he’d have the space and the freedom to refill his well before he went back out to deal with the BS parts of his chosen path.

  But he’d had no plans to pull back through those gates tonight. He should have been back at the ranch, slowly, sweetly putting in his best work between a certain pair of luscious thighs. He should have fallen asleep with a certain Cha-Cha in his arms. He could have easily seen himself waking her for an early morning kiss so he could sneak out before the other guests started milling around. He should not be alone in Zach’s truck waiting for his cock to deflate, thinking about who he was going to risk waking up, his brothers or his grandmother.

  He didn’t think Amanda owed him a thing. The complete opposite. But man, did he wish the night had gone differently. He didn’t know what was wrong with him. His attention had never been snatched up by a woman so quickly. So easily. He wasn’t sprung, exactly, but damn, was he interested. He wanted more time with Amanda. He wanted to get to know her. He was relieved that his desire to see her again wasn’t completely unfounded. She’d been shocked to see him, but there was no mistaking the heat between then, or the bold-ass way she knew how to flirt.

  The gate stopped at its fully opened position and Sam drove through, down the dark lane lit every twenty-five yards by iron lampposts. He drove past Jesse’s house and
his grandmother’s home at the center of it all and pulled the truck to a stop in Zach’s driveway. He cut the engine, then hopped out, locking it before he dropped the keys in the terra-cotta pot on his porch. He took his time walking back toward his grandmother’s house. He heard a few high-pitched barks as soon as he stepped on the porch, but Poppy quieted down as soon as he put his key in the door.

  “Hey, girl,” he whispered to the terrier mix as he scooped her up from the floor. “You up all alone?”

  “Is that my baby baby?” he heard his grandmother Miss Leona say from down the hall. He walked into the kitchen and found her standing at the kitchen counter in her billowy pajamas, with a hot cup of something in her hands. He crossed the title floor and kissed her on her cheek, catching a whiff of the hot and very spiked cider in her mug.

  “It’s late, young lady. What are you doing up?” he asked.

  “Oh, the girls are still out. I can’t sleep until I know all of my babies are settled back in the barn.”

  “Lilah and Corie are grown, Grandma. They could be out all night. No need to wait up for them,” Sam said, knowing she wasn’t going to listen to him, no matter what he said. Her grandma mode was strong, and Lilah was the baby of the whole Pleasant bunch. Ever since she took off running from the bunk-ass arranged marriage his uncle had tried to stick her in, she’d been living with their grandmother. Lilah was smart as hell and savvy to boot, but she was soft-spoken and kind of shy. When she went out with Corie, who was always looking for trouble, even he raised an eyebrow at the quality of their evening plans. Miss Leona felt responsible for her while she was figuring out what she wanted from her life without her father interfering.

  “You know damn good and well I’m not worried about Corie,” his grandmother said. “I’m just up in case Lilah needs me to bail Corie out of jail.”

  “Makes sense. You want me to wait up for them?”

  “Oh no. They should be back soon. They just went to Claim Jumpers.” The cowboy dive bar on the other side of town was where all the locals went to kick back.

  “Gotcha.” Sam set the dog down and took a seat at the kitchen island. He took his hat off and set it on his knee, then scrubbed his hands over his face.