so far as to freeze my eggs.” Her jaw flexed. “So don’t worry about it.”
A stab of empathy had him reaching across the table. Touching her forearm. He hadn’t meant to unearth something so personal—so huge.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.” She swallowed with visible effort. “I’m fine now.” Blinking fast, she shrugged and pulled away from his touch. “I’m alive.”
The quiet fierceness in her voice told him that fight had been hard-won. He wanted to know more about her—what she’d battled, how long she’d been in remission—but he didn’t want to pry on a night when they’d already gotten under one another’s skin in surprising ways.
“Very much so,” he agreed, humbled by the small glimpse of herself she’d given him. “I didn’t mean to encroach on something so private.”
A wry smile quirked her lips. “You have a right to know, given the circumstances.”
“Thank you.” He appreciated her honesty and hoped it would continue now that he had another sticky question to ask. “So tell me, Jillian Ross, what exactly did you want with my twin when you followed me in here tonight?”
* * *
For the sake of great sex, she’d set fire to her career.
How could she have missed the fact that Cody and Carson McNeill were twins when she’d been researching their ranches? Jillian couldn’t believe her bad luck as she stared across the table at the incredibly handsome shirtless rancher. Who’d be very angry with her when she revealed what she’d been trying to accomplish. She shouldn’t have been plotting to gain access to one brother through the other, and she surely should have come clean before she committed to the sensual adventure.
Then again, why had Cody refused her request to film on location without any explanation or opportunity to plead her case?
“I thought Carson might lead me to you,” she told him honestly. If she was going to lose the opportunity to film on the McNeill ranch altogether—and lose her job in the process—she would go out fighting.
“You wanted to find me?” He lifted a dark eyebrow, his brooding, skeptical expression not intimidating her so much now that he was shirtless.
She still couldn’t believe she’d had sex with him. He held her professional future in his hands.
“Yes.” Lifting her satchel, she laid it on the table and drew out the county land map. “I’ve been trying to contact you about this piece of property.”
She pointed to the location where she’d taken photographs a few weeks ago.
“Black Creek Ranch.” He spun the map to face him, smoothing the edges where it curled. “What do you want with—” He glanced up at her, recognition dawning on his face. “You’re the location scout.”
The tone of his voice made it sound like her job was in the same category as a tax collector’s. His eyes lingered on her.
“One and the same.” She smiled tightly. “I sent a letter to your business manager—”
“More than one,” he reminded her, shoving himself to his feet. He prowled along the perimeter of the room until he reached his discarded shirts, and punched his fists through the armholes. “You asked repeatedly. But I don’t want any film crews on my property.”
“So you said in your two-line refusal.” She knew she should be nice. Professional. But she’d burned that bridge when she entered the door marked Private.
“You didn’t leave me any opportunity to explain how quickly we could finish the shoot, or the options we have for sending as few people as possible onto your land—”
“Because I’m not interested in having anyone on my land. That’s the whole point of private property, isn’t it? It’s private. I don’t have to let strangers trample all over it.”
“But we’re hardly strangers now, are we?” She hadn’t been able to resist saying it. Her body was still tingling from incredible feelings—feelings she probably wouldn’t get to experience again with him. She also thought about her list and all the adventures she wouldn’t be able to accomplish if she lost her job. Real fear for her future rattled her. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to have this conversation with you tonight. I—”
“You hoped to sweet-talk my brother into convincing me on your behalf?” Cody McNeill had put all his clothes back on, and the forbidding expression on his face made it difficult to believe he’d teased the best orgasm of her life from her just moments ago.
She remained in her seat at the conference table, unwilling to get too close to him when her fingers still ached to touch him. “I looked up who owned the property neighboring yours, since you’re an extremely difficult man to reach.”
“My work keeps me busy.”
“Since Carson McNeill was easy enough to find online—”
“No surprise there,” he muttered, reaching for his Stetson and planting it on his head.
“—I thought fate must be smiling on me when he walked past the Thirsty Cow tonight.” She could really use the rest of that wine she’d left behind. Her head throbbed with a mixture of embarrassment and frustration that Cody didn’t seem willing to give an inch.
She drummed her fingers on the tabletop, a blond wood that looked out of place in this very Western-style remodeled space.
“Except it wasn’t Carson.” His smile was a poor facsimile of the one he’d given her earlier.
Because, she realized, that hadn’t been his real smile.
An idea took hold. A dawning comprehension.
“You were pretending to be him, weren’t you?” She realized that initial exchange—when she’d first arrived in Wrangler’s—was the only time she’d seen a genuine smile from him.
Except it hadn’t been genuine at all. He had been imitating his brother. She could tell she had guessed correctly when a fleeting defensive expression crossed his face.
Indignation rose in her as she got to her feet and grabbed the map and her bag. She wouldn’t be a fool for any man again after the way her ex-boyfriend had walked out on her after surgery. She was smarter than that.
“You know, I can take some of the blame for not telling you who I was tonight.” She charged toward the door, ready to put this night—this obstinate man—behind her. “But it seems like you also played a role in this...misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstanding?” He stood between her and the door. He didn’t seem to be blocking it on purpose, he just hadn’t stepped aside yet. “Is that what you’re calling it? You came into town looking for a way to circumvent me.”
She gestured at his imposing form with a flourish. “Sort of like I am right now, since you’re still standing in my way. Apparently you take pride in being immovable.”
His jaw worked silently; maybe he was chewing over the idea.
