Alison. Quiet and methodical, she’d been the complete opposite of Chelsea. Alison had made it clear that she wanted him and had pushed for a commitment. He’d had some stupid idea that she was the kind of steady, safe woman he needed in his life.
Marrying her, especially so quickly, had been a huge mistake. She hadn’t absorbed all his attention, but she hadn’t held his interest, either. She’d been understandably upset by his total concentration on his business. He felt damned guilty about that marriage.
And he’d promised himself not to repeat his mistake. These days he only allowed two things to occupy his time: O’Roarke’s Brewhouse and his foster parents’ financial crisis. Making sure they weren’t forced to sell out was his priority this week. As the plane lifted into the air, he renewed his vow that Thunder Mountain Ranch would stay in the family.
* * *
CHELSEA GAZED AT white clouds piled up like whipped cream outside the window. And speaking of whipped cream, she wouldn’t mind being alone with a naked Finn and a can of the stuff. Their trip was minutes old and she was already in trouble.
His lustrous dark hair and startling blue eyes had caught her attention immediately when they’d met in that coffee shop five years ago. His body was nothing to sneeze at, either. When he’d first arrived in Seattle he’d had a tan, but that had gradually faded. His sex appeal hadn’t faded one tiny bit, though. Finn O’Roarke was hot.
Although they’d had chemistry from the beginning, he’d made it clear that he wasn’t interested in anything more than friendship and a business relationship. Disappointing, but she’d learned to live with it. At least she’d been able to see him often, and she’d noted with satisfaction that he spent all his time on work and didn’t date.
Then the rat had showed up with Alison and in practically no time at all they’d been married. Chelsea had hated that with a purple passion, and when the marriage had predictably broken up, she’d decided enough was enough. She’d waited a decent interval and then she’d asked him out. He’d turned her down.
That was so unfair. Just because Alison had complained about his lack of attention didn’t mean she would. She understood the constraints on his time and she had her share of those, too.
But he’d retreated into his anal-retentive shell and wasn’t coming out. She longed to give him up as a lost cause, but he sent her checks every month and that guaranteed she couldn’t forget him. Then this situation with his foster parents had brought them back together and, once again, she was into him.
Worse yet, he’d added a new level of hotness with his cowboy shtick. She hadn’t realized she was susceptible to cowboys. Or maybe it was only Cowboy Finn who made her heart beat faster. She’d find that out after being surrounded by a bunch of them for the next few days.
Last month her first big challenge had presented itself. Logically she’d been the one to handle his calendar shoot and she’d counted on her irritation with his behavior to see her through. It hadn’t.
She’d mostly blamed the shirtless part for her overheated state. Finn’s hair was the kind a woman itched to run her fingers through. Turned out he had a sprinkling of that same tantalizing dark hair on his rather impressive chest and it also formed a narrow path that led to the low-slung waistband of his jeans.
The shoot had taken longer than necessary because she’d spent far too much time wondering what he kept hidden behind that denim fly. She suspected he had a package worth bragging about, but Finn wasn’t the bragging type. Of course that made him all the more tempting. After photographing him posing shirtless and wearing the Stetson, jeans and boots, she’d hurried home to commune with her vibrator.
Sadly that was the extent of her sex life lately. After his quickie marriage, she’d indulged in a couple of affairs that had gone nowhere. The torch still burned for Finn despite all her efforts. She’d protected herself by being cool and sarcastic in his presence—until a moment ago when he’d given her that high-wattage smile and a sensuous “thank you, ma’am.”
A man as beautiful as Finn shouldn’t be allowed to talk like that. He also shouldn’t wear yoked shirts that made his shoulders seem a mile wide and jeans that cradled the sexiest buns in Seattle. But he had no idea that he was a walking sexual fantasy. The flight attendant had fallen all over herself sending “I’m available” signals and he hadn’t seemed to notice. Now that she had the calendar, Finn might discover a phone number tucked into his hatband.
But he was Chelsea’s for the next week, or as close to being hers as she’d ever experienced. He’d also left his precious business in the hands of his assistant, Brad. With luck he might learn that he wasn’t so damned indispensable, after all.
But she couldn’t allow thoughts about sexy Finn to distract her from her first order of business—wooing TMA backers during the presentation at the Last Chance Ranch. She’d continued to work on the PowerPoint until after midnight, which had caused her to oversleep. Now that the plane was at cruising altitude, she could take another look at it.
Finn, she noticed, was already engrossed in his Excel file. She’d retrieved her laptop and had balanced it on her fold-down tray when the flight attendant showed up with the calendar.
All her attention was on Finn, who remained engrossed in his spreadsheets. “You’re Mr. April, aren’t you?”
His head snapped up and he flushed as he stared at her in dismay. “Uh, yeah.”
“Gorgeous.”
He swallowed. “It was...we needed...”
“What’s the deal with Thunder Mountain Academy?”
“It’s this...this—”
“A residential equine program for sixteen-to-eighteen-year-olds,” Chelsea said. “It’ll be a fabulous opportunity for kids who think they might want to build a career around horses. They’ll learn horse training and equine health care along with the daily maintenance required. In addition, we have a master saddle maker who’ll teach them the basics of that art.”
The flight attendant blinked. “Sounds great, but I don’t have any kids. Can I just buy the calendar?”
“It’s offered as a premium if you pledge a certain amount to the academy’s Kickstarter fund.” Chelsea pulled out a card with website information on it. “Here’s where you can do that. It’s all spelled out on the site.”
“Thanks.” She took the card and reluctantly handed back the calendar. “Maybe some of my girlfriends will want to go together on it.” She glanced down at Finn. “I’m a beer drinker, too.”
He cleared his throat. “Good.”
“Don’t forget your hat when you leave the plane.”
“I won’t.”
“’Bye, now.” She fluttered her fingers at him and headed back to the front of the plane.
“Good Lord.” Finn sank back against the seat and took several deep breaths. “Thanks for telling her about TMA. My mind went blank.”
“I noticed.”
“Obviously, I’m not prepared for the effect that calendar is liable to have.”
“It’s
