I need to run.” Tierra turned back to the door, opening it widely as she hurried to make an exit.
Still moving close behind her, Travis followed her outside. “Do you mind if I tag along with you? I would really like to see some of Dallas if I can.”
Moving forward, Tierra winced again. She wasn’t in the mood for company. “Maybe some other time, Sergeant Stallion. Right now I would just really like to be alone,” she said as she reached her car. “The peace and quiet will be good for me.”
“Maybe so,” Travis stated, pulling open her passenger-side door. “But I think being with friends would be better for you right now,” he said, a wide grin filling his handsome face. “You won’t even know I’m here, friend.”
Before she could respond, Travis stepped into her Saturn roadster and settled down comfortably in the front passenger seat. It was clear that nothing Tierra could say or do would be able to change his mind. She decided not to say anything at all, hoping the look she gave him would be enough to express her displeasure. She slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine.
“So, what kind of music do you like to listen to?” Travis asked as he reached across her dashboard and turned on the car’s stereo system. He began to scroll through the local radio stations.
Tierra cut her eyes in his direction. “How is this quiet?” she spat.
The man laughed, his disposition teasing. “Oh, you thought I was actually paying you some attention!”
A deep frown pulled at Tierra’s mouth, aggravation clouding her expression. The man was hardly moved as he winked in her direction. Still smiling, Travis nodded his head as he settled back against the leather seats. His head bobbed in time with the music playing.
Tierra’s own head shook at the absurdity. Shifting into drive, she pulled her car into the circular driveway and pulled away from the Stallion family home. As she navigated the traffic, the sound of jazz music settled comfortably between them.
The midday sun had settled nicely in the afternoon sky. The air was heated with just the hint of a breeze blowing. With the top down and the seductive tunes billowing from the speakers, the day could have been considered almost perfect.
Tierra suddenly wished she didn’t feel so alone. Even with the gorgeous man seated beside her she was feeling like she didn’t have a friend in the world. Heaving a deep sigh, Tierra stole a glance in Travis’s direction. The man’s gaze was fixed on the highway. His head bobbed and he patted his hand on his knee to the beat of the music.
He looked far more relaxed than he’d appeared the day before, his casual styling suiting him nicely. And just like the day before, the man was exceptionally attractive. His rugged good looks could make a woman lose her mind, Tierra thought, admiring the chiseled line of his features and the lush, full lips that pouted ever so slightly. Tierra couldn’t help but wonder what kissing those lips might feel like.
She shook her head vehemently, appalled that just hours earlier she’d gotten her heart broken and here she was now, wondering what it might be like to kiss another man.
“You shouldn’t have come,” she suddenly said out loud, the words coming out of her mouth in a rush.
“Excuse me?” Travis said as he settled his intense stare on her.
Tierra’s eyes flitted from the road to his face and back again. Lord, have mercy, Tierra thought. Why does he have to look at me that way?
She heaved another deep sigh, the air catching in her chest as she held her breath for a brief moment. She reached for the volume button on the car radio and turned it down until the music was barely audible. “I said you shouldn’t have come. This was a bad idea.”
Travis smiled, not bothering to respond. He turned the radio back up, his gaze still focused on the side of her face. He couldn’t get over how incredibly beautiful she was. The woman was perfection personified. Private Porter had to have been a complete fool to let such an incredible creature get away.
His smile widened as the muscles in her face twitched with frustration. Without giving it any thought, he reached a large hand out and rested it on her shoulder. As he gently caressed the bare flesh, he felt her tense beneath his fingertips.
Tierra sucked in a deep inhale of oxygen. She hadn’t expected the man to touch her, and suddenly the heat from his hand had ignited a fire deep in her midsection. It was all she could do to keep from running her car off the road.
“Hey, we’re in this together now, so go with it. So, what are we doing? What’s our first stop?” Travis asked, his hand still teasing her flesh as his fingertips tap danced against her skin.
Taking a second inhale of air, Tierra shifted her shoulder upward, rotating it away from the man’s touch. “I have to go by the florist and cancel my flower order. In fact, I have to cancel everything I’ve ordered for the wedding. I don’t know what you’re doing.”
“What kind of flowers did you order?” Travis asked nonchalantly, his gaze still piercing. “What?”
“Tulips, sunflowers? What kind?”
Tierra chuckled softly, her head shaking at the absurdity. “What does it matter? I’m canceling them.”
“Just curious,” Travis said, his seductive smile returning. “I’m a rose man myself. I want to see my future wife walking down the aisle surrounded by a field of roses.” He crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back into the leather seat.
Tierra rolled her eyes skyward. “Bully for you,” she said, thinking about the classic bouquet of pink and yellow tea roses that she had planned to carry, and the exquisite sprays of roses that were supposed to adorn the chapel and banquet hall.
Travis laughed warmly. “I was just saying.”
As Tierra pulled into the parking lot of the flower shop, she shot him an evil look. “Well, don’t,” she said. “In fact, pretend you’re not even here and we’ll get along just fine.”
As she stared in his direction, Travis met her gaze, allowing her eyes to linger with his for a second longer than necessary. Nodding his head slowly, he said nothing as he exited the car and moved quickly to the driver’s-side door. Opening it widely, he extended his hand to help her up and out of her seat. As Tierra came to stand before him, his beautiful smile widened to a deep grin, pocketing full dimples in each cheek.
“So, really, did you pick roses?” he said. “Because I feel like you would be a rose kind of girl.”
Chapter 5
Travis watched as Tierra stomped up the porch stairs and into the large home. Her vehicle was still vibrating from the harshly slammed door. A sly smile pulled at his mouth as he leaned against the car’s fender, his arms crossed evenly over his chest. He laughed out loud, fully aware that Tierra was angry. And even though she was directing all that hostility in his direction, he understood that Tierra Braddy really wasn’t angry with him.
The two had made three stops. The floral shop, Two Sisters Catering and the Warren Barrón Bridal Shop. With each stop, the shopkeepers had been extremely gracious after hearing that Tierra had essentially been abandoned at the altar.
It had taken some negotiating to get a refund
