with his long legs stretched out in front of him and sip tea while she talked. She tried not to dominate the conversation but found he was someone she could talk to and someone who listened to what she had to say. She could see him now sitting there absorbed in whatever she said while displaying a ruggedness she found totally sexy.
And he had shared some things about himself. She knew he was thirty-four and a graduate of the University of Denver. He also shared with her how his parents and uncle and aunt had been killed in a plane crash when he was eighteen, leaving him and his fourteen siblings and cousins without parents. With admiration laced in his voice he had talked about his older brother Dillon and his cousin Ramsey and how the two men had been determined to keep the family together and how they had.
She couldn’t help but compare his large family to her smaller one. Although she loved her parents she couldn’t recall a time she and her parents had ever been close. While growing up they had relinquished her care to sitters while they jet-setted all over the country. At times she thought they’d forgotten she existed. When she got older she understood her father’s obsession with trying to keep up with his young wife. Eventually she saw that obsession diminish when he found other interests and her mother did, as well.
That was why at times the idea of having a baby without a husband appealed to her, although doing such a thing would send her parents into cardiac arrest. But she couldn’t concern herself with how her parents would react if she chose to go that route. Moving here was her first stab at emancipation and whatever she decided to do would be her decision. But for a woman who’d never slept with a man to contemplate having a baby from one was a bit much for her to absorb right now.
She pulled into the parking lot of one of the major appliance stores. When she returned home she would meet with her foreman to see how things were going. Jason had said such meetings were necessary and she should be kept updated on what went on at her ranch.
Moments later as she got out of her car she decided another thing she needed to do was buy a truck. A truck. She chuckled, thinking her mother would probably gag at the thought of her driving a truck instead of being chauffeured around in a car. But her parents had to realize and accept her life was changing and the luxurious life she used to have was now gone.
As soon as she entered the store a salesperson was right on her heels and it didn’t take long to make the purchases she needed because she knew just what she wanted. She’d always thought stainless steel had a way of enhancing the look of a kitchen and figured sometime next year she would give the kitchen a total makeover with granite countertops and new tile flooring, as well. But she would take things one step at a time.
“Bella?”
She didn’t have to turn to know who’d said her name. As far as she was concerned, no one could pronounce it in the same rugged yet sexy tone as Jason. Although she had just seen him a few days ago when he’d joined her for tea, there was something about seeing him now that sent sensations coursing through her.
She turned around and there he stood dressed in a pair of jeans that hugged his sinewy thighs and long, muscular legs, a blue chambray shirt and a lightweight leather jacket that emphasized the broadness of his shoulders.
She smiled up at him. “Jason, what a pleasant surprise.”
It was a pleasant surprise for Jason, as well. He had walked into the store and immediately, like radar, he had picked up on her presence and all it took was following her scent to find her.
“Same here. I had to come into town to pick up a new hot water heater for the bunkhouse,” he said, smiling down at her. He shoved his hands into his pockets; otherwise, he would have been tempted to pull her to him and kiss her. Kissing Bella was something he wanted but hadn’t gotten around to doing. He didn’t want to rush things and didn’t want her to think his interest in her had anything to do with wanting to buy Hercules, because that wasn’t the case. His interest in her was definitely one of want and need.
“I met the ladies in your family the other day. They came to pay me a visit,” she said.
“Did they?”
“Yes.”
He’d known they would eventually get around to doing so. The ladies had discussed a visit to welcome her to the community.
“They’re all so nice,” she said
“I think they are nice, too. Did you get whatever you needed?” He wondered if she would join him for lunch if he were to ask.
“Yes, my refrigerator and stove will be delivered by the end of the week. I’m so excited.”
He couldn’t help but laugh. She was genuinely excited. If she got that excited over appliances he could imagine how she would react over jewelry. “Will you be in town for a while, Bella?”
“Yes. I have a meeting with Marvin later this evening.”
He raised a brow. “Is everything all right?”
She nodded, smiling. “Yes. I’m just having a weekly meeting like you suggested.”
He was glad she had taken his advice. “How about joining me for lunch? There’s a place not far from here that serves several nice dishes.”
She smiled up at him. “I’d love that.”
Jason knew he would love it just as much. He had been thinking about her a lot, especially at night when he’d found it hard to sleep. She was getting to him. No, she had gotten to him. He didn’t know of any other woman that he’d been this attracted to. There was something about her. Something that was drawing him to her on a personal level that he could not control. But then a part of him didn’t want to control it. Nor did he want to fight it. He wanted to see how far it would go and where it would stop
“Do you want me to follow you there, Jason?”
No, he wanted her in the same vehicle with him. “We can ride in my truck. Your car will be fine parked here until we return.” “Okay.”
As he escorted her toward the exit, she glanced up at him. “What about your hot water heater?”
“I haven’t picked it out yet but that’s fine since I know the brand I want.”
“All right.”
Together they walked out of the store toward his truck. It was a beautiful day in May but when he felt her shiver beside him, he figured a beautiful day in Savannah would be a day in the eighties. Here in Denver if they got sixty-something degree weather in June they would be ecstatic.
He took his jacket off and placed it around her shoulders. She glanced up at him. “You didn’t have to do that.”
He smiled. “Yes, I did. I don’t want you to get cold on me.” She was wearing a pair of black slacks and a light blue cardigan sweater. As always she looked ultrafeminine.
And now she was wearing his jacket. They continued walking and when they reached his truck she glanced up and her gaze connected with his and he could feel electricity sparking to life between them. She looked away quickly, as if she’d been embarrassed that their attraction to each other was so obvious.
“Do you want your jacket back now?” she asked softly.
“No, keep it on. I like seeing you in
