by Lisa Jackson
That was another thing Sabrina and Lindy had in common. They were predominantly tame. At least, they kept things as together as they possibly could on the surface.
“Fine.”
“You didn’t savage him with a cheese knife?”
“Lindy,” Sabrina said, “please. This is dry clean only.” She waved her hand up and down, indicating her dress.
“I don’t know what your whole issue is with him…”
Because no one spoke of it. Lindy had married Sabrina’s brother after the unpleasantness. It was no secret that Sabrina and her father were estranged—even if it was a brittle, quiet estrangement. But unless Damien had told Lindy the details—and Sabrina doubted he knew all of them—her sister-in-law wouldn’t know the whole story.
“I don’t have an issue with him,” Sabrina said. “I knew him thirteen years ago. That has nothing to do with now. It has nothing to do with this new venture for the winery. Which I am on board with one hundred percent.” It was true. She was.
“Well,” Lindy said. “That’s good to hear.”
She could tell that Lindy didn’t believe her. “It’s going to be fine. I’m looking forward to this.” That was also true. Mostly. She was looking forward to expanding Grassroots. Looking forward to helping build the winery, and making it into something that was truly theirs. So that her parents could no longer shout recriminations about Lindy stealing something from the Leighton family.
Eventually, they would make the winery so much more successful that most of it would be theirs.
And if her own issues with her parents were tangled up in all of this, then… That was just how it was.
“Looking forward to what?” Lindy’s brother Dane came into the room, a grin on his handsome face. A grin that had likely melted even the iciest of women into puddles. For her part, Sabrina was immune to him. He was like a brother to her.
He was only back at the winery to offer Lindy support during his off season. Sabrina could tell that he was more than a little bit antsy to get out of here about now. Shockingly, handing out small samples of cheese was not in his wheelhouse.
“The new tasting room venture,” Sabrina said, doing her best to make sure her words sounded light. It was starting to feel crowded in here. She needed a chance to have a post-Liam comedown. Which was impossible to do with Lindy and Dane looking at her so intently.
“Oh, right. That’s going well?”
“Well, it’s just getting started,” she said to Dane.
Those thoughts swirled around in her head, caused tension to mount in her chest, a hard little ball of anger and meanness that she couldn’t quite shake. Didn’t really want to.
“I guess that’s good news,” Dane said, rocking back on his heels.
“Great news,” Lindy said brightly. “It’s exactly what we need. More forward motion. More… More.”
“Until you have a swimming pool full of gold coins like Scrooge McDuck?” Dane asked.
Lindy narrowed her eyes. “This has nothing to do with money. It’s about making the winery successful. And okay, it has a little bit to do with money, because I do like food. And having a roof over my head.”
“And sticking it to your ex by living under the roof that used to be over his head?” Dane grinned.
The corner of Lindy’s mouth quirked upward, and Sabrina could clearly see the resemblance between Dane and her. “That’s not unpleasant.” She cleared her throat. “I really want this tasting room up and ready to go for the Christmas festivities this year.”
“That is…awfully quick, Lin,” Dane said.
“Sure,” Lindy said, waving a hand. “But it isn’t like we’re a startup. We’re just launching a new, extended showroom. And with the plans that Lydia West has for Christmas in Copper Ridge this year, we can’t afford to not be open. It’s going to be a whole Victorian Christmas celebration with carolers and chestnuts roasting on…well, probably not open fires because of safety. But we need to be there with hot mulled wine and cheeses and good will toward men!”
“Did you want to add world peace too?” Dane asked. “Because with all that you might as well.”
Dane wasn’t wrong. It was a very tall order. But they knew exactly what they wanted the showroom to feature, and they already had stock at the winery. They would just be moving some of it to town. So the timing might be tricky, but not impossible.
And suddenly Sabrina wanted it all to work, and work well. If for no other reason than to prove to Liam Donnelly that she was no longer the seventeen-year-old girl whose world he’d wrecked all those years ago.
In some ways, Sabrina envied the tangible ways in which Lindy had been able to exact revenge on Damien. Of course, her relationship with Liam wasn’t anything like a ten-year marriage ended by infidelity. She gritted her teeth. She did her best not to think about Liam. About the past. Because it hurt. Every damn time it hurt. It didn’t matter if it should or not.
But now that he was back in Copper Ridge, now that she sometimes just happened to run into him, it was worse. It was harder not to think about him. Him and the grand disaster that had happened after. The way it had ruined her relationship with her father. And that thorn in her heart constantly felt like it was being worked in deeper.
That first time she had run into Liam when he had come back…
She had walked into Ace’s bar, ready to have a drink with Lindy after a long day of work, and he had been there. She hadn’t even questioned whether or not it was him. He looked different, older, grooves bracketing the side of his mouth, faint lines around his eyes.
His chest was broader, thicker. And there had been tattoos covering the whole of his arms. But it was Liam. It was most definitely Liam, and before her brain had been able to process it, her body had gone into a full-scale episode.
Her heart had nearly lurched into her throat, her pulse racing, and then echoing between her thighs, an immediate reminder of how it had always been to be near him. A tragic confirmation that her memory had not blown those feelings out of proportion.
And with that attraction had come anger. Because how dare he? How dare he show up in Copper Ridge, after abandoning her the way he had? How dare he come to her town? He was supposed to stay away.
Mostly, she was angry that he had the nerve to come back even sexier than he’d been before.
The one good thing was that now she knew better. Thirteen years ago, she had trusted her heart. Fully. Completely.
And no matter how her body might react to him now, she had learned her lesson.
She would not be making that mistake again. Ever.
Look for CHRISTMASTIME COWBOY,
Available from Maisey Yates and HQN Books
Wherever books are sold
Excerpt from CHRISTMASTIME COWBOY copyright © 2017 by Maisey Yates
New York Times bestselling author Maisey Yates invites you to come home to Copper Ridge, where sexy cowboys and breathtaking kisses are just around the cornber! If you loved Down Home Cowboy and Wild Ride Cowboy, then don’t miss the next story in the Copper Ridge series!
CHRISTMASTIME COWBOY
It’s Christmas in Copper Ridge, and love is waiting to be unwrapped…
Falling for a bad boy once is forgivable. Twice would just be foolish. When Sabrina Leighton first offered her teenage innocence to gorgeous, tattooed Liam Donnelly, he humiliated her, then left town. The hurt still lingers. But so does that crazy spark. And if they have to work together to set up her family winery’s new tasting room by Christmas, why not work him out of her system with a sizzling affair?
Thirteen years ago, Liam’s boss at the winery offered him a bribe—leave his teenage daughter alone and get a full ride at college. Convinced he wasn’t good enough for Sabrina, Liam took it. Now he’s back, as wealthy as sin and with a heart as cold as the Oregon snow. Or so he keeps telling himself. Because the girl he vowed to stay away from has become the only woman he needs, and this Christmas could be just the beginning of a lifetime together…
Order your copy today!
“Fans of Robyn Carr and RaeAnne Thayne will enjoy her small-town romance.”
—Booklist
Love finds you when you least expect it in the charming small town of Copper Ridge, Oregon. Be sure to collect all of the stories in this sweet and sexy series!
Shoulda Been a Cowboy (prequel novella)
Part Time Cowboy
Brokedown Cowboy
Bad News Cowboy
A Copper Ridge Christmas (novella)
Hometown Heartbreaker (novella)
One Night Charmer
Tough Luck Hero
Last Chance Rebel
Can these cowboys find the love they didn’t know they needed?
And don’t forget these irresistible Copper Ridge tales from Harlequin Desire!
Take Me, Cowboy
Hold Me, Cowboy
Seduce Me, Cowboy
Complete your collection today!
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ISBN-13: 9781488086335
The Man From Pine Mountain
Copyright © 1993 by Lisa Jackson.
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