Her Sexy Texas Cowboy

by Ali Olson

  He shouldn’t be surprised. She’d always been observant. “Yeah, well, she was just having fun and now she’s over it. I knew she wasn’t looking for anything serious from the beginning, but I let myself get in a little too deep. I’m getting what I deserve, I guess.”

  Kiki looked at him like he had just said the dumbest thing she’d ever heard. “You’re kidding, right?”

  He tried to figure out what she was thinking, but gave up. “What, Kiki?”

  “You think that the woman who keeps looking at me like I stole her Christmas present was just in it for a little fun? Are you serious?”

  Jeremiah seemed to be having trouble processing her words. “Stole her Christmas present?” he repeated.

  “And knocked down the tree. And then set the house on fire. Still not clear enough? She definitely doesn’t like that I’m dancing with you, Jeremiah.”

  Hope bloomed in his chest. “You think she’s not done with me?”

  Kiki slapped her own forehead. “I thought you were a pretty smart guy. Stop proving me wrong. Either she wants more than a fling and has some serious feelings for you, or she’s crazy and a little scary.”

  * * *

  RENEE WISHED SHE could magically transport herself away from this rehearsal dinner, but she was stuck forcing pleasant conversation with her mom and Stew when she felt anything but pleasant. She felt on edge and sleep deprived, and now she had to watch Jeremiah dance with a pretty brunette.

  The worst thing about that was the knowledge that she had no right to dislike the way that woman smiled at Jeremiah. After all, Renee had told him they were finished, so what could she do but watch him move on to someone else?

  Even though they were outside, she felt claustrophobic. She needed space to breathe. She turned her attention back to her mom, who was looking at her expectantly. She’d clearly missed something in the conversation and had no idea what kind of a reply was expected of her.

  “I’m sorry, Mom, but I just thought of something I need to go take care of real quick. I’ll be right back.”

  It wasn’t great, but her mom nodded and Renee excused herself from the table. She needed a few minutes alone, and then she’d be able to handle the rest of the evening.

  Renee made her way into and through the house, wanting nothing more than to flop on the bed, grab one of the pillows and breathe in the smell of it. Her body felt heavy, and she gave a sigh of relief once she finally made it to the top of the stairs.

  She opened the door to her room and had taken a couple of steps before she registered that someone else was already there. Jeremiah was sitting on the edge of the bed, watching her with those deep brown eyes that threatened to swallow her whole. His presence was almost overwhelming, and she didn’t know if she felt more anxious or relieved by his having him there.

  She should ask him to leave. It was her room after all, at least for right now. Or she could just walk right back out and go somewhere else. Either option would be better than being in a room alone with him. She knew that. Instead, she closed the door behind her and walked farther into the room.

  When he pulled her down to sit beside him on the bed, she did, and when he kissed her, all she could do was kiss him back. Her entire body was screaming out for her to be in his arms, and any little voice telling her it was a bad idea was shouted down. It felt so good to kiss him. She felt drunk from the sensation.

  After a few seconds, he pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. “I’ve wanted to do that all evening. It’s been torture being so near you and not kissing you,” he said.

  “You looked like you were having fun dancing,” Renee said, trying to sound casual.

  Jeremiah smirked and she knew he saw right through her. She flushed with embarrassment.

  “That was Kiki, Aaron’s cousin. She asked me to dance with her so she could get away from her mother.”

  Relief flooded her. “Not an ex-girlfriend,” she said.

  “Well, yeah, that, too.”

  The relief turned icy in her veins, but then Jeremiah laughed. “We dated for about a week when we were thirteen.”

  He pushed the hair away from her face, sending tendrils of desire through her. Her heart pounded in her chest. “So, not exactly the romance of the century?”

  He smirked at her again. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to punch his arm or kiss the look right off his face. Perhaps both in quick succession. “No,” he answered, shifting even closer to her, making it difficult for her to breathe. “Aaron was so pissed when I broke up with her and made her cry. That’s when I learned not to fool around with his family.”

  She stared at him, waiting for him to hear what he’d just said. His smile didn’t change. “What about me?” she finally asked.

  He touched her fingers lightly with his own, then moved them slowly up her arm. “Doesn’t count.”

  She didn’t know exactly what he meant, but she didn’t care. All her attention was focused on his soft caress. All the resolutions she had made such a short time ago melted under those warm hands.

  * * *

  JEREMIAH KNEW THIS was his one opportunity to convince her to give them a chance. He had to tell her the whole truth before she remembered that she wanted nothing to do with him. He took a deep breath. “I’ve always tried to go for the things I want. It’s been kind of a life philosophy—”

  “That explains why you ever thought it was a good idea to ask out that supermodel,” Renee mumbled, almost as if she was talking to herself.

  He stopped talking, thrown off by her comment. How did she know about that?

  “Aaron told us the whole story,” she explained. “I’m pretty sure he tells it to everyone. It’s pretty funny. How long was it until you were able to walk normally again?”

  “Over a month,” he grumbled, making her laugh.

  “Anyway,” he began again, trying to get back on track. He needed to just say it, so he plunged in headlong. “I’m in love with you, Renee.”

  She stilled and stared at him. Jeremiah, always so confident, had never felt less sure of himself. He might have just ruined any chance of easing her into a relationship, but after what Kiki had told him, and how he’d felt when he thought there was a possibility she had feelings for him, he knew he needed to tell her the truth. He’d been in love with her since he first saw her, and now she finally knew.

  Silence stretched between them.

  At last, Renee opened her mouth. Jeremiah held his breath, waiting for her response. “It’s...a joke, right?”

  He’d never felt more serious in his life, and as he realized that this conversation was not going to end the way he hoped, all he wanted was for it to be over. For a second, he considered lying and pretending he’d been kidding, but he couldn’t do it, even if it would save him embarrassment. Renee deserved only honesty. “No joke,” he said, trying to smile and shrug.

  Renee covered her face with her hands and shook her head. “I can’t,” she said, her voice muffled by her hands.

  Jeremiah stood.

  He took out the small object that had been weighing down his chest pocket and set it on the bed where he had just been sitting. “For your shoe box apartment,” he said.

  Then he turned and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

  12

  THE REHEARSAL DINNER was winding down, and most people had gone home. Jeremiah stood outside the circle of lights, away from the merriment. Renee hadn’t come back down to the party after their disastrous talk, and he wasn’t sure if that was a relief or not.

  Kiki walked up to him and gave him a hug. “It’s good to see you, Jeremiah.”

  “Good to see you, too, Kiki. I’m glad you’re back.”

  “Your talk with the bridesmaid didn’t work out, I take it?”

  There was no point
to asking how she knew. He was sure it was pretty obvious that something was wrong with him; he just couldn’t force himself to pretend to be his normal happy-go-lucky self when he felt anything but. She shook her head in sympathy. “If there’s any way I can help, let me know. I’ll be in town for a while. You know where to find me.” She gave him one last hug and left, her mother chattering beside her.

  Aaron came up to Jeremiah after Kiki had disappeared and slapped his shoulder. “You ready to go?” he asked.

  Jeremiah had never been more ready for anything in his life. “Let’s go,” he said.

  They went to Jeremiah’s car, where Jessica was waiting. Aaron’s overnight bag was sitting on the ground by her feet.

  Aaron pulled her into an embrace. “I’ll see you tomorrow, wifey.”

  Jeremiah got into his truck, allowing the couple their private goodbye. After a couple of minutes, Aaron climbed into the passenger seat and Jeremiah turned the key. Aaron rolled down the window and planted one last kiss on his bride-to-be, and then they were on their way.

  Jeremiah tried to behave normally, for his friend’s sake. “What made you two decide to do the whole ‘night apart’ thing? I didn’t think you would be able to tear yourselves away from each other for that long.”

  “You only get married once. Or, at least, I do. So we’re doing it right.”

  Jeremiah nodded and tried to think of something to say. Before he could think of anything, Aaron said, “So, you’re still not going to talk to me about what’s going on with you until after tomorrow?”

  “Yep.”

  Then he would tell Aaron the truth about the whole thing. But until Renee was back in New York and Jessica was a happily married woman, he was keeping mum.

  “Well, let me just say that whatever’s happening, you need to fix it so you can get back to being your normal self. I’ve never seen you this tense and unhappy. It’s not like you.”

  Why can’t I be unhappy sometimes? Do I always have to be the jokester? Jeremiah kept the thoughts to himself. He couldn’t snap at Aaron like that the night before his wedding. And he knew that he wasn’t even annoyed at Aaron; he was annoyed with himself and the universe that would let him fall so hard for someone who refused to love him back.

  Aaron said, “I don’t expect you to be funny all the time or anything, I just want you to not be perpetually bummed out.”

  Jeremiah wasn’t surprised that Aaron knew what he was thinking. They had been best friends for thirty years, after all. But he still didn’t want to talk. “Why don’t you tell me about the honeymoon?”

  There was a beat of silence, and Jeremiah waited for Aaron to point out that he already knew about the honeymoon, but Aaron didn’t. Instead, he filled the rest of the drive with the honeymoon itinerary. As they pulled into Jeremiah’s driveway, he said, “I can’t believe the flight is the day after tomorrow.”

  Jeremiah tried to muster up as much enthusiasm for Aaron as he could. “You’re getting married tomorrow. I hope you’re ready.”

  By the goofy grin on his friend’s face, Jeremiah was sure his friend was more than ready.

  * * *

  RENEE OPENED HER eyes and squinted at the rectangle of light coming in her bedroom door, not moving from her prone position on the bed. Jessica was standing there, looking concerned. “I wondered where you had disappeared to.”

  Renee sat up with a sigh. She hadn’t been asleep, but at least in the quiet darkness of her room, she’d been able to pretend she was back in New York, away from everything that was so confusing.

  She ran her hand through her hair, trying to pull herself together, not an easy feat under her sister’s unwavering gaze. “Sorry I left the party early. I was tired.”

  “Still not ready to talk about it with me, huh?” Jessica asked as she stepped into the room, sitting on the bed where Jeremiah had sat not very long before.

  Renee thought about it. For a moment, she considered spilling everything to her sister, telling her everything that had happened. But she couldn’t do that the night before the wedding. What if Jessica was mad at her? Renee couldn’t be the one to ruin the wedding.

  Or worse, what if Jessica pushed her to talk to Jeremiah again? Renee didn’t think she was strong enough to say no again. Not with those wonderful eyes staring at her, through her, as if they knew everything she wanted—

  “Renee?” Jessica’s voice cut into her thoughts.

  She turned her attention back to her sister. “We can talk after the wedding.”

  Once she was back in New York and far away from Jeremiah’s dangerously inviting arms.

  Jessica still didn’t look convinced. Renee smiled at her sister’s stubborn nature. “I promise. We’ll have a sisterly heart-to-heart when all this is done. Until then, all I want to do is celebrate your wedding with you. Okay?”

  Jessica nodded and gave her a small smile back. “Fine. I won’t ask you again until after the wedding. Now get some sleep. Tomorrow’s the big day, you know.”

  With that, Jessica stood and walked out the door, closing it behind her. Renee was left in the dark. She reached over to the bedside table and felt around until her fingers landed on cold metal. It was the small piece of artwork Jeremiah had given her. She couldn’t see it in the darkness, but the image was vivid and clear in her mind. It was only two inches tall, with copper and silver encircling each other in what could only be described as an intimate embrace. She ran her thumb along the curves of the design as she thought.

  * * *

  JEREMIAH AND AARON sat at the kitchen table, where they’d been sitting since arriving hours ago. The time had passed in a mix of marriage talk and silence. Jeremiah didn’t feel anywhere close to normal, but it was nice to spend a little time with his friend, and to see him so happy.

  Aaron stood up with a groan. “It’s late. I need to get some sleep. See you tomorrow?”

  Jeremiah nodded. “It’s a big day. I’ll make you a special wedding-day breakfast.”

  He tried not to think about Renee sitting at this same table, eating the food he’d made for her. She had looked so cute. He stood up, too, though he couldn’t imagine trying to sleep with his mind such a jumble.

  Aaron seemed to sense his friend’s thoughts. “What are you going to do?”

  Jeremiah shrugged. “I think I’ll go for a walk.”

  A walk would clear his thoughts. It was worth a shot, at least. Then maybe he’d be able to get some sleep.

  Aaron picked up his overnight bag and headed for the stairs. “Don’t stay out too late. As the best man, you’re not allowed to take a nap during the ceremony. And I expect my breakfast bright and early. You can make it wearing that apron I noticed in the pantry, which looks suspiciously similar—”

  “Another word and you won’t get your matching hot pads,” Jeremiah said, cutting him off.

  “Fair enough,” Aaron said, disappearing into the hallway.

  Jeremiah’s lips twitched. Then Aaron was gone and Jeremiah was alone in the big empty kitchen.

  He shrugged on his jacket and headed out into the cold dark night, the sky above him bright with stars. He walked down along his property, every tree and building nothing more than dark shapes in the moonlight.

  He had lived on this land all his life and could walk it blindfolded. It didn’t give him any comfort on this night, though. Wherever he went, Renee was still there. He walked out into the brush, letting the cool air seep under his skin. But nothing helped.

  His grandparents had bought the land when they were newlyweds. It had been their dream to own a ranch, and they’d worked it for fifty years, the last thirty as a family business with their grown son and his wife, Jeremiah’s parents.

  When Jeremiah’s grandparents died, his parents moved to Florida, leaving him to keep the land going if he wanted. Now that he looked around,
though, he realized that he didn’t really enjoy the ranching life. He’d just done it because he couldn’t think of anything else to do. And even when he’d found something he truly loved to do, he didn’t believe it could be a legitimate vocation.

  But why couldn’t it? He felt the need for some advice, and it couldn’t wait.

  He jogged back into the house and up the stairs to the guest room where Aaron was staying and banged on the door. “Aaron, get up. I want to talk to you about something. It’s important.”

  Aaron opened the door, his hair a mess and his eyes bleary. “This better be good.”

  Jeremiah had been so intent on his own thoughts that he’d forgotten his friend was getting married the next day. “Sorry to wake you, but it’ll only take a second. Come on.”

  Jeremiah led Aaron out to his work shed, Aaron muttering about how late it was the whole way. When Jeremiah opened the door and turned on the lights, though, the grumbling stopped. Aaron stared quietly at the sculptures filling the room. Jeremiah waited.

  “You made these?” Aaron asked.

  Jeremiah nodded.

  Aaron slapped him on the back. “You’re an artist. That’s cool. You going to sell them?”

  “Actually, I was thinking. What if I moved away from the ranch and did this full-time?”

  Aaron thought about it for a second. “It would be weird to not have you nearby, but these are good, and if it makes you happy, then you should do that.”

  Jeremiah felt some of the weight on his chest lift. “So you don’t think it’s a crazy idea?”

  “Way less crazy than waking me up in the middle of the night before my wedding day to show me a bunch of art. I’m going to bed now.”

  Aaron left, and Jeremiah looked around at his pieces, the possibilities open before him.

  He knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep, and the warring feelings inside him made his fingers itch. He stepped into the shed and got to work.

  * * *

  RENEE OPENED HER EYES. The sky outside her window was still dark, but she had been tossing and turning for so long that dawn couldn’t be that far off. She checked her phone.