Rachel wrapped her arms around her midsection and attempted to cool her heated thoughts. This kind of thinking was counterproductive, not to mention dangerous. She needed Matt to remain a friend, nothing more. She’d loved him like that for years. Yes, she was still hurt and she still deserved an explanation as to why he vanished, but this was Matt and she couldn’t stay mad at him. She realized he’d been hurting, too, when Billy passed.
“That was Austin,” Gus said. “He said he’ll meet me out here tomorrow morning and look over your list. He’ll start as soon as he gets all the supplies in.”
“Wow,” Rachel exclaimed. “That was fast.”
Gus shrugged. “He’s pushing a few jobs back for this. I just need to clear everything with the TCC board, but that won’t be an issue.”
Gus Slade was one powerful man who got what he wanted, when he wanted it. He reminded her of another strong man.
Rachel sighed. Did every thought lately circle back to Matt? Because every time her mind headed toward him, she got that tingling sensation all over again. Hard as she tried, there was no controlling her imagination or this new ache that seemed to accompany each thought of him.
“I truly appreciate this,” she told him. “Alexis will be so thrilled.”
“You’re doing so much more than just marketing,” Gus added. “We need to be thanking you.”
“Just give me a good reference when I get my degree and need a job.”
“Consider it done.”
Gus wrapped his arm around her shoulder and started walking back toward the entrance to the clubhouse. “What do you say we grab some lunch? My treat.”
“I really should get back to Ellie.”
Ellie had been left with a member of Gus’s staff. Each person at Lone Wolf Ranch absolutely doted over Rachel’s daughter, so there was no doubt she was in good hands.
“Another hour won’t matter,” Gus stated. “Call and check on her if it makes you feel better.”
Rachel nodded. “You’re spoiling me and I might never leave.”
As he led her toward the restaurant inside TCC, Gus laughed. “You have an open invitation to stay at Lone Wolf as long as you like.”
Her in-laws probably wouldn’t like that idea, but the longer Rachel stayed in Royal, the more she felt like she’d finally come home.
Six
Matt glanced at the Halloween-costume party invitation that had been hand delivered to his suite. The board at TCC was hosting the festive event and apparently the entire town was invited.
What the hell would he do at a costume party? Was there a man in his right mind who actually wanted to dress up?
Granted he could always go as a disgruntled CEO or aimless wanderer since he had no clue what the hell he wanted in his life right now. Something was missing, something that his padded bank account couldn’t buy. Being back in Royal stirred something in him he hadn’t felt in a long, long time. There was a sense of community here and people always looking out for each other...something he didn’t see in Dallas.
Tossing the invitation on the counter, Matt grabbed his keys and headed to the elevator just off his living area. He planned to do a drive-by of his grandfather’s place today to see exactly what he was dealing with, and then he had to pick up Rachel so she could take some pictures of him for the auction.
Whatever possessed him to agree to such madness? Auctioning himself off sounded absurd, and he preferred to choose his own dates, thank you very much. It wasn’t like he had trouble finding female companions. So how did he end up here?
Oh, that’s right. Rachel had asked. Things were as simple and as complicated as that. He couldn’t say no to her, no matter what she wanted. Rachel was...well, she was special and she deserved better than the thoughts and fantasies he’d been harboring for years.
More times than he cared to admit he’d imagined her in his bed, all of them from the island mansion to his Dallas home. He’d pictured her swimming in the ocean wearing nothing but his touch and a sated smile.
Matt attempted to shove thoughts of Rachel from his mind as he drove toward his grandfather’s old farm. The place had sat empty for years. After Matt’s parents had passed, the land had been willed to him. He had been too busy in Dallas to deal with it, but now, well, he could sure as hell use the outlet.
He and his partner weren’t seeing eye to eye, and that was partially due to Matt not being happy in the place he was at in his life. Every day he went to work, and no matter how successful he was, there always seemed to be a void.
Maybe finding a contractor and pushing through some renovations would help. It certainly couldn’t hurt.
Matt pulled into the drive overgrown with grass and weeds. The white two-story farmhouse sat back, nestled against the woods. The old barn off to the right actually looked to be in better shape than the house itself.
Swallowing the lump of emotion, Matt stared at the front porch that looked like a good gust of Texas wind could knock it down. He recalled spending his summers with his grandfather, learning all about farm life, about hard work and seeing it pay off. Matt owed everything to that man. Without Patrick Galloway, Matt wouldn’t be the successful oil tycoon he was today.
As a young boy, he hadn’t realized all the life lessons being instilled, but now looking back, there was no doubt he was being shaped.
Matt smiled as he continued to look at the porch. The creaky swing that hung on one end was gone, but he could easily see it in his mind. His grandfather would sit there and play the harmonica while Matt sat on the top step with two sticks and played faux drums.
Damn it. He missed the simpler times. He missed his parents, his grandfather, those carefree summer nights followed by sweat-your-ass-off workdays.
He’d call a contractor tomorrow. This wasn’t something he was going to leave to his assistant, though she was fabulous. Matt planned on handling every bit of this personal project himself.
His cell rang through the speakers of his truck, but he ignored the call when his partner’s number flashed on the screen. Matt would call him back later. Right now he wanted to get to Rachel and get this photo shoot over with. She’d requested he wear a suit so she could capture him in his element. Although it was true that business attire was part of his daily life, he’d like to be a bit more casual for this shoot.
Then again, this wasn’t his charity and he wasn’t the one bidding. Good grief. He was honestly going to stand on a stage and watch women waving paddles around just to go on a date with him.
There was only one woman he wanted to win that bid. He’d have to do some convincing, though. Rachel had seemed a little hesitant and he couldn’t blame her. He’d up and deserted her after Billy’s funeral, then he’d dropped back into her life unexpectedly, and followed that by making it clear he wouldn’t mind kissing her.
Yeah, he saw her lids widen and heard her breath hitch when he inched closer as they sat on the floor of his suite. Had Ellie not been between them, Matt would have pulled Rachel to him and taken a sample of something he’d coveted for far too long. Just one taste. At least that’s what he told himself he needed to get over the craving.
Matt pulled out of the drive and headed toward Lone Wolf Ranch. Ten minutes later, he was turning into the sprawling estate with a wrought iron arch over the entrance. This was Royal, small town charm mixed with money, lots of it, and a big-city feel. Matt could easily see the pull to live here, and he was banking on that for when he renovated his grandfather’s farm. The real estate market was booming and he knew he’d have no trouble selling.
The thought didn’t settle well with him, but he didn’t need the place. He had his ten-thousand-square-foot home in Dallas and his own island, for pity’s sake. He traveled when and where he wanted. He couldn’t hold on to the old farmstead simply for nostalgia.
As he approached the massive main house, Rachel came bounding down
the stairs. She smiled and waved. There was no denying the punch of lust to the gut. She wore another one of those long, curve-hugging dresses that she probably thought was comfortable, but all he could think was how fast he could have that material shoved up to her waist and joining their bodies after years of aching to have no barriers between them.
There wasn’t a doubt in Matt’s mind that the real thing would put the fantasy to shame.
Damn. He seriously needed to get a grip.
Rachel opened the truck door, and had he not been imagining her naked he would’ve gotten out and opened her door for her.
“Hey.” She hopped in and set the camera bag between them. “Are you ready for this?”
A day alone with Rachel? Hell yeah.
“I guess so.” He turned toward her slightly. “This suit okay?”
He absolutely relished the way her eyes raked over him. Sure his ego was larger than most, but the only woman he wanted was looking at him as if she wanted him right back.
“It will do.”
Leave it to Rachel to knock him down a peg. With a low chuckle, Matt put the truck in gear and headed back down the drive.
“So, where are we going?” she asked.
He’d insisted on the location of the shoot as well as her being the photographer. If he’d told her ahead of time where he was taking her, she would’ve balked at the suggestion.
“I’ll keep it a surprise for now.”
Rachel clicked her seatbelt into place and settled back in the seat. “As long as I’m back in time to give Ellie a bath. I was actually ordered by Alexis to go have fun. She thinks we’re dating.”
Interesting. “What have you been saying about me to your host family?”
Rachel laughed, the sultry sound flooding the small space. “Gus is a romantic at heart and Alexis, well, she’s just excited I’m talking to any man.”
Matt gripped the steering wheel. “Surely you’ve been on a date in the last year.”
“Why would you think that?”
He pointed the truck toward the edge of town, heading for the airstrip. “Because you’re a beautiful, passionate woman, Rachel.”
“I’m a widow and a single mother.”
Gritting his teeth, Matt weighed his words carefully. “So you’ve reminded me before, but that doesn’t mean you don’t get to have a social life. Do you plan on staying single until Ellie moves out of the house?”
Rachel blew out a sigh and turned to face the side window. “I don’t want to argue with you, Matt. It’s not like I can just pick up and date anyone I want. I have a child to think about now and she has to come first. We’re a package deal, so I can’t just bring men in and out of her life.”
He didn’t say another word, because he also didn’t want to argue, but there were plenty of thoughts circling around in his mind. Maybe he didn’t want a ready-made family and marriage and picket fences, but he wanted Rachel. He wanted to prove to her that she was still alive, that just because her life had changed dramatically didn’t mean she had to give up her wants and needs.
Maybe this bachelor auction was exactly what he needed to make his case. If he was going to put himself on display like a piece of meat, he was sure as hell going to use it to his advantage. Rachel was about to come to grips with the fact that she could still be a mother and a woman. A passionate, desirable woman.
* * *
“What are we doing here?”
Rachel stared at the small airstrip and the private plane with a man dressed all in black waiting at the base of the stairs. For the past ten minutes, she and Matt had ridden in silence. He simply didn’t understand where she was coming from in regard to her dating life and she wasn’t going to keep explaining her situation.
“You wanted pictures, right?” He pulled the truck to a stop and killed the engine. “We’re going to Galloway Cove.”
She jerked in her seat and faced him. “What? But, you’re in a suit and I thought we were doing office-type images since you’re a CEO.”
Matt shrugged. “You want me in the auction, I’m calling the shots on how I’m portrayed. Don’t worry, there’s an office in my beach house.”
He hopped out of the truck without another word and circled the hood. When he opened her door, Rachel still couldn’t believe he was taking her to his island for the photo shoot. She couldn’t be alone with him on a secluded island. That screamed cliché with all of these newly awakened emotions she had toward him. Was he purposely trying to get her alone?
Anticipation and nerves swirled together deep in her gut. Was he trying to seduce her?
“Why don’t we just take some of you standing in front of your plane?” she suggested, trying not to sound as flustered as she felt. “That would fuel any woman’s fantasy for the auction.”
Because this suit was totally doing it for her.
Matt’s striking blue eyes held her captivated as he leaned closer. “Maybe there’s only one woman I want to fantasize about me.”
Even with the truck door open, there still didn’t seem to be enough air to fill her lungs. This was Matt, her friend. Her very sexy, very dynamic friend whose broad shoulders filled out his suit to the point it should be illegal for him to walk around in public.
The stirrings of desire hit her hard. Harder than when she’d wanted him to kiss her in his penthouse suite. Why now? Why did he drop back into her life and make her question the direction she was moving? She didn’t have time for desire or kisses or hot, sultry looks from a man who used to be her rock. She wasn’t looking for anything akin to lust or attraction right now. Like she had the time to worry about another relationship.
His dark blue eyes slid from her eyes to her lips.
“Don’t do that,” she scolded.
His mouth kicked up in a cocky smirk. “What’s that?”
“Try to be cute or pretend like you want to kiss me.”
Matt laughed. “Leave it to you to not skirt around the situation. I’m not pretending, Rachel. I plan on kissing you. You won’t know when, but that’s your warning.”
Well, hell. Apparently the gauntlet she just threw down had awakened the beast. The real question was, how long had he been lying in wait?
Matt leaned across the seat, his solid chest brushing hers, his lips coming within a breath. Rachel inhaled, the subtle movement causing her sensitive breasts to press further against his hard body. She hadn’t been aroused like this in so long, she couldn’t trust her judgment right now. Her mind was all muddled and her hormones were overriding common sense. But she had to remain in control...at all costs.
“Relax,” he murmured.
The click of her belt echoed in the cab of the truck and Matt eased away, taking her hands in his to help her out. He reached back in for the camera bag and flung it over his big, broad shoulder before closing the door.
Finally, she could breathe. Even though he was holding her hand as they walked across the tarmac, Rachel could handle that.
What she could not handle, however, was that promise or threat or whatever he’d issued when he’d warned her of the kiss. The way he’d looked at her, rubbed against her and put naughty, R-rated thoughts inside her head.
They shouldn’t be kissing. What they needed to do was get photos and focus on the auction...an auction where other women would be writing big fat checks to score a date with this handsome, prominent bachelor. He wasn’t hers...not in that way.
“I’m not going to bid on you,” she stated, as if that was her mega comeback for the way he’d got her all hot and bothered in the truck, and then strolled along as if nothing had changed between them. “You need to get that through your thick head.”
“Of course you will.”
Rachel jerked her hand from his and marched onward toward the steps of the plane. Arrogant bastard. Why was she friends with him again?
T
he pilot smiled and nodded as he welcomed her on board. Rachel climbed the stairs and was stunned at the beauty and spaciousness of the plane. She’d known Matt had his own aircraft, but she’d never been inside it. She’d never been to Galloway Cove, either. When they all hung out, Billy, Matt and her, Matt usually came to her house or they all met at their favorite pub in Dallas.
But Rachel wasn’t going to stroke his ego anymore and comment on the beauty of the details or even act like she was impressed.
She went to the dark leather sofa that stretched beneath the oval windows, took a seat on one end and then fastened her safety belt. Matt and the pilot spoke but she couldn’t make out their words. Didn’t matter. She knew where they were going, knew Matt’s intentions, but that didn’t mean she would give in. He still owed her answers, and being on a plane with nowhere for him to run was exactly where she planned on getting them.
Rachel shifted and kept looking out the window as Matt came back and took a seat—of course on the same sofa, but at least on the opposite end. It took all of her willpower not to just bombard him with all the questions she’d been dying to ask since he’d disappeared from her life. But she would. She wanted him to get nice and comfortable with his situation first. He thought he was calling the shots, but she was about to flip their positions.
Seven
Rachel had been quiet during takeoff. Too quiet. Her gaze never wavered from the window. The flight took about an hour and a half from Royal and Matt had to admit, he was worried.
She was plotting something. She was pissed, if the thin lips and the sound of her gritting teeth was any indicator. Perhaps he’d been too forward earlier, but damn it, he’d held out for years and he was done skirting around his attraction. She deserved to know how much he wanted her. He couldn’t go at this any slower. At this rate they’d be in a nursing home before he got to first base.
He might want nothing more than to see where this fierce physical attraction went, but perhaps she was on the same page. He knew she was more of a happily-ever-after girl, but perhaps she wanted to just have a good time and not think about commitments for a while.
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