“I’m not going anywhere,” Mona declared angrily, her hands on her hips as she glared at her brother. “And no, that’s not ‘all.’ Not by a long shot. Who the hell do you think you are, making assumptions like that about me? About Joe and me?” she wanted to know.
Palms spread out on his desk, she leaned into her brother’s face. “I can love anyone I choose—without your damn approval. And if I want to be with Joe, or not be with Joe, that’s my choice to make, not yours, understand?” she demanded. Not waiting for an answer, she continued. “And if I want to marry Joe, then I’ll marry Joe, and while it would be nice to have you happy about it, contrary to anything you might think, I don’t need your blessings, big brother. Understand?”
He took so long to answer, Mona thought her brother hadn’t heard her. Just as she was about to repeat her words, he said, “But you’re just talking hypothetically, right?” Rick asked, slanting a look toward Joe as he addressed his words to his sister. Joe, he knew, needed to have a fire lit beneath him.
“No, I’m not talking hypothetically. Does this look like I’m being hypothetical?” she snapped. Spinning around on her heel, she grabbed hold of the front of Joe’s shirt for leverage and raised herself up on her toes. The next second she was pressing her lips against Joe’s, delivering a kiss that was more fire than passion.
The passion showed up a split second later, like a giant wave breaking over her head, soaking all of her and taking her breath away.
She’d gotten caught in her own trap.
Mona stumbled back, realizing belatedly what she’d just done—and with her brother looking on, too.
What the hell was she thinking?
Thoroughly stunned, Joe only allowed her to take a single step back. His arms had closed around her in an instant, holding Mona in place before she could run. He’d anticipated her flight because she had that look in her eyes, the look that told him she was about to take off as if that would somehow negate what she’d just done in an unguarded moment.
Not by a long shot, he thought.
“Did you mean what you just said?” Joe asked.
Stalling, realizing that in her flash of temper, she’d said far too much, done far too much, Mona asked, “What part?”
“All of it,” Joe said with emphasis, and then his voice softened. “Especially the part where you said you’d marry me.”
Okay, she was in too deep to backpedal. She tossed her head. “If I wanted to. I said I’d marry you if I wanted to,” she reminded him, as if that somehow covered up what she was really feeling for him—that Joe was the other part of her soul.
Not this time, Joe thought.
He wasn’t about to let Mona worm her way out of this with fancy rhetoric and fancier footwork. As for him, maybe leaving quietly wasn’t the way to go just yet. Since Rick had forced this face-to-face confrontation on them, he either had to fish or cut bait.
He didn’t want to cut bait. He would ask her for a direct answer. If Mona told him that she didn’t love him, then he would leave town and never bother her again. But right now, he needed that shove to get him out the door. Because leaving silently would just be the coward’s way and he wasn’t a coward.
“And do you want to marry me?” he asked pointedly, his eyes pinning her down, holding her to the truth.
Mona felt antsy inside. She didn’t want to go first, didn’t want to admit that she loved him if he kept his emotions a secret.
“You haven’t asked me,” she challenged.
He hadn’t asked because he wasn’t getting the feedback from her that would have encouraged him to take that final leap over the abyss. He’d had enough pain in his life, he didn’t want to willingly subject himself to more.
But imagining the rest of his life without Mona amounted to the greatest pain of all. He didn’t want that kind of life, filled with nothing but routines and emptiness. He’d already experienced that for far too long.
It was time to ante up and bet everything on the turn of that one all-important card.
Taking her hand in his, Joe asked quietly, “Mona Santiago, will you marry me?”
Her flight instincts fought for control of her. But as she began to pull her hand away, Joe tightened his grasp, holding her in place. Excitement and panic grabbed equal shares of her.
Was he really serious, or was this some elaborate joke on his part? “Why are you asking me that?” she asked breathlessly.
“Because I’m taking a survey,” Joe snapped out in disgust. “Why do you think?” He was fairly shouting now and for once, he didn’t care. His emotions were all spilling out. “Because I love you. And I’d rather spend the rest of my life fighting with you than having a peaceful relationship with anyone else.” Still holding her hand tightly in his, he gave her a moment to absorb his words. “Now, what’s your answer, Mona? Will you marry me?”
She struggled to fight back the panic. This was for forever and she knew it. “Don’t rush me,” she told him.
Was she serious? he thought incredulously. “I’ve been waiting for you all of my life, Mona. Even a snail wouldn’t call this ‘rushing.’”
She blew out a breath, then looked at her brother, who had been a silent witness to all this. Much as she loved him, she didn’t want him here. This was just between her and Joe. For now.
“Do you mind?” she asked Rick.
His lips pulled back into a grin that threatened to split open his face. “Hell, no,” Rick answered.
Did she have to explain everything? “I’m not asking your permission, I’m asking you to leave the office,” Mona told him irritably.
“Silver-tongued as always.” Rick shifted around the side of his desk and crossed to the door. He glanced back at Joe for a split second. “I’d think about this long and hard if I were you, Joe. This is her good side.”
“No, it’s not,” Joe murmured as Rick closed the door behind himself. “I’ve seen the good side,” he continued, his eyes on Mona’s, “and that’s the side that’ll keep me coming back for more.”
The door was closed now. For all intents and purposes, they were alone, although he was aware that Alma, Larry and Rick were all outside, only a few feet away and only marginally pretending not to be looking into the inner office.
“I’m still waiting for an answer, Mona,” he told her softly. Maybe this was too much pressure for her. He relented a little, not wanting to back her into a corner. “If you don’t want to give me one now—”
She didn’t wait for him to finish. “Don’t tell me what I want or don’t want, Joe.”
Rather than comment on what she’d just said, he looked at her for a timeless moment. “I’m afraid, too, Mona.”
Her back went up. To be afraid was to be vulnerable. She refused to appear to be vulnerable. People lost everything that way. The weak had their feelings trampled on. “I didn’t say I was afraid.”
“You didn’t have to,” he answered. He resisted taking her into his arms. First, he was going to say his piece. “It’s there, in your eyes. You’re afraid that if you let your guard down, if you let yourself actually expect something, it’s all going to blow up on you, leaving you with nothing.”
She wanted to deny it, to tell him that he was letting his imagination run away with him. But there was no hiding from the truth.
“Maybe,” Mona allowed with a careless shrug of her shoulder.
Unable to stand back any longer, Joe slipped his hands around her waist, holding her to him. He saw the battle to resist take place in her eyes. She remained where she was.
He was wearing her down, he thought in subdued triumph.
“I’m not going anywhere, Mona,” he promised. “No matter how much you push me away, I’m not going anywhere.”
“You just were,” she pointed out.
His eyes smiled at her. His lips followed. “That was before I knew you loved me.”
Her shoulders stiffened. “I didn’t say that.”
“Yeah, you did,” he contradicted. “I�
��m as afraid as you are for the same reasons that you are,” he assured her. “But if we love each other, then we can make this work.”
Mona pressed her lips together. A single word escaped. “Yes.” She made no effort to rein it in, to explain it away.
Joe was both surprised and pleased. “You’re agreeing with me. This is a special day,” he teased.
Ever contrary—it was a difficult habit to break—she shook her head. “No, I didn’t say yes I agreed with you.”
His head began to hurt. “Was there an instruction manual that came the day you were born?” he asked. “Because if there is one, I’ll do anything to get my hands on it.”
You’ll have to be satisfied with getting your hands on me, she thought, suppressing a grin of her own.
“I said ‘yes’ to your marriage proposal,” she told him. “And there’s no manual,” she went on to inform him. “You’re just going to have to keep learning through hands-on experience.”
Joe’s face lit up like the sky on the Fourth of July. It made him look like the kid he’d been when he first saw her. “I can live with that.”
“You’d better,” she told him, threading her arms around his neck. “For a long, long time.”
“I’ll do my very best,” Joe promised, lowering his mouth to hers.
And in so doing, he opened the door to their very own private paradise.
Neither one of them heard the three people outside the small office applauding, or Larry loudly declaring, “Finally.” They heard nothing because they were lost in their own world and weren’t about to try to find their way back anytime soon.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt of Bet On A Cowboy by Julie Benson!
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Chapter One
“He’s married. I’m beginning to think this season is cursed.” Maggie Sullivan stared at the wedding picture of Rory McAlister, Devlin Designs’ cowboy model, on the Twin Creeks Ranch website. Tall, dark-haired and built like only a real cowboy could be, he’d have been perfect. Now here she was, two weeks from the start of taping for her reality show, Finding Mrs. Right, and they were short one key component—a bachelor.
Samantha, Maggie’s assistant director, turned from her computer monitor. “Who’s married?”
“Rory McAlister. The man we hoped would be this season’s bachelor.”
“Isn’t it Kate’s job to check into that?”
“She’s got the flu, and since we have to sign a new bachelor ASAP, I get to play casting director.” Maggie frowned. What luck. She’d also get to deliver the bad news about Rory to her boss. Right now having the flu sounded pretty good.
When their quarterback bachelor unretired in midseason, the powers that be had decided to capitalize on the current popularity of cowboys, and hoped to sign Devlin Designs’ gorgeous new model as the next bachelor. The man was featured in every popular fashion magazine, and his rugged good looks were a hot conversation topic among women around office watercoolers all over the country. Maggie had been sent to research the idea, which led her to the unfortunate news of his marriage.
Unfortunate for her, that is, not for Rory.
“What’re we going to do now that our prime candidate is off the market?”
“I’m working on plan B even as we speak.” However, all she’d come up with was an actor dressed up as a cowboy, but they needed authenticity. There was something about real cowboys. No one could define it exactly, but everyone knew when it was missing.
Think. She fingered the sterling-silver frame holding the last picture of her and her mother together. What would her mom think of her only daughter, an upstate New York farm girl, working on a reality show in L.A.?
I know it’s not what you would’ve wished for me, Mom, but the job will get me what I want out of life.
“How about a rodeo cowboy?” Samantha asked as she rolled her desk chair across Maggie’s pristinely organized office to join her at her computer.
“The National Finals are two months away. Anyone with a name is gearing up for that.” Maggie rubbed the back of her neck, trying to loosen the tension knot.
When she scrolled further down the ranch’s web page, a picture of the wedding party appeared. Beside Maggie, Samantha sighed and pointed at the screen. “Look at the best man. He’s too good for words.”
Slightly taller than Rory, the man had charisma that leaped off the screen. The tux fit him to perfection, emphasizing his broad shoulders. The sun highlighted the golden tones in his hair.
“He’s definitely what great dreams are made of.” Maggie scanned the copy beside the picture. Hope eternal burst through her. “He’s Rory’s brother, Griffin. Could that be more perfect? We can still capitalize on Rory’s popularity if his brother is our bachelor.” She could see the trailer now: Rory McAlister is off the marriage market, but don’t worry. He has a brother. Tune in every week to Finding Mrs. Right, and meet Griffin McAlister!
She frowned as another thought occurred to her. “How could a man this gorgeous be available?”
Samantha clicked her ruby-red fingernail against the monitor. “Look at the wedding photos. Each one shows him dancing or cuddling with a different woman. No way is that guy in a serious relationship.”
“I have to be sure.”
“Then call him and ask.”
Why not, since plan B stunk and plan C failed to materialize? Maggie clicked on the Contact Us page. “What do I have to lose?”
“Exactly. We can’t be any worse off than we are now.”
“Why don’t I find that comforting?” Maggie took a minute to compose her thoughts and study the Twin Creeks website, discovering the ranch offered horseback riding tours and other tourist activities. She’d lead with what a great opportunity being on the show was, emphasizing how the publicity would bring more visitors to the ranch and increase business. Then she’d tell Griffin how wonderful the bachelorettes were.
With the conversation and her pitch mapped out, she located the ranch’s phone number, picked up her iPhone and dialed. “Cross your fingers.”
Samantha crossed her fingers and held up her hands. Then she crossed her legs. “Extra insurance never hurts.”
A smooth feminine voice answered, throwing Maggie off stride. Calm down. Just because a woman answers the phone doesn’t mean Griffin’s married. She could be Rory’s pretty little wife, or a family member. Barreling forward, Maggie explained she had business to discuss with Griffin, and asked to speak with him. A minute later, she had his cell phone number. Then as an afterthought, she blurted out, “I know this is an odd question, but is Griffin married or engaged?”
Soft laughter floated over the phone lines. “Believe it or not, that’s not an unusual question, and no, he’s not married, or even dating anyone seriously.”
Maggie ended the call. “He’s available.”
“That’s good news,” Samantha said.
She punched in Griffin’s cell number. When he answered, his low sexy voice rippled through her. His voice was as good as his looks.
“Hello, Griffin. I’m Maggie Sullivan, the director on the reality show Finding Mrs. Right. We’re looking for a bachelor this season—”
“I’m not interested.”
“Being on the show would be great publicity—”
“I’ve got horses to see to.” Then he
hung up.
Maggie stared at her phone. Their conversation had gone much better in her head.
“He hung up on me.” She sat there, unsure of how to proceed. “He wouldn’t even let me make the pitch.”
“Call him back.”
“What makes you think the second time will go any better than the first?”
“Divine intervention?” Samantha said, as she pointed upward.
“I think the Lord might be a little busy.” But knowing she couldn’t give up, Maggie called again. This time when Griffin answered, she blurted out, “Don’t hang up. Give me a chance to outline my—”
Click.
Maggie clutched her phone so hard her fingers tingled. “Maybe we don’t want Griffin McAlister on the show. He definitely needs to work on his social skills—he hung up on me again.”
“They say the third time’s the charm,” Samantha said encouragingly.
“The best indication for future behavior is past behavior, and I’m sensing a pattern here.”
“Then email him.”
Maggie shook her head. “He’ll just delete the message without reading it. I need to see Griffin in person. It’ll be harder to dismiss me if I’m standing in front of him.” She tapped her neatly manicured nail against her desk. “I need to develop the right approach, because he won’t give me much time. I have to hook him immediately.”
Samantha grinned and pointed to a photo of Griffin surrounded by women. “I know exactly what will work. Start with showing him the bachelorettes’ photos. That’ll get his attention.”
“Are you sure?” Maggie still believed leading with the publicity for the ranch was best, but what she knew about men could be written on a matchbook cover. Samantha, on the other hand, could write a three-book series and have material left over.
“After seeing him with all those women? Absolutely.”
But before Maggie decided, her cell phone belted out “Defying Gravity.” Glancing at the touch screen revealed the number of the fertility clinic she’d contacted. Once the years started zooming by and her eggs grew older, with no marital prospects on the horizon, Maggie had realized she had two choices—never have children or be a single parent.
A Baby on the Ranch: A Baby on the RanchRamona and the Renegade Page 32
