by Sabrina York
“At a time of my choosing.”
Oh hell. He was even more aggravating than she remembered. “Fine.”
“You agree to my terms?”
She shot him what she hoped was a scorching glare. “Yes.”
“Excellent.” He stood and collected her copy of the agreement and handed it to her and then, to her consternation, followed her out to her car.
She had a little trouble walking on the gravel in her heels. Surely she hadn’t worn them in case she ran into him. Surely she hadn’t remembered how much he loved a woman in heels. She wanted nothing to do with him. Nothing whatsoever.
She hated that the prospect of kissing him made her belly warm, but she knew it was purely physical attraction and nothing more. Because of all the men in the world, Cody Silver was the last man she would want to be with. Any interaction with him was bound to end with her heart shattered in pieces on the floor, and she refused to let that happen to herself ever again.
She was so focused on her determination to avoid becoming entangled with him again that she plowed right into him as he stopped by her car. Her ankle turned and, with a terrifying crack, her heel snapped and she fell.
He caught her.
There wasn’t even a moment to reflect on how good it felt to be held by those strong arms before his mouth came down on hers. Warm, hot, demanding.
You’d think, after ten years of hating him, she would have a modicum of resistance left in reserve. She did not.
To her horror, she found herself instantly sucked into the passion, the delirium of his kiss. God, he tasted good. So good. Her mind stopped working and her body took over.
She fisted her fingers in his hair and held him as he ravaged her mouth, nibbled on her lips, and stroked her body.
It was mortifying that she seemed to have no will whatsoever.
When he lifted his head and grinned at her—an irritating, vexing smirk—a hard ball formed in her belly. He was too damn arrogant for his own good.
“That was nice,” he said.
Nice? Bastard.
She wrenched herself out of his arms and teetered before him. “I hope you enjoyed your kiss.”
“Oh no.” He grinned again. Dimples blossomed on his cheek. “That was not my kiss.”
Heat churned in her belly. “What?”
“That was your kiss.”
Fury raked her. Ripples skittered over her scalp. “What?”
“You’re the one who instigated that kiss.”
“I most certainly did not.”
“You threw yourself at me.”
“You are delusional.”
“Really?” Another smirk. “What was it then?”
She reached down and pulled off her broken shoe and waved it under his nose. “I fell.”
He pursed his lips. “Seriously Sidney? That old chestnut?”
“My. Shoe. Broke.”
“I see that. But I’ve had women sabotage their shoes before . . . so they could fall into my arms.”
Oh. Good. Glory.
He was, without exception, the most self-absorbed, egotistical douche canoe on the planet.
Without a word, she whirled away, hobbled to her car, and tossed the damned shoe into the backseat. And then, without so much as a glare in his direction, she hopped into her Mustang and sped away in a plume of dust.
God help her.
She couldn’t escape from his presence fast enough.
And she couldn’t shake the looming suspicion that she’d just made the biggest mistake of her life, coming to Cody Silver for help.
Chapter Two
Cody was still spinning with the impact of seeing Sidney again, kissing her again, when he pulled into the long drive to his friend Logan’s ranch that night. All the way to Dallas, he’d replayed their conversation, analyzed her every expression, every word, and he’d come to one stunning conclusion.
He wanted Sidney and he would do anything to have her again.
Oh, it was hardly a surprise that he wanted her. He’d never stopped. Of all the women he’d ever known, she was the one who refused to vacate his mind. It was the he would do anything to have her again part that surprised him. All his life, women had fallen at his feet. If one relationship didn’t work out, he just moved onto the next.
Sure, he felt a little shallow at the realization that he didn’t see the need to work on a relationship, but honestly, he’d never met a woman who inspired him to try.
Except her.
Then again, maybe all those other relationships hadn’t worked out because the woman wasn’t her.
Yeah. It had to be her fault.
Or, if he was being totally honest with himself—which he usually tried to avoid—maybe his feelings for her were spurred on by the blinding fact that she was his one that got away.
Was it any great shock that he wanted another chance? To get her out of his system?
Something swelled in the region of his heart at the thought and he had the mind-boggling brain fart that maybe, if he did have another chance with her, they could make it work. That this could be a forever thing.
He pushed that irrational delusion away.
This was Sidney Stevens. The most difficult woman on the planet. Everyone knew how difficult she was. Stubborn, intractable, and ferocious when crossed. Hell, she was just plain ferocious. Like a lioness on the hunt. A sexy, slinky, fierce, redheaded lioness.
He’d be lucky to get the kiss she promised him, much less a one-night stand.
But by God, he’d try.
And Hanna’s party was the perfect opportunity. They’d be in close proximity. They’d have to work together. They had a secret mission. It seemed as though all the stars had aligned.
On that note, he was pleased to see the cars parked in front of Logan’s ranch house. All his friends were here. Ben, Brandon, and Rafe, who were Logan’s step-brothers, and Ford, who ironically was Cody’s neighbor in Snake Gully.
Five options for Hanna’s hunk.
Theoretically, Ford was out of the running, because he’d recently started darting Crystal Wilson, but hey, they weren’t married yet so it wouldn’t hurt to test the waters.
He had to be careful, sly perhaps, because if he just came out and told his friends he wanted them to attend a party to seduce a random woman so Cody had a better chance of getting laid, they’d probably run in the opposite direction.
A guy had to be subtle with some things.
Logan Landry welcomed him at the door, and Cody studied him in a way he never had before. Logan was his buddy. They’d been friends since elementary school. He’d never actually considered him as a hunk before. But he was, Cody supposed. He was tall, dark, and handsome. Rugged even. He’d left Snake Gully in high school, and his mom had subsequently met and married Sam Wilder, bringing Rafe, Ben, and his twin brother, Brandon, into the family. Together the clan now owned one of the biggest Tex Mex restaurant franchises in the Southwest.
Cody’s gaze flicked from friend to friend as they all welcomed him with laughs and jests. Damn it. Why hadn’t he asked Sidney more questions about what kind of man Hanna might find attractive? It would have helped immensely in his decision-making process.
While Logan and Ford were tall and dark, the Wilder brothers ranged from sandy brown to blond. Rafe’s hair was streaked with highlights that everyone knew came not from a bottle, but from his many hours out riding the land. They were all tan, which was a good thing, because surely all women loved tan men.
Didn’t they?
Damn it. This was going to be harder than he thought.
Logan handed him a beer and led him to the table, which was set up for poker. “Took you long enough to get here,” he said.
Cody grinned. “I had business.”
“Business?” Rafe asked, deftly shuffling and dealing the c
ards. Cody watched his friend’s fingers at work. They were fine fingers, as fingers went. Did women ever look at fingers when they were trying to decide if a man was sexy? He had no idea. But in addition to those long, dexterous fingers, Rafe had very muscular biceps that rippled with his movements.
Cody knew for sure women looked at biceps.
He fixed his gaze on Rafe’s face and studied his features. Yeah, he was very attractive. Rafe would probably do.
“What are you looking at?” the object of his attention muttered.
“Huh?”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Cody took a swig of his beer. You know, to give himself a moment. “No reason.”
“Well, quit it.”
“Okay.” He shifted his attention to Ben and Brandon. Even though they were identical twins, Cody knew them well enough to tell them apart . . . unless they dressed alike. Brandon was the mischievous one, and Ben was far more serious.
Damn. One more thing he didn’t know about Hanna.
Although she’d been pretty quiet in high school. Reserved even. Maybe Ben would be a better fit for her?
Ben frowned at him. “Dude.”
Cody blinked. “What?”
“You’re staring at me like a hungry man looking at a banquet.”
“I, ah, am a little hungry.”
Logan pushed a bowl of peanuts across the table. “Shall we play?”
“Sure.” But seriously. Logan was handsome too. And he was funny and solemn at the same time. And really successful. He’d be able to take care of Hanna financially and, if rumors were true, probably in the bedroom too . . .
“What the hell is going on?” Logan bellowed.
Cody looked innocently around the table. “What?”
They all glared at him. He had no idea why.
“What is wrong with you?” Brandon fixed him with a bemused glance.
Ford narrowed his eyes. “You’re leering at us.”
“I’m not leering.”
“You are,” Ben said.
And at the same time, Brandon snapped, “Stop it.”
Sometimes twins were so annoying.
Cody focused on his cards. He wished he hadn’t. They sucked. “Shall we play or what?” he asked in a hoity-toity tone.
“Fine,” said Ford.
“Fine,” said Logan.
“Fine,” the Wilder brothers all said in tandem.
“Fine.” It was probably redundant for him to reiterate, but he did.
He lost that hand, and the next, but he didn’t mind, because the guys started talking about women, and Cody thought perhaps that was a good way to test their preferences. If he was going to procure a hunk for Hanna, he certainly wanted him to be a guy who was into her.
So when the conversation turned to redheads, he had to chime in. Then again, he was the one to bring it up. “Any of you like redheads?” he asked apropos of nothing.
Fortunately, only Ford pinned him with a curious glance.
“Everyone likes redheads,” Ben said, and Brandon nodded.
Rafe shrugged. “I’m not particular, but I probably wouldn’t kick her out of bed.”
Promising.
“You have a preference for redheads, don’t you Logan?” Ford said with a wink.
A red tide crept up Logan’s cheeks. “Just the one.” This he murmured, but Cody heard. And, all of a sudden, a dim memory flashed through his mind. Oh it was dim, but it sent a brilliant blaze of inspiration through him.
High school had been ten long years ago and, if he was being honest, Cody had been utterly self-absorbed back then, but now that he thought about it, he remembered Logan—who’d been a skinny kid back then, a high school nobody—had had a crush on one of the cheerleaders . . . none other than Hanna Stevens.
Suddenly Cody was filled with certitude. Logan was his choice. Logan would be the man he would inveigle to seduce Hanna. He was pretty sure his friend wouldn’t mind in the least.
***
It took most of the evening and way too much self-discipline to bait his trap, but the result was a resounding success. A sharp shard of satisfaction skewered Cody as Logan fell and fell hard.
Needless to say, Logan was not amused with the way things played out.
“What the hell?” Logan glowered at him. “You want me to work at your ranch?”
“Just one weekend.”
“You want me to work at your ranch?”
Cody waved at the cards. “You did lose the hand.”
“Right, but I thought you’d want me to wash your truck, or give you a free meal at the restaurant.”
“I said a favor.” Cody shot a look around the table. “You all agreed.”
“We only agreed to play for favors because you were broke,” Logan snapped.
Yeah, pretending to lose was half the fun of sharking someone.
“You’re the one who suggested playing for favors, Logan,” Ben said with a grin. Probably because he hadn’t lost.
“You did agree to the terms.” Rafe smirked as he collected the cards.
Logan scowled at Cody. “I’m too busy to spend a weekend at your . . . love ranch.”
“It’s not a love ranch.”
“What is it then?” Ben asked with a chuckle.
“It’s a B&B.”
“Right.” Ford snorted.
“A B&B with strippers,” Logan warbled.
Cody affected an outraged frown. “It’s a working ranch as well.”
They all ignored him.
“Oh, you should make him dance,” Brandon said with a glint in his eye.
“I’m not dancing.”
“Make him dress up as a gladiator or some shit.” It was hard to say which of the twins was more evil.
“I am not dressing up as a gladiator.”
“Right.” Rafe nodded. His expression was somber. “Cupid.”
Logan’s face went a strange shade of purple. “Cupid?”
“You know. Diapers and everything.”
“No. Just no.”
Cody sensed he was about to lose his best prospect, so he decided to step in, even though he was enjoying Logan’s discomfort. “Just come and work at the ranch. That’s it. No costumes or anything.”
“Not even a G-string?” Ben asked, pouting. “Because I would pay to see that shit.”
Logan glowered at Ben and then eyed Cody warily. “What’s the catch?”
It took some effort, but Cody managed to look innocent. “No catch.”
“I don’t know. This feels . . . hinkey.” He pinned Cody with a suspicious frown.
It took some effort, but Cody managed to look as innocent as he could. “No. Not at all.”
“You swear? You swear you don’t have some heinous plot in the works?”
“Who, me?” From the snorts rounding the table, you’d think none of them trusted him at all. “I swear. Nothing heinous.”
“Well, hell.”
Rafe chuckled. “You did lose the hand.”
“Well, hell.”
And then, Cody knew he could relax. Because once he gave his word, Logan always kept it.
He knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, he had his man.
Sidney would have to be pleased with Logan.
And if Sidney was pleased, he was more likely to get what he wanted from her.
Finally. After all this time.
It was a thrilling prospect.
***
“You did what?” Hanna gaped at her.
Sidney lifted her soda and took a long draw from the straw. “I booked your bachelorette party.”
“Yeah. I heard that part. It was the other bit that makes my brain hurt.”
“What? Why?”
“The Stud Ranc
h?”
Tension rippled between them. Though Sidney loved her sister, she couldn’t ignore the friction between them when they were together. It was probably due to the fact that Hanna was so perfect and Sidney . . . wasn’t.
For some people, life was so freaking easy. Hanna had lived a charmed existence. She was talented and beautiful and skinny. People loved her.
Sidney had no appreciable skills, she had to fight to maintain her weight, and even friendships were a challenge for her, because of an inbred wariness of people she just couldn’t shake. It took her a long time to warm up to someone, whereas Hanna was their best friend within minutes of meeting.
She’d never been as pretty as Hanna. Never as smart as Hanna. Never as cooperative as Hanna.
Nothing had been easy for Sidney. Nothing.
She should be used to it by now, but somehow, it still gnawed at her soul.
“Mmm?” she murmured, avoiding Hanna’s horror-stricken expression.
“You booked my bachelorette party at the Stud Ranch?”
Sidney shrugged. “It’s the only place, really.”
Hanna’s lips worked. “What about the Moose Lodge?”
“The Moose Lodge?” Sidney wrinkled her nose. “It smells like old man farts.”
“Be respectful. Dad’s a Moose.”
“I’m being honest.” And Dad was one of the worst fart-offenders. He ate way too much chili . . . to the point it was dangerous to light the fire at the house in the winter.
“What about the church annex?” Hanna asked.
“How much fun would that be?”
Hanna sighed. “It’s not supposed to be fun. It’s a bachelorette party.”
Oh, how sad. Did she even hear herself?
“What will Zack say when he finds out?”
Hell. The bastard was already conscribing Hanna’s life. How creepy was that? “Um . . .” Sidney stared up at the curling tiles on the ceiling of Bubba’s Bar and Grill. “How about it’s not his decision?”
“He’s my fiancé.”
“But I am the maid of honor. It’s my choice.”
Apparently Hanna had no response to that, but it hardly mattered, because just then, their friend Porsche blew into the restaurant.
Porsche did that. Blew into rooms. She was a force of nature. She spotted Sidney and Hanna and waved as she rushed over. “Oh my God, Sidney,” she said, forcing Sidney into a hug. “I didn’t know you were in town.”
