The Cowboy’s Mail Order Bride (BBW Romance - Billionaire Brothers 5)

by Jenn Roseton

  Pushing away her empty glass, Sophie glanced at her watch. Three minutes to go. Threading her way out of the café, she picked up her suitcase at the desk and waited in the lobby. She had a good view through the large window of cars arriving and departing. With a smile of amusement, she wondered if Mitch would be late picking her up. Somehow, she thought he might be surprised that she was ready on time.

  Forty-six minutes after he dropped her off at the inn, she saw his gray SUV sweep into the driveway. She headed out to meet him, her breath catching as he exited the vehicle and opened the trunk.

  He took the suitcase from her, lifting it easily. “Right on time.” His tone sounded approving.

  “Actually,” she said, a teasing note in her voice as she made a show of checking her watch, “you’re a minute late.”

  His eyes crinkled at the corners. “You’ve got me.” He smiled. “That’s because it took me an extra minute to find some girlie coffee for you.”

  She told herself not to melt, but her heart ignored her.

  Once she was safely buckled up, Mitch took off. She couldn’t help sneaking surreptitious glances at him during the drive home. She looked down at her outfit, wondering if he’d even noticed she’d changed, or if he didn’t pay attention to what she wore. She couldn’t help checking him out every morning, especially when she could see how well his jeans fitted him, and when he wore a T-shirt, like today.

  Just peeking at those tanned biceps made her wonder what it would be like to touch them, and her mouth watered. Just because he’s nice to you doesn’t mean he’s interested in you romantically.

  Sophie tried to heed that small voice of reason for the rest of the journey, but it was hard to keep her mind off Mitch. Finally, she was able to think about finishing her plant research. If she concentrated, she could probably be done by tonight.

  Her stomach growled, just as they approached the gates to the ranch. Although she’d enjoyed her latte at the inn, it was definitely lunchtime. She sneaked a look at Mitch, hoping he hadn’t heard the rumble of her stomach.

  Once Mitch parked, he got out and opened the trunk. She followed him, her eyes widening when she saw all the bags of groceries.

  His eyes tracked her gaze. “This should last us for a while.” He smiled in satisfaction.

  She nodded, suddenly feeling guilty at the thought of him having to buy extra groceries because he’d invited - insisted - she stay with him for the rest of the job.

  “You must let me pay half.”

  “I’ve got this.” He waved away her offer.

  “But--” She frowned.

  “I can afford to feed us. Don’t worry about it.” His tone didn’t invite argument.

  Looking at the implacable expression on his face, she ended up nodding in acquiescence. She didn’t think she ate a lot really, apart from her tendency to indulge in a daily latte. It was just that somehow her body didn’t burn up calories as quickly as skinny girls.

  Resolving to ensure she gave him a dream garden, Sophie helped him carry in the groceries.

  Once they were finished, he hefted her suitcase to the guest cottage.

  “Lunch?” He looked at her enquiringly.

  Her stomach lurched, reminding her it was a long time since breakfast.

  “That would be great.” The understatement of the year.

  Mitch served up hearty ham sandwiches on fresh, crusty bread, followed by ripe strawberries grown in California. Sophie couldn’t help smiling at that fact as she popped a plump, juicy berry into her mouth.

  “Coffee?” He held up a fancy looking jar.

  She peered at the label, the words “notes”, “caramel” and “hazelnut” dancing before her eyes. Although she’d already had one coffee this morning, it would only be polite to have another now, especially since Mitch had bought the coffee just for her.

  “I’ll make it.” Not wanting to risk the possibility it would end up undrinkable like his percolator brew, she took the jar from him, noting that his thumb had almost touched hers. “Would you like some?”

  He shook his head and pretended to shudder. “No thanks.”

  Almost giggling at his expression of mock-horror, she stepped into the small kitchen and heated some water. Mitch had already switched on the percolator when they’d arrived home and the contents of the pot looked as thick and sludgy as ever.

  Taking down two mugs from the shelf, she called out, “Do you want some of your coffee from the pot?”

  She suddenly felt his body heat behind her. If she took one tiny step back, she’d bump into him. Inhaling unsteadily, she wondered if at the end of the three weeks his presence would still affect her like this.

  You know it will.

  “I’ll get it.” His voice was close to her ear.

  Her eyelids fluttered shut, his warm, clean breath tickling her inner ear. This close, she could smell his scent of warm, clean hay. The refrigerator suddenly hummed into life, and the sensual moment was broken. He took a couple of steps away from her and poured himself a cup of coffee.

  Sophie concentrated on making her own beverage. She stared blindly at the instructions on the fancy jar, not able to take them in properly until she sensed Mitch had left the kitchen. Only then was she able to pour the boiling water with a steady hand into her cup, and stir the instant granules without her fingers trembling. It was then she noticed Mitch had bought cream and left it out on the counter for her.

  She joined him at the kitchen table, the enticing aroma of her coffee teasing her senses. Taking a small sip, she savored the delicate taste, Mitch’s thoughtfulness at buying it for her also playing a part in her enjoyment.

  “Good?”

  “Mm.” She wrapped her hands around the mug. “Thank you.”

  “Welcome.”

  His dark brown eyes snared hers. She couldn’t look away. Refused to look away. The coffee forgotten, she allowed her attraction to him to sweep over her, causing her breath to hitch. Excitement rippled through her as the moment stretched.

  The air simmered with heightening sexual tension. She watched Mitch’s hand unfurl from his mug and begin to reach across the table to her, until he suddenly wrenched it back to his side of the table and stood.

  “Guess I better get to work.”

  Disappointment trickled through her at his rebuff. She busied herself by switching on her laptop, determined to put it out of her mind.

  What did you expect to happen?

  Sighing inwardly, Sophie looked at the notes she’d made during the drive this morning, determined to push Mitch’s confusing behavior to the back of her mind - for now.

  But however much she tried to concentrate on her research, she couldn’t help puzzling over his hot and cold behavior toward her.

  First he kissed her, then practically commanded her to stay in the guest cottage for the rest of the job, bought her a fancy brand of instant coffee, but backed away when it looked like they were going to share a romantic moment - even if it was just touching her hand across the table.

  Telling herself to focus on the project, she worked diligently all afternoon. Finally, she stretched, and printed out a list of the plants she’d decided would do well in Mitch’s garden, as well as the design he’d approved. Now all that remained was getting him to choose which plants he wanted, and start the actual garden work.

  “Got a minute?” Sophie glanced over at him. He stared at his computer screen, his hands resting on the keyboard.

  “What’s up?” He turned to meet her gaze. His expression didn’t give anything away.

  “I’ve finished my research.” She couldn’t help smiling. “Could you pick which plants you’d like?” She picked up the plant list and walked over to his desk.

  “Sure.” He saved whatever he was working on so all she could see was a blank screen. Taking the paper from her, he scanned it.

  She stared down at his hand holding the list, noticing how strong his fingers looked and resisted the urge to reach out and touch them. .

>   “Where is this plant going?” His finger jabbed at the first name on the list.

  “Oh, that will be in the right and left corners. Let me show you.” Mentally kicking herself for not bringing the sketch of the design over to his desk as well, she grabbed it from the table. “See?” She stood on his right, almost over his shoulder. “The Sand Cherry will go here and here.” Pointing to the areas on the design, her pulse fluttered at his nearness, and she took a fraction of a step back. Keep your mind on the job!

  “What about the Western Mock Orange?”

  “That will go in the front border here.” She had to lean over a little to tap her finger on the drawn-in flower border.

  Mitch remained silent for a moment. “Do you think that will work?”

  “Definitely.” She hovered over his shoulder. “They’ll both attract the birds, bees, butterflies and beneficial insects. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah.” He continued to look over the list of plants she’d suggested, as well as the design.

  After a few more minutes of Mitch asking questions about the plants on the list and Sophie answering them competently, she hoped - it was hard to keep her mind totally on the job when he was so close to her she could just reach out and run her fingers along the nape of his neck - he finally seemed satisfied, and checked off the plants he wanted.

  “Thanks.” She took the list from him. “Now all I have to do is buy the plants and start hiring sub-contractors to do the heavy work.”

  “Why can’t you do it?” He looked panicked.

  “There’s a lot of digging involved,” she said doubtfully. Although she’d helped Janet, her boss, on jobs where the hired workers had failed to turn up, most of the cumbersome tasks had already been done. She didn’t think she’d physically be able to do some of the heavy work required, although she’d been planning on hiring a rototiller.

  “I don’t want any strangers around here. They'll distract me.” He glowered.

  Warmth flickered through her. So he didn’t regard her as a stranger now?

  “It will take longer if I do it all myself,” she told him, deciding to be honest. “And I haven’t had much actual experience doing the physical work to make over a garden.” She held her breath, waiting for his answer.

  “But I want you.” His eyes were fierce.

  CHAPTER 6

  He looked at her intently, willing her to agree.

  “Okay,” she said. “I’ll ring my boss and explain the situation.”

  He watched her dig out her cell phone from her purse on the table. After she punched some buttons on the small pink phone, an indecisive expression crossed her cute features.

  “Maybe I should go outside.” She hurried out the back door.

  Mitch swiveled around in his chair, observing her walk past the window and start to talk into the phone, although he couldn’t read her lips. Damn.

  There was no way he was going to put up with anyone else disturbing his peace and quiet. And he especially didn’t want competition from muscled outdoors hotshots. He wanted Sophie. Like no one else.

  He felt like he’d just been punched in the gut, as he finally admitted his feelings to himself. He’d been attracted to her from the start, but when she’d mentioned hiring workers to do the outside stuff, he knew he couldn’t allow her to do that.

  Not only would it throw his writing schedule off, but - and, he admitted to himself, this was the main reason - what if Sophie became attracted to one of them?

  He wanted her to be attracted to him.

  Judging by the kiss a couple of days ago, maybe she already was. She kissed like an angel. And then he’d stuffed things up today losing his nerve at lunch, when all he had to do was reach out and touch her hand.

  Why had he been so stupid?

  He grimaced. The answer was obvious. Kim, his ex from a few years ago. She was the reason he didn’t have much to do with women any more.

  But that was going to change. Had to change. Because he wanted Sophie in his life.

  A smile crinkled the corners of his mouth. It had been pretty smart to tell her there was no Wi-Fi in the cottage, so she’d had to work in the same room as him if she needed the Internet for her plant research.

  Although - his body tightened at the memory - it had become pretty painful - literally - to have her standing close to him like that, while she showed him the list of plants and the design. He’d breathed in her lilac scent and hoped like hell she hadn’t noticed his reaction to her nearness.

  He’d never been this attracted to a woman before - not even Kim. And that girl had crushed his heart, and would have crushed his dreams too, if he’d let her.

  Sophie was different. He knew it. Clenching his teeth, he admitted to himself she had to be different. Because if she wasn’t, he didn’t think his heart would recover - ever.

  ***

  Sophie finished talking to her boss and ended the call, the late afternoon sun warming her face. Janet had agreed to her staying an extra week, telling her she’d hire a temp for the office in San Diego for that last week. Alex Trask had paid generously for their services, and the business account was now unusually flush.

  Sophie had been pleased Mitch had asked her to stay longer, but would she really be able to create the garden in that amount of time on her own? Janet had told her to hire whatever equipment she needed in order to get the job done, and had even suggested she ask Mitch to help her with anything that was a two person job.

  “After all,” her boss’s voice carried clearly through the phone, “he’s the one who wants you to do this all on your own. It might do him good to see exactly what’s involved in redesigning a garden, even if he is the client.”

  The last thing Sophie wanted to do was injure herself by lifting something too heavy, but how would Mitch react if she asked him to help? She’d be cutting into his writing time, and he’d made it clear, in actions and words, that he didn’t like his work time being interrupted.

  But he hadn’t complained about going into town that morning to do the grocery shopping and then picking her up from the inn.

  Although she empathized about his work, it might help him to have a little break sometimes, especially if she needed his assistance with a particular task.

  Entering the kitchen, Sophie put her phone away. “It’s all settled,” she called out, turning toward his desk.

  “Good.” Relief flickered across his countenance.

  “I can stay an extra week.”

  “Is that all?” He narrowed his eyes, as if disbelieving what he’d just heard.

  “My boss says I should be able to get it all done by then. She’s seen the design.” She’d emailed Janet a copy of the design once Mitch had approved it. Her boss’s praise today at how well she was handling the job rang in her ears.

  “What about buying all the plants? What if some of them are hard to get?”

  Sophie crinkled her brow. “Most of them at least should be readily available, but I guess I could find substitutes if I can’t get hold of all the plants on the list.”

  “But what if I don’t want substitutes?” He frowned.

  Oh dear. Mitch had seemed pleased about her staying longer, but now …

  She bit her lip. “I suppose we’ll have a discussion if that happens.”

  Gazing at him, she wondered why he was suddenly being difficult. Unless … she told herself to dismiss the sudden thought, but it was impossible. What if Mitch wanted her to stay longer than an extra week?

  But that would be crazy.

  Would it?

  Hoping her cheeks hadn’t turned pink from her fantastic thought, she looked at him. Really looked at him. His face had softened a little at her last comment, and she thought once again how attractive he was.

  Her insides practically melted every time she saw him. But it wasn’t only his dark brown hair, molten brown eyes, strong jaw and straight nose that intrigued her, it was also his air of self-sufficiency, complete independence, that attra
cted her.

  Yes, he could be gruff and grumpy at times, but sometimes she wondered if some of it was an act. Because he could be kind and thoughtful as well - he’d insisted she stay in the guest cottage the first day she’d arrived because the weather had been too dreadful to drive back to Elk View Corner, he’d cooked for her, and bought a fancy jar of coffee just for her use. He’d refused to let her pay for her share of the groceries, and when he’d seen how tired she’d been from the daily commute from Elk View to here, he’d once again insisted she stay in the guest cottage.

  “All right.” His voice broke the silence.

  Lost in her thoughts, she’d blinked, mentally going over the conversation in her head.

  She smiled when she realized he was being reasonable. “I should get started hunting down those plants. I’ll also need to hire a rototiller.”

  “There might be something in the barn you could use.” He furrowed his brow. “Some stuff was in there when I bought the place but I haven’t checked it out properly.”

  “That would be great.” It would be a relief if she didn’t have to make arrangements to hire equipment. Although that task was part of her job in San Diego, her boss had told her which firms to use. If she had to hire equipment here, she’d have to find the right businesses first and then make arrangements to rent what she needed.

  “I’ll show you.” He stood, heading for the back door. “Come on.”

  She followed him to the barn, noticing he slowed his stride when he realized she lagged behind. With the best will in the world, she just couldn’t keep up with him when he loped.

  Halfway there, she managed to catch up with him. “It would be great if you had everything I need,” she said, hoping he hadn’t noticed she was a little out of breath.

  “Yeah, it would.” He turned to look down at her, and her insides quivered.

  Not looking where she was going, she tripped over a stone on the uneven ground. “Oh!”