The Big Girl's Guide to Buying Lingerie: A Cowboy Love Story (Bluebonnet, Texas Book 4)

by Amie Stuart

  Allan’s smirk disappeared when Rowdy chuckled.

  “Don’t talk to her,” Rowdy growled before he could speak. Only an idiot would miss the warning in his voice. The same warning growl he’d used earlier with Nicky. I got all warm and fuzzy again.

  Allan’s scowl turned cool and assessing as he focused his attention fully on Rowdy.

  “You’re not worthy, you fucking bottom feeder.”

  I nearly choked on my heart at Rowdy’s hot menacing tone.

  “I will talk to whomever I please.” Allan’s voice held the same tone I heard so often in my mother’s. The divine right of the rich and powerful. Or in this case, a rich, spoiled man.

  “How many lawyer jokes are there?” I did my best to control the internal tremors left over from my run-in with HH.

  “Not enough,” Nicky replied. “Waiter!”

  I smirked at Allan as Nicky appeared on Rowdy’s other side.

  The overlarge and nearly full dining room had gone suspiciously quiet as two waiters, a college student and an older man with a touch of gray at his temples, slowly approached. There were probably few people present who didn’t know my history with Allan.

  “You’re not even fit to look at her. You ever look at her, you ever talk to her again, and I’ll rip you to shreds.” As he spoke, Rowdy moved closer and closer, until the only way Allan could get away was to back up.

  “Is there a problem?” one of the waiters softly asked.

  “He’s interrupted our dinner,” Nicky announced in a tone that would have made HH proud.

  “I’m going. I’m going. But before I do, let me just say I hope you have a good job. Because liposuction is expensive and she’ll need plenty. I always knew she’d end up big as a house.”

  He turned away, Rowdy tapped him on the shoulder, and I flinched and squealed as Rowdy’s fist landed a blow that laid Allan out on the floor.

  Rowdy mouthed an “I’m sorry” while shaking the sting out of his fist.

  “Blood will out,” my mother snidely quipped, her eyes on me. The war truly would never end.

  “Oh, hush up!”

  “I told you, ma’am. I protect my girls. Dr. and Judge Ballard, I think we’ll be going now,” he said, scooting in his chair. I lifted my purse from where I’d hung it on the back of mine.

  “Nonsense, sit!” Daddy insisted, standing and motioning to Rowdy’s chair and mine.

  Rowdy and I looked at each other and nodded simultaneously.

  “Yeah,” Nicky added. “I’d like to hear about this family reunion. Any single women?”

  I could have kissed my daddy. And Nicky, too.

  “I’m sure Rowdy doesn’t want you dating his elderly in-laws,” Wayne spoke up for the first time in a while, and as usual, his wit fell short of its mark.

  “You’re more than welcome to come.” Rowdy pulled out my chair and I sat while he resigned us to purgatory. “Between the family and friends, I’m sure we’ll find you a good ole girl to hook up with.”

  I smothered a giggle at the sound of my mother choking on her tongue and picked at my rapidly cooling dinner. The visual of HH on the Boudreaux ranch nearly did me in. Lucky for her, our engagement was a fraud. That thought sobered me rather quickly. He loved me, and that was enough for now.

  The rest of our meal passed quietly, thank God, if not comfortably. Her Honorable retired to the bar with Wayne and Emerald for an after dinner drink, while Daddy and Nicky walked Rowdy and I outside. I held onto Nicky’s arm while Daddy and Rowdy walked ahead of us, Rowdy giving him directions to Bluebonnet.

  At my car, Daddy hugged and kissed me. “If nothing else, you very well could see Nicky and I this weekend. I’d like to meet your future in-laws. They sound like quite a bunch.”

  Guilt burned my gut. Hell!

  “We’ll look forward to seeing you, sir.”

  WE BOTH STAYED quiet until I hit I-35 and we were headed south again. “Rowdy?” I traced my fingers down his arm to his hand and wrapped them in his.

  “Hmmm?”

  “That was the other reason you went to see your mom, wasn’t it? Because he had you arrested?”

  A few miles passed before he finally spoke. “I thought he was gonna kill her,” Rowdy said softly.

  “So you stepped in, tried to protect your mom?” Protecting his mother would have been such a Rowdy thing to do. I eased up on the gas and set the cruise control at sixty-five. “And then she left you.”

  “Yeah,” he softly growled, his thumb gently stroking mine. “I knew if I went to get the ring, I couldn’t leave without asking her why. So I did, and she said she was ashamed. For not being a better mother. And all this time I thought...she blamed me.”

  No wonder his lunch with his mother had meant so much and been so hard. Emotionally, I was exhausted. Today had been...educational to say the least, and we still had tomorrow to get through. I slowly blew out a heavy breath. “Why did you invite my dad when your family knows we’re not engaged.”

  “I like your dad.” He sighed and I felt his eyes on me.

  I chuckled and squeezed his fingers. “We’re quite a pair, huh?”

  “We make a pretty good team.”

  And he loved me. The rest of the drive passed in relative silence. A comfortable warm silence, with us holding hands nearly the entire trip and Rowdy serenading me along with the stereo. No man had ever sung to me. I found myself aroused in a way I’d never been before. I wanted to pull the car over onto the side of the highway and neck with him. I felt all achy and warm, as if I were drowning. I was in heat. A cat. I practically purred every time he touched me.

  “You staying the night?” I asked as I pulled into my driveway and the garage door slowly rose.

  Despite the evening’s...revelations...I was still hesitant about pushing too hard.

  “I’d like that,” he drawled, his voice low and husky.

  “What time do we have to be at the Boudreauxe’s?” I eased the car into the garage and killed the engine.

  “Whenever.” There was no hiding the gruffness of his voice in the sudden silence of the car. I recognized it as almost the same gruff tone he’d had when he returned from Baytown with the ring. “Some time late morning.”

  I unsnapped my seat belt and turned to face him. “You’ve been awful quiet.”

  “So have you.” He unsnapped his and leaned toward me, his fingers gently tracing my hairline and tucking my hair behind my ear.

  “Rowdy Yates, what am I gonna do with you?”

  “Just love me. That’s all I’ve ever wanted,” he whispered against my lips.

  “I do. You know I do.” I flicked my tongue out and licked his lips, inhaling deeply. I wanted to memorize his cologne and the musky male scent that was all Rowdy.

  “Jade,” he hissed against my lips, opening his mouth under mine. I moaned at the feel of his smooth tongue sliding against mine. The kiss was surprisingly gentle and seductively erotic, light but deep. No teeth, no expressions of deep hunger, just a soft exploration that left me wanting so much more. That same warm wanting feeling I’d had all the way home. Only more intense.

  “Race you inside.”

  I chuckled against his lips and opened my car door. The light and the door’s dinging motivated me—us—to head inside, through the darkened townhouse and upstairs.

  By the time I reached the top of the stairs, I was out of breath and barely able to walk from laughing so hard. Rowdy had pinched my bottom, teased me and goosed me all the way up the stairs. I was lucky I hadn’t twisted an ankle in my heels.

  I stopped just inside the bedroom door and shook my finger at him, gasping for air. “Paybacks are a bitch.”

  He caught my index finger in his hand and walked me backward toward the bed. “What are you gonna do, little Skye Baby?” he panted, his blue eyes full of laughter and challenge.

  Rowdy’s eyes locked with mine as he drew my finger in his mouth. His warm rough tongue heated me inside and out. The laughter on his face disappeared, replac
ed with something dark and hot. I pulled my finger free and replaced it with my lips.

  “I wanna make love to you,” I whispered against his mouth.

  “Co’mere.” He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me tight against him.

  “Huh?” I whispered against his lips.

  “We want the same thing.”

  “NERVOUS?” ROWDY asked as he turned into the private road leading to the Boudreaux ranch.

  “No. Should I be? It’s not like meeting my mom.”

  Rowdy chuckled. “If anything, Liv’ll question you to death, and, of course, Maggie’ll feed ya till you burst. Which would make our engagement null and void, I suppose.”

  I giggled as he pulled in Tim’s driveway and parked. “We never did figure out what to do about that.”

  “About what?”

  “The...uh engagement? Hello!”

  “You know I love you—”

  “Hush.” I reached out and squeezed his hand that rested on the gear shift. I certainly didn’t want him to feel like he had to propose just because he’d said he loved me. “I can deal. And for the record, I know marriage to you would be the best thing I ever did, but we don’t have to make this decision right now, Rowdy. It’s the lying that bothers me.” But there was no doubt in my mind that Rowdy was my soul mate, the man I would spend the rest of my life laughing and loving and probably arguing with.

  He patted the console, inviting me to sit beside him, but a knock on the Bronco’s back window interrupted us. We both sighed and laughed as he rolled down the window and greeted Tim. Rowdy’s family’s interference was nothing like Her Honorable’s.

  “Liv’s askin’ for you two. Someone told her y’all were here.”

  “We were talking,” Rowdy growled.

  “It’s all right.” I squeezed his shoulder and smiled at Tim. “We can finish this later.”

  We both climbed out, and Rowdy grabbed the fruit salad from the back seat. At the crack of dawn, he’d begged me to make it, then dragged me back to bed and made love to me again to say thank you.

  Tim took the oversized ceramic bowl from him, stuck his finger under the plastic wrap and scooped up a finger full. “Damn girl, that’s some good shit,” he said, licking any remains off his lips.

  “It’s not shit, it’s fruit salad.” I wrapped an arm around Rowdy’s waist and stuck my nose in the air while they both laughed.

  “Alright, fine. I’ll take this inside. Liv’s around back.” Tim took off for the Boudreauxe's front door.

  Before we’d taken two steps, Rowdy came to a screeching halt in the middle of the dirt road.

  “What’s the matter?” I frowned up at him, worried he’d been hit with a sudden attack of nerves and decided to turn chicken.

  “My guitar.” He pulled his keys from his pocket and got his acoustic guitar from the back of the truck. “I promised Liv.”

  Hand in hand we crossed the road and circled around to the back of the house.

  “We never did finish our talk,” I said softly. The yard was full of people. More than I could ever hope to keep straight. And at one end, they’d erected a small stage complete with a tarp awning for shade.

  “You worry too much, woman.” Rowdy never stopped, just continued to thread his way through the crowded back yard a step ahead of me, my hand safely tucked in his.

  “Woman?” Before I could tell him how much I didn’t appreciate being called woman, Rowdy turned around. And before I could crash into him, he snaked an arm around my waist and pulled me near. He smiled down at me over the edge of his sunglasses.

  “Relax, Skyebaby. I got it covered.”

  JUST LOVE ME

  IF NOT FOR HIS brother, Rowdy could have introduced Jade to Liv as his real fiancé. And wouldn’t Susie just have a fit. He couldn’t hold back a grin. Jade had no idea what she was in for. He wound his way through the crowd, greeting old friends and family—tons and tons of family. If Jade's dad wanted kids to practice being a granddaddy to, this was the place.

  “Kei?” He pulled Jade to a halt in front of Keilana Boudreaux, Zander’s wife.

  “Rowdy!” She threw an arm around his neck, forcing him to drop Jade's hand and his guitar. He kissed and hugged her, then lifted two-year-old Darrach from her arms.

  “How was Hawaii?” he asked.

  “Fantastic.”

  “Mind if I borrow him?” Rowdy asked, motioning to Darrach.

  “Only if you introduce me.” She smiled and nodded in Jade's direction while Darrach wrapped his arms around Rowdy’s neck and smiled at him. With his daddy’s blue eyes and his momma’s dark curls, Darrach was a lady-killer in the making. Rowdy blew raspberries on his neck until he squirmed and screamed with laughter.

  Then he introduced the two ladies, smiling at the excitement on Jade's face over meeting a real forensic anthropologist. And introduced Darrach. “Honey, this is Forest.”

  “Rowdy!” Kei scolded.

  He laughed at Kei’s frown and Jade's questioning smile. “His middle name is Nahele...that’s Hawaiian for forest.”

  “Only you.” Jade sighed and shook her head, then fussed over Darrach before they handed him back to his mother and moved on.

  Rowdy wrapped an arm around Jade’s shoulder and guided her to where Liv stood under the porch talking to Toni. “Nervous?”

  “There’s so many of them,” Jade replied with a soft giggle.

  He stopped again and leaned down to whisper in her ear, to reassure her, but never got the chance. Someone slapped him on the back. He turned around to see one of Jessa’s brothers grin and wave and waved back. And then someone else called his name.

  “Row-dy! Over here.”

  “I tried,” he whispered, kissing her earlobe. A big crowded back yard wasn’t exactly the place for what he had in mind anyway. Liv, Toni and Toni’s daughter, Nicholette, stood watching him, and he didn’t miss the nudge Toni gave his mom. Or the way her face lit up.

  Rowdy set down his guitar case again and Liv caught him in a hug and practically smothered him in kisses. He and Mom really needed to have a heart-to-heart soon about her public displays of affection. He grinned and hugged her back, letting her smother him—a little.

  “Liv, let the boy catch his breath,” came a voice from nearby.

  Rowdy forced her to let him come up for air and turned to find Jade and Joseph shaking hands.

  “Liv!” Tim laughingly shouted from the porch above them, pointing in Jade's direction. “There’s the one you want.”

  Jade blinked and giggled at Tim’s announcement, and Liv refused to let go of him as she closed the short distance between herself and Jade.

  “Well, Liv, what do you think of your future daughter-in-law?” Joseph beamed from beside Jade.

  Jade’s jaw tightened. Rowdy could see her working to keep her smile in place and struggled against the urge to laugh. Luckily, he still had his sunglasses on. He got even more tickled when his mom hugged Jade, then held her at arm’s length for inspection.

  “I’m so happy for you,” Liv gushed with a big sappy sigh, then hugged him again and continued chattering away. “She’s just as wonderful as you said. Have you two set a date?”

  “M-Mrs.—” Jade stammered.

  “Liv, honey. You can call me Liv just like Rowdy does.”

  Did he put her out of her misery now or keep teasing her? “We were thinking early next summer.” Rowdy didn’t miss the slight widening of Jade’s eyes.

  “Oh, a June wedding would be so sweet.” Liv squeezed his side and smiled from him to Jade.

  “No,” Jade shouted, causing a few people to turn and stare.

  “No?” Liv quizzed.

  Rowdy looked at Joseph and shrugged as if to say “women”. “We don’t have to get married in June, honey.”

  “June’s bad. My last wedding—almost wedding was in June.”

  “How about late May then?” he suggested. From over the top of his mother’s head, he gave her his most innocent smile.

>   “You could always get married on the Fourth of July,” Toni suggested joining them again.

  “Which just happens to be your birthday,” he said, one eyebrow arched. And then, before Rowdy could protest or ride to the rescue, Liv dragged Jade off, peppering her with six million questions a second.

  Jade was gonna kill him.

  With a smile on his face, Rowdy joined Tim on the porch, Toni on his heels. “Row-dy! How could you let your Mama think you two are getting married,” she angrily hissed.

  Rowdy stayed silent, his smile never wavering as he looked from Toni, to Tim, Zander, Zack and Ty. “What time do we eat?”

  AFTER THE BAND played a set and everyone ate lunch, Jade dragged Rowdy out to the front porch. “Rowdy! What are we going to do?” she hissed as they rounded the corner.

  “Relax,” he murmured, sitting in an oversized rocker and pulling her down on his lap. “I got it covered.”

  “You keep saying that, but your mother is planning our wedding!”

  He pulled her close so she had no choice but to put her arms around him or prop herself up against his chest. “You sure are pretty when you get all het up.”

  “Rowdy Yates, what am I gonna do with you?” she whispered, her lips inches from his. He didn’t miss the concern in her eyes and found himself sorely tempted to put her out of her misery. Instead, he kissed her, lightly tracing her lips with his tongue before slipping deeper. He explored every inch of her mouth, enjoying their few minutes of privacy. And the feel of her cuddled against him.

  “I already answered that. A couple of times. Having a good time?” he whispered as another car pulled into the drive. A slightly dusty dark blue Mercedes. Similar to the one they’d parked next to the previous night.

  “Oh my God, Rowdy. It’s Daddy and Nicky! What are we going to do?”

  “No one has said a word about the engagement, have they?” Rowdy did his best to hold back a snicker. Not only were her dad and brother here, someone was walking the porch, headed their way. He smiled at Susie as she rounded the corner, sans Kane.