She winked. “Family secret. You become a Ryker, I'll give you the recipe.”
“Are you trying to bribe me to marry your nephew?”
“If I have to.”
The kitchen door opened, and Tristan, her youngest son, walked through with his little boy on his shoulders. “Mama, can you keep Georgie for a few hours? Hazel has— Oh, hey there, Clara. Sorry, I didn't see you there.”
I waved as Mama snagged the adorably chubby-cheeked blond toddler off his daddy's shoulders. “Of course I can take my sweet boy. What's going on with Hazel? Is she feeling better?”
Tristan's cheeks flushed pink. “Yeah, uh . . . she should be soon. Once the morning sickness dies down.”
“What? Oh my God, she's pregnant?” The joy in Mama's voice was impossible to miss.
“Looks like it. I'm taking her to Doc for an ultrasound.”
I felt like I was infringing on a private moment, so I grabbed the box Mama had packed for me and headed for the door. “Thanks, Mama,” I called as she hugged her son and smiled so bright my cheeks hurt in sympathy.
Another Ryker baby. That made, was it five now?
These cowboys were setting up Sunrise for a future generation of heartbreakers.
When I got home, I still had paperwork to do, and I was pretty sure I smelled like manure. Normally, I wouldn't care at all about Maverick Wilde seeing me straight off the ranch with hay in my hair and muck on my boots, but today was different. I wanted to look good. Smell nice. Remind him I was a woman.
“Henry, I've got something going on tonight. You can go ahead and close up. Just forward the phone for emergency calls, and we can finish up the paperwork from today in the morning, okay?”
His brown eyes lit up like I'd just told him it was his birthday. “Really?”
“Yep. I'll see you tomorrow. Tell your mama I said hello.”
He grinned. “Will do. She's gonna send you some cupcakes for this. I can guarantee it.”
“For letting you go home early?”
“Dad's working out of state this week, so this means I can go help her at the cafe before closing.”
Guilt slammed into me. “I didn't know that. I would have let you off early all week. You just have to ask.”
He shrugged. “Then you would've been left on your own. Mama has people working at the cafe. You just have me out front. The vet techs don't know how to handle people.”
Well, that was true. “Thanks. In the future, if you need time off, just ask me.”
He nodded and grabbed his backpack off the hook behind the desk. “Goodnight, Doc.”
I waved at him and followed him to the door, locking it behind him after he left. Now it was time for me to get out of vet mode and into woman mode. A thrill ran through me at the thought. The way Mav had been looking at me yesterday made me feel a lot less like his friend and a lot more like a woman. I just hoped he agreed with my plan. He needed to relax, and so did I. Dinner, a movie, maybe a little whiskey before he got back into the bathroom and made his donation.
This was the best idea I’d had in a long time. It wasn't like either of us had done this before. Breeding horses was way different. And that's how I approached my situation the first time. Clearly that didn't work for him. I needed to finesse this, seduce him to the point where he was ready to go, then hand him the cup and get what he'd agreed to give me.
Right?
Half an hour later, I stood under the spray of my shower and rinsed the conditioner out of my hair, satisfied that I no longer smelled like livestock. The soft scent of lilac filled the enclosed space. I'd taken my time, exfoliating my face and shaving my legs until they were smooth and silky, making sure I'd be one hundred percent date ready. I liked Mav. More than I liked any guy I'd been out with in a long time. Just because we were friends, that didn't mean he deserved less effort than they did. He probably deserved more because he treated me better.
Shit, why was I so worked up about this? It was just Mav. He was coming to fix the mistake he made yesterday. That was all.
Even though I tried to convince myself tonight was nothing special, I still put on makeup and straightened my hair, forgoing my usual ponytail and letting the thick locks trail down my back.
When he knocked on my door a half hour later, I had to force myself not to run to answer. I was just excited about the prospect of getting pregnant. Not about him being here. Right?
He opened the door before I pulled myself together long enough to answer.
“You all right in here, darlin’?” I saw the brim of his hat first, followed by the rest of him. A tight-fitting button-down shirt in black, dark Wranglers, shiny boots. Fuck, he was dressed up for tonight. For me.
He pulled out a bouquet of peonies from behind his back, and I had to tamp down the rush of butterflies in my belly.
“Flowers?”
He shrugged, looking a little bashful. “Figured you'd like them. They're your favorite, right?”
I couldn't hide my smile. “Yeah, how'd you know?”
“I pay attention. The ones on your kitchen table looked like they were on their last leg.”
He handed me the flowers, his fingers brushing mine and sending sparks shooting through me. “That was . . . really thoughtful.”
The swoony bastard winked at me. “I have my moments.”
“Looks like you do.”
Flashing me that Hollywood smile passed down by his granddad, he stepped a little closer. “So, supper first? Then we'll get down to business?”
Why was my throat dry? God. He had me nervous as a cat in the bath. As wet, too, if I was being honest. “It'll take a little while to get supper going. Do you want a drink while I make it?”
“How about you and I cook together and have a drink at the same time?”
I eyed him. “You want to cook?”
“I'm here to spend time with you.” Fingers trailed over my hand and then circled the top of my wrist. What the hell was he doing? “If you're in the kitchen, I want to be there. I want to help.”
“I'm sorry, who are you, and what have you done with Maverick?”
Amusement lit his eyes as he laughed. “We've never been on a date before, darlin'. Until you're knocked up, you'd better get used to this version of me. You need to be relaxed and open to it if you want me to put a baby in you.”
The way he said that, put a baby in you, sent arousal crashing through me with little warning. It brought to mind skin on skin, lips and tongues, hands everywhere, soft sighs and desperate moans. I had to swallow hard to be able to respond.
“Okay . . . I . . . sure.” My face was on fire. I was so worked up I couldn't even form a coherent sentence.
That cocky grin never left his face. “It's okay, darlin'. I've got you.”
But was that what I wanted?
Maverick
Why was she being so skittish? This had been her idea. She’d wanted to move this along in a more natural way. I followed her to the kitchen, loving the way her soft floral scent trailed behind her. It was one of my favorite things about her. She smelled good. Aside from right after work, but none of us could say anything different. When you worked with animals, you worked hard.
But right now? Damn, she smelled fantastic, and she looked even better. Clara had changed everything between us last night, and I couldn't be happier. All this time. All this fucking time, I'd denied her as a possibility. Not anymore.