“Morning.” The back door shut as Phinny came into the kitchen wearing knee-high rubber boots.
Fuck. Shit. He had to burn those images of her soapy body to the ground. Turning back to the blender, he added almond butter to his protein shake. “Did your chores?”
You can’t think about her like that.
She’s Kurt’s daughter.
But that excuse wasn’t working anymore. She wasn’t just someone’s daughter. She was…He glanced up at the early morning light pouring in through the window.
She’s sunshine. He didn’t know he’d been living in the shadows until she’d shined that bright smile on him. He didn’t know how quiet he’d become until he’d heard her full-belly laughter.
He’d never met anyone so willing to show her raw, true self. Her honesty, integrity…
Yeah, he had it bad.
“Yep. Just finished. I have no idea why we have all those chickens, but they’re gorgeous.” Lifting one leg at a time, she tugged off the boots and set them on the rubber mat. Then, she came right up to him. “I’m sorry for kissing you last night.” She said it like an announcement. Like she’d been thinking about it a while and had sorted out what she wanted to say.
She was direct and blunt, and he liked that about her. A hell of a lot. Most people deflected, hinted, or manipulated. Not Phinny. He shrugged a shoulder. “It wasn’t a hardship.”
When she grinned, it was like a sharp crack of ice in his chest. As warmth trickled out, his skin burned.
“I meant that it was impulsive and selfish, and I promise it won’t happen again.”
“Probably for the best, seeing as we’re competing against each other.”
“Yeah, about that.” She eyed the fancy coffee machine. “I mean, we live together. We’re going to look through the same photo albums and files. We’ve got access to the same information, so we might as well team up.”
“I don’t have a problem with that because I still think you should get the ranch.”
“Declan, you understand I’m selling it when I win, right?”
“I’m positive you underestimate my competitive nature.” While he understood the lure of hundreds of millions of dollars, he was getting to know her better, and he wasn’t convinced she’d go through with it. He got that owning a cattle ranch in Wyoming wasn’t her thing, but he’d seen the way she’d looked at the photographs.
She couldn’t hide her feelings if she tried. He could practically read it in a thought cloud over her head. This is my family. My ancestors.
If he had a legacy like this, they’d have to pry it out of his cold, dead hands.
But he didn’t bother saying it. Only time would tell. He hit the button, and while the blender ground up his frozen fruit, Phinny caressed the professional espresso machine.
She obviously didn’t know how to work it, so her fingers skimmed the stainless steel, trailed over the gauges and settings, her frustration growing the longer she examined the levers and control buttons.
When he stopped the blender, he poured his smoothie into a travel mug. “I don’t drink coffee, so I have no idea how to use it, but we can look for the instruction manual.”
“That’s okay. I can live without it.”
“You’re eyeing it like it’s a safety deposit box filled with diamonds.”
“Pft. I’m more of a sapphire girl. Hey, I have a question for you. In this entire house, there’s only one locked door. It’s not Kurt’s office, so what is it?”
“Actually, he’s got two of them. One’s business, that’s where Mitch and I work. The other’s his private one.”
“Is the private one normally locked?”
“Nope.” And he didn’t know why it was now.
She took in his boots, jeans, and Henley. “Are you going somewhere?”
“Yep. Jaime wants me to meet the Renegades.”
“Oh.” She sounded disappointed. “So, you’ll be taking the Jeep?”
“Yeah, why? What do you need?”
“Well, I’m supposed to meet that woman who stopped by my lemonade stand yesterday, but I can take a cab or something. It’s too far to walk.”
He knew she couldn’t afford a cab, and she’d said she had a license but didn’t know how to drive. He didn’t see any choice other than driving her himself. “What time are you going to meet her?”
“Not until noon.”
“And where is she?”
Phinny pulled a napkin out of the tiny pocket in her leggings.
He read the address. “That’s not too far from the rink. How about you come with me, and then we can go to her house together?”
Relief relaxed her gorgeous features. “That sounds great.”
“Can you be ready in ten minutes?”
“I can, but if you give me fifteen minutes, I’ll be able to shower and put on make-up.”
“Fifteen, huh?”
“I can’t cook, I can’t drive, but I can be camera-ready in no-time.”
“And the time starts…” He glanced at the clock on the oven. “Now.”
Laughing, she dashed out of the room, giving him a view of that perfect peach of an ass.
He’d held those firm cheeks in his hands last night when they’d kissed. He’d pulled her up hard against him, and she’d squirmed all over his cock. Of course, he hadn’t slept.
Not after getting a glimpse of what she’d be like in bed.
Her ex was an asshole not to love her up before fucking her. He’d missed out on all that Phinny goodness. Damn, he got a kick in his gut just thinking about it.
Phinny was passionate. She needed someone who’d get all her cylinders firing at once. He’d like nothing more than to watch her fall apart from his tongue, his hands, his cock.
If her ass hadn’t hit the floor, he didn’t know what would’ve happened. He’d been so far gone he wouldn’t have stopped on his own. And that was the craziest part. He’d never gotten so absorbed in a woman that he’d lost his sense of time and place.
There was something about Phinny.
Maybe since they were living under the same roof for a month, and they were both obviously attracted to each other…
Nope. Still not fucking her.
* * *
To his surprise, Phinny burst out of the house exactly fifteen minutes later. She still had the sleek hair, the make-up and flashy jewelry, but today she wore the cheap shorts, Wild Billy T-shirt, and pink cowboy boots she’d bought yesterday.
And somehow, she rocked it. Not that he cared what she wore. He was just happy to be with her.
Hopping into the passenger seat, she pulled the seatbelt across her chest. “I’m exactly on time.”
“I see that.” He backed out.
“Yes, but you’re already in the car. If I’d taken a minute longer, would you have left without me?”
“Possibly.” Nope. He headed down the driveway. “Depends how late you were.”
“So, you wouldn’t have come looking for me? ‘Phinny, it’s time to go.’” She lowered her voice to sound like him.
“Nah. You knew the deal.”