Page 11 of The Cattleman's Unforgettable Love

“And you’re different, too, aren’t you?”

“I am,” she said with a smile. “And now I think you get it – different really is a compliment in my mind.”

~ ~ ~

Ford settled back, trying to get comfortable in the armchair. Although if he were honest, it was more than just sitting in a different place that had thrown him out of his comfort zone.

He had to agree with Amelia; she was different. And he liked that about her. His head snapped up when she asked, “So, what are we going to do about it?”

His lips twitched up into a smile he couldn’t have stopped if he wanted to – and he didn’t want to.

“You weren’t kidding when you said you’re not good at the flirting thing, were you?” he said and laughed when she cocked her head at him.

“What can I say? It’s not my style – to toss my hair over my shoulder or act coy. I’ve been here for almost a week. We already knew before I came that there’s an attraction between us. I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t have an adult discussion about it, do you?”

He shook his head slowly. “I don’t see any reason at all. Can I take you out?”

She leaned back against the cushions with a smile. “Of course you can. I’d like that a lot. I also like the way you got straight to the point. So … when?”

“When are you free? And what kind of date would you like to go on? The answers to those two questions will determine the when.”

She took a sip of her brandy and stretched her legs out in front of her on the sofa.

“Well, apart from work, my free time – or possibly that should be my calendar – is free and clear. My evenings and weekends are all available. So whenever suits you will work for me. As for what kind of date I’d like to go on…” She shrugged. “I don’t know what my options are around here. I mean, I suppose we could go for a drink at Chico …”

“Or, I could take you over to Bozeman for dinner. Or, if you wanted a daytime date, we could go to the park – or, I could take you horseback riding.”

Her smile faded a little. “I don’t know how to ride. I thought I told you that.”

“You did tell me; I didn’t forget. You also said that you’d like to learn. I talked to Tanner earlier. He has a horse he says might be suitable for you. I thought you might enjoy getting to know him.”

He loved that she looked so eager as she leaned forward. Then a heavy weight settled in his stomach. It occurred to him that she might have misunderstood his words. Women always seemed keen to get to know Tanner. He was the good-looking one in the family, after all.

“Hey, you just did it again,” said Amelia.

“Did what?”

“Had a thought that you didn’t like and shut down on me. What was it?”

He blew out a sigh. “There’s going to be no hiding anything from you, is there?”

She shook her head adamantly. “I thought the point of going on a date was to get to know each other better. What’s the point of doing that if we’re going to hide things?”

He gave her a wry smile. “You’re right. There’d be no point. So – I’ll just ask. What were you so excited about a minute ago?”

She dropped her gaze before looking back up at him.

“Okay, that’s fair. If I’m not allowing you to hide anything, then I shouldn’t hide either. I was pleasantly surprised that you’d talked to Tanner about me wanting to ride – that you’d even thought about whether he might have a suitable horse for me. And then when you said something about me getting to know him…”

Ford pressed his lips together and waited.

“Oh.” Amelia’s eyes widened. “I get it now.”

“You get what?” he asked.

“I get why you shut down on me. You thought I was excited about getting to know Tanner, didn’t you? You thought I’d misunderstood what you meant about getting to know the horse.”

He nodded reluctantly.