Page 35 of The Cattleman's Unforgettable Love

"No?" she asked, looking crestfallen and making him feel bad.

He stepped forward and put his hands on her hips. "Don't panic," he told her. "I'm playing with you. What I meant was, you look so much more than all right. Like I said..." He let his gaze travel over her. "You're beautiful."

His breath caught in his chest when she rolled up onto her tiptoes and pressed a quick peck to his lips. "Thank you."

His arms wrapped themselves around her waist of their own accord. He held her to his chest and straightened up, loving the way she laughed as her feet left the floor. "You don't have to thank me for telling the truth."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he closed his eyes, imagining her wrapping her legs around his waist.

"What do you think?" she asked. "Are you ready to do this? And do we need a game plan?"

He set her back down on her feet. "What do you mean, a game plan?"

"Just..." She paused. "That was probably a dumb thing to say. You don't need a game plan. I was thinking more of myself."

He went to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "If you need one, then I need one. We're in this together."

The way she smiled up at him hit him right in his chest. "Tell me what you were thinking?"

"Just... you can guarantee that everyone's going to have a million questions for us. I don't know how to answer them. And honestly, I don't even know how to behave."

He thought he understood what she meant. "I felt the same way this afternoon when we bumped into the girls," he told her. "I stood close by your side, but I wanted to put my arm around you..." he squeezed her shoulders “…like this. "But I didn't know if that would be... if you'd be down with that."

Her answer was obvious from the way she smiled. "I wouldn't have a problem with it. I just didn't know if you would – these are your people, your family."

"I don't have a problem with them knowing that we're seeing each other," he told her. "I just didn't want to create any problems for you."

Her eyebrows shot up as she asked, "For me? How would it create a problem for me?"

"I mean at work," he explained.

She shook her head. "Still not tracking."

He didn't want to spell out that he was talking about Cash. Although why he thought Cash might have a problem with them seeing each other, he didn't know. In fact, he knew damn well that his brother wouldn't have any problem at all. If anything, he was bringing Cash up because... He frowned when it hit him – because he was very possibly, just maybe, a little bit jealous about how close Amelia was with him.

She was still looking puzzled, and he knew that he had to explain. He shrugged. "Just the whole Cash thing."

To his surprise, she burst out laughing. "If you think that Cash might have a problem with us seeing each other, you couldn't be more wrong."

"What does that mean?"

She shrugged happily. "Just that I think he cares about you a lot more than you know." She stepped away from him. "But if we're going, we should probably get on our way. If we show up too late, they'll think we took a detour."

"Do you have everything then?" he asked.

"I do. I'm good to go."

He liked that about her. She didn't mess around for ages before she left. He was more used to his sisters, who could say goodbye three times and still be wandering around the house fifteen minutes later, gathering their things before they went anywhere.

He held his hand out to her, and his chest buzzed with happiness when she took hold of it, her hand feeling small and soft inside of his.

"Will I look like one of the tourists?" she asked when they reached the front door.

He gave her a puzzled smile. "No. You look like you. Why would you ask that?"

She shrugged. "I guess I'm just feeling paranoid. Your family all wear cowboy hats and look like they belong here – you only need to look at me to know that I don't."

He pressed his lips together to stop himself from saying anything about hoping that she might end up belonging here. He didn't even know where the thought had come from. No way was he going to give voice to it. Instead, he took his hat off and placed it on top of her head.