Page 5 of Ready, Willing and Abel

I hold out her hat. “Here.”

“You can keep it. It’ll be something to remember me by.”

“Pretty sure the scars on my body will do that. I think your goat bit my ass.” Her bed is soft and smells amazing. Like her, I’m assuming, but I haven’t actually been that close to her. Well, except when she was kneeling at my feet and cutting off my pants. But we were outside, and I could mostly smell the goats.

I inhale and note that it smells like oranges and cloves. Like Christmas. She smells like Christmas.

For not the first time in the last hour or so, it occurs to me that I should have this girl sign an NDA. My team would throw a fit if they knew I was here for this long, that the girl had gotten my pants off and now had me ass up on her bed… yeah, they’ll be furious if they ever find out.

But she still hasn’t said anything about recognizing me, and I’m enjoying the anonymity. Or at least the illusion of such.

She comes back into the room and sits on a stool next to the bed. “Okay, so while I do this, you should distract yourself.”

My first thought is to hump her bed. What the fuck is wrong with me? I never lose control. I don’t let women tempt me. I need to get away from this woman as quickly as possible.

“Tell me what you did to screw up things with your brother and his fiancée, did you say?”

“Yeah. Her name is Marley. She’s the veterinarian in town.”

“Oh yeah, I met her once. Emergency with Bruno, and Lily, the large animal vet, was dealing with some cattle.”

“Is Bruno considered a large animal?” I ask.

She laughs. “No, I suppose not, but Lily does most of the farm animals. Okay, so Marley… “ she prompts.

“Right. My brother, Evan, we’re twins. Paternal. All I knew when I came to town was that he’d gotten a woman pregnant and that they barely knew each other.”

“And, let me guess, you came in with guns blazing to protect your brother?”

I’m annoyed that she figured it out. That she somehow can see inside and knows what a jackass I was.

I exhale slowly. “Yes. I assumed she was after money or whatever. I offered her a sizable amount, and she basically told me to go fuck myself.”

Her laughter is like a soothing balm to the skin where she’s pulling out those spikes.

Something about this woman soothes my soul in a way no one else ever has. And that’s a terrifying thought. I don’t need or want a relationship. Or at least I didn’t. Until I met a woman whose smile is like sunshine and who smells like Christmas.

Yep, I definitely need to get out of here sooner, rather than later.

chapter

three

Esme

ME: You are never even going to believe what I have to tell you.

MIA:

MIA: You’re so dramatic.

ME: I met Abel Cartwright.

ME: And saw his junk.

ME: And touched his butt.

My phone rings and I’m already laughing when I answer it.