Page 24 of Second Chance with the Rancher

They held eye contact for nearly a minute, neither of them saying anything although he could read her thoughts pretty clearly based on how quick her pulse was beating in her slender neck. He took a risk and trailed his index finger down the side of her neck and over the delicate bone of her clavicle.

Her lips parted and her breathing picked up. He could feel the warm puffs of her breath on his arm.

“What’s your favorite color, Minx?”

Her nose scrunched in a cute way and her brows knitted. “Huh?”

“Favorite color?”

“Uh … purple.”

He nodded and stepped away, showing her his back. “Good to know.”

When she growled in frustration, he had to stifle his chuckle. He resumed caulking the window sill, while she muttered to herself behind him.

“Can I go up into the loft and measure?” she asked after a few moments of opening cupboards and drawers. “Do I need to order dishes and cookware, too?”

“Everything, Minx. Linens of every sort. Bedding, towels, clothes. The works.”

She hummed in thought, and he turned around to face her.

“And yes, you can head on up to the loft. I’m done here anyway and need to caulk the window sill up there, so I’ll join you.”

She didn’t say anything, but headed for the ladder to the loft and started to climb it. He was at the bottom of the ladder and about to start climbing, as well, enjoying the view of her ass as she used her long legs to propel her up, when she squeaked, swore and was suddenly falling.

Like a damsel in distress, falling from the tower, he caught her in his arms. “Whoa, there, Minx. Careful. You know I’m interested, you don’t need to throw yourself at me.”

She glared at him and sprang out of his arms, only to resume her climb once more.

“You’re welcome,” he said loudly.

She merely turned around while half-way up the ladder and shot another glare at him.

He was all grins and started to climb the ladder just as she reached the loft.

“This is bigger than I was expecting,” she said. “I wonder if we could fit a king-sized bed up here?”

“We could,” he said, making his way over to the big square window that offered the most amazing view of the river and mountains. “But it’s getting the bed here that’s the challenge. I suppose we could ask Cal to deliver it with his helicopter.” He faced her. “You think a king is better than two twins or a queen?”

“Infinitely,” she said without a second’s hesitation. “Also, you can buy the memory foam mattresses which come in a vacuum-packed box, so they’re small in the package, then when you open the box and air gets to it, it expands.”

“Like one of those dinosaurs you put in water?”

She nodded. “Yeah, sort of.”

Tapping his chin, he retrieved the tape measure from her and took some measurements of the room. “And what do you propose we do for a bed frame?”

“IKEA. You can get frames that have wooden slats rather than a boxed spring. That would cut down on not only expense, but the bulk of getting supplies here.”

He measured the distance between the floor and the peaked roof, and the peaked roof to the railing that separated the loft from the rest of the house. “Yeah, we’d have to do that since there isn’t enough clearance to get a boxed spring over this railing.” He retracted the tape measure and handed it back to her with a wink. “Good thinking, Minx.”

Her blush was sexy and she quickly hid her face from him. “What is your maximum occupancy?”

“Four. Why?”

“Well, I’m just wondering if we could increase revenue and availability by offering cots or rollaway beds, as well, and increasing the occupancy to a max of six. It’s a small space, but you just charge extra for more than four people. I mean, in theory, you can advertise the place as perfect for two, but can sleep up to six, and just charge more for the additional four people. Since that’s more linens to wash and stuff.”

Stroking his chin, he mulled it over. “You might be onto something.”

---