Page 105 of The Guy Who Stole My Ranch

He studied me for a moment before he was apparently satisfied, then he turned his attention to Jessica as she came around the car.

“Patrick, this is my friend Jessica. Jessica, this is William’s bodyguard and driver, Patrick.”

Patrick gave Jessica a wide smile and shook her hand. “Good to meet you. Thanks for bringing Brook up here.”

“She’s one of my besties.”

Patrick splayed his fingers on his chest. “If you’re not interested in seeing Brooke and William kiss like they’re teenagers, you can hang out with me. I’ve got snacks and Wi-Fi in the car.”

“I’m in.” Jessica gave me a grin. “You go find that man of yours but leave the coat. He needs to get the full Brooke effect, and that thing covers too much.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but Jessica pointed at me. “Leave. The. Coat.”

I made a face but tossed the outer layer of my ensemble back into the car.

“He should be back from a ride any minute.” Patrick pointed to the barn. “If you want to surprise him, stand at the corner of the building.”

I wanted to surprise him, but I didn’t want to startle him. I wanted to bolt, because I’d never done anything like this before, but I also wanted to see William.

I breathed in, then out. Then I started walking. My boots clicked on the concrete, then crunched in the gravel. I went to the corner Patrick had indicated and leaned up against the wall with one shoulder. The temperature dropped in the shade, but my racing heart and flushing skin kept me plenty warm.

I could see the gentle hills, full of young green grass and trails, sloping away from the barn. Several riders were out and about, but only one of them could be William.

He wore an outfit that came from a magazine and sat astride a coal-black horse. Instead of trotting or cantering like the others, they were walking. Almost meandering.

Frank, bless his little heart, was zooming up and down the trail. It looked like he wanted the horse to play with him.

The horse and rider slowly came toward me, and I used every moment of that eternity battling the seeds of self-doubt.

Did I look okay in this outfit?

William had seen me in my underwear, he certainly wouldn’t care about what I was wearing now.

Did leaning like this make my hips look even bigger than they were?

Or would that be a plus?

What about my boobs? This top showed some cleavage, which I never did. Would that be weird for William?

Duh. No.

Right. Of course not.

What if he was in the middle of something? What if he didn’t have time to talk?

What if he didn’t have time forme?

I closed my eyes and forced myself to breathe evenly. Everything was going to be fine.

A familiar bark rang out, then an even more familiar voice shouted, “Frank!”

I opened my eyes and smiled as William’s gray pit bull headed right for me with a grin on his doggie face and his tongue lolling out of his open mouth.

“Get back here!” William bellowed.

He actually sounded kind of mad, so I jogged to meet Frank before he got into trouble.

The dog skidded to a halt just as I squatted down to pet him. Frank’s whole body was shaking, but he held still long enough for me to give him a couple of good scratches.

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