Page 22 of Mateo & Nicole

Her words struck a chord within him. When she arrived, she seemed nervous—but not desperate for the job. Every so often, she let something slip that made him wonder just how bad things were for her.

Nikki let out a strangled laugh, but he didn’t laugh with her. He wanted to help her.

“You could keep a horse here. At the ranch. Even if you get a job somewhere else and move on…” He hated that idea—not the helping her part—the her moving on part. He didn’t like the idea of her leaving. And he definitely didn’t like the idea of her finding someone else to be in her life.

Her mouth fell open as she gazed at him. He could have laughed at her shock, but he kept his expression serious. He had been, after all.

“I couldn’t do that,” she finally whispered.

“Sure you could. It’s not like we don’t have the space.” Mateo shrugged. It wasn’t a big deal. In the grand scheme of things, what was one more horse? Besides, he’d been honest when he said the kid was a natural. One day, that kid could oversee a bunch of wranglers just like Daniel was doing for him.

Nikki looked away as she reached for her glass and brought it to her lips. He could see the hesitancy in her gaze—or rather, in the way she didn’t meet his eyes. A smile tugged at her mouth, but it didn’t seem to brighten her countenance at all. “I’ll think about it,” she said.

“You’ll do more than think about it.” Mateo winked. “One of these days, you won’t be able to resist.”

“Is that so?” she mused. “Like the way girls can’t resist you?”

Her words caught him off guard. If he wasn’t leaning back against the counter, he might have stumbled back a step. Mateo wagged his brows at her, pleased that she seemed to be willing to play along.

Mateo leaned closer and lowered his voice. “You’re absolutely right. I’m utterly irresistible. It’s about time that you figured that out.”

“Oh, I figured it out a long time ago.”

He laughed. “Do tell.”

She cocked her head, not backing up from him like he’d expected her to. To his surprise, she drew a line down the middle of his chest. “You remember in high school… when we were in the same home economics class?”

“Yeah?” he drawled, inching closer. His eyes snagged on her lips. He could only imagine the feeling of her lips on his.

Her lips quirked upward—the only indication that she was about to rip his heart out of his chest in the next second. “Who could forget the first day when we were making pudding?” She snickered. “And when you spilled the entire jug of milk all over the counter, your shirt, your shoes, and the teacher standing next to you during the demonstration?”

Mateo frowned as she let out a laugh and moved away from him. That wasn’t one of his better moments. What was she talking about? Out of every memory in high school, she chose that.

He thought about matching her steps and going after her, but at that moment, Sophia entered the kitchen. She glanced from him to Nikki, then back. A knowing grin spread across her face that not even his warning scowl could wipe away.

Unfortunately, she didn’t seem to like the way he was looking at her because she folded her arms and asked, “Did you call Annie back? She left you another message today. She said you still owe her a second date.”

Mateo didn’t have to look in Nikki’s direction to know she’d grown uncomfortable by this change in subject matter. She shifted from one foot to the other several times, and the air felt cooler. “No,” he ground out.

“Why not?” Sophia asked, her voice sounding more innocent than she really was. He knew what she was doing. This was manipulation at its finest.

Nikki murmured something about being tired before he could answer.

But Sophia stepped in her path. “Hey, Nikki. Have you heard about the country club on the outskirts of town?”

Nikki glanced from Sophia to Mateo. “I haven’t.”

“Well, you should go tonight. It would be nice for you to get out and have some fun. I’m sure Mateo could take you if you want to carpool. He goes there at least twice a month.”

“Oh…” Once again, her eyes found his. “Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be able to go. I’m pretty busy.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Mateo is your boss. I’m sure he’d give you one night off.” Sophia lifted her eyebrows expectantly, but Mateo couldn’t speak. What was she up to? First, she brought up Annie. Now she was trying to set him up with Nikki?

“Well, I don’t have a sitter?—”

“Let me watch him. He’s such a cutie. I bet we could have a lot of fun together.”

Mateo waited, holding his breath. Was this actually going to work?

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