Page 33 of Cowboy of Convenience
Thank God she had. That money allowed her to escape to Moss Creek instead of finding herself at the end of an aisle in a white dress.
"I'm gonna consider not having to look at his face a win. Especially since it was only gonna be a matter of time before I put my fist through it."
“Understandable.” Evelyn sighed. “I guess it does make me feel better knowing he’s not over there waiting to accost me the second you leave.”
“Speaking of.” Grady slid his palm down her spine, letting it rest on her lower back before leaning into her ear. "As much as I want to stay here today and run interference between you and Gram-Gram, I have to work."
Evelyn stared as one of the movers carried past a pile of bags from the closest department store. "That's okay. It looks like she's going to have more than enough to keep her busy today."
Grady grinned. "You think Gram-Gram's ever set up her own bedroom before?"
Evelyn's lips lifted, working into a little smile of her own. "No fucking way."
"That's what I figured." Grady chucked her on the chin. "You better not help her either. Make her do it all by herself. If she wants to be a pain in the ass, she's gotta earn it."
"I can't help her. I’ll be gone. I have to teach classes all day." Evelyn paused, trying to gauge his reaction. "Did that sound convincing?"
Grady's smile slipped the tiniest bit. "I believed it."
"Good because that’s my story and I’m sticking to it." It didn't matter that she only had two morning classes scheduled. She’d rather sit by herself at the studio all day long, bored to tears, than risk being here with her grandmother. She had no desire to be lectured about her responsibility to her family or fend off whatever plot her grandmother was concocting.
“I’ve got to head out in a few minutes. Grady tipped his head toward the house. "I'm going to go get changed."
"I'll come with you." Evelyn stuck close to the man working as the most attractive buffer she’d ever seen. She would simply get dressed too and leave when he left to ensure there was no way her grandmother could corner her.
She might have also had an ulterior motive for following Grady into her bedroom. Even after the best night’s sleep she'd had in a long time, her body was still running way hotter than normal. That same annoying throb was teasing between her thighs, reminding her there would be an almost naked Grady in her bed again tonight.
Close enough to smell. Close enough to touch. Close enough to taste.
"Stop it." She chastised herself under her breath as she closed the door, hoping it might work if she said it out loud. It definitely hadn't worked the five hundred times she'd said it in her mind.
"What's that?" Grady met her gaze as he peeled his T-shirt over his head to reveal the wide plane of his chest and the rippled muscles of his abs. His pecs were scattered with sandy brown hair tapering off as it reached his stomach. Since most of the men she’d dabbled with in New York were hopeful models and fledgling actors, she didn’t have much experience with chest hair.
And it was a travesty.
Not only did it look rugged and masculine, it felt fantastic. The springy strands had been surprisingly soft when she woke up to find them under her palm and pressing into her cheek.
Grady's brows lifted as she continued staring at his bare chest. "Everything okay?"
Shit. She forgot to answer him. "I'm fine. I just remembered I need to pick something up at the store."
"What is it? I can grab it on my way home when I get off tonight." Grady gripped the front of his jeans, flipping the button loose before dragging down the zipper and skimming them toward the floor.
Evelyn closed her eyes in a long blink, attempting to reset her short-circuiting brain, but all it wanted was another glimpse of his skin. "I’ll probably just go tomorrow. I’m sure I need more than just a few things."
Probably. Nothing she could begin to identify now, but eventually she might remember.
"We can go together. I'm off work again tomorrow. I can check in at the ranch and then we can go do whatever you need to do." Grady strode to the closet where his bag was stashed and pulled his pants free. By the time he had them all the way on, blocking her view of his lower half, Evelyn finally managed to process what he'd said.
"You don't get two days off together?" She didn't know much about how real jobs worked, but sort of assumed everyone worked five days and then had two off, even if they didn't fall on the standard weekdays and weekends.
"Since I don't have kids or a wife, my schedule’s more flexible. A lot of times I work a different set of days every week." Grady retrieved his undershirt and worked it over his head. “Then I work on the ranch on my days off.”
“So you work every day?” She shouldn’t be shocked. If she could fill her studio up, she’d work every day. Whatever would help earn the money she desperately needed. Hell, she’d even considered trying to find a second source of income, but finding gainful employment when you were thirty-two and had no job history was nearly impossible.
“Yup.” Grady blew out a breath, like the reminder made him tired. “Been that way for the past few years.”
Now that she was looking more closely, she could see the fatigue lining his eyes. “Why—"
