Page 27 of A Rancher's Bride
“You are my friend, and I didn’t say anything because—” He stared over her head for a second before confessing, “I didn’t realize. I mean, I already considered you family when I wrote your name down. It honestly didn’t hit me until I saw the suitcases how intimate this whole thing could be, and that’s when it clicked.”
Intimate. A shiver raced over her skin. He had no idea. No idea at all what she’d wanted and dreamt of and hoped for so long.
And he thought of her as a…sister?
Luke straightened his shoulders. “I stand by what I said at the beginning. You really are the perfect person to help me represent the ranch.”
She did a quick reshuffle inside, doing her damnedest to shove away the part that was saying she was crazy for not picking up something heavy and bopping him over the head with it while she had the chance.
This not just being a work-event changed things. Alot, and now it was her turn to have to pull a balancing act. It was one thing to have hoped to start something sexual—that would have been two grown adults having fun behind closed doors. No one would have known.
Being connected for real…
For fake real…
God, she didn’t even know what to call this nonsense. Other than complicated. Very complicated.
A layer of snow was building on both their shoulders as the white-out conditions increased. As much as she’d like to have it all out, here and now, that wasn’t going to happen.
Besides, he’d probably like to be hanging on to something when she tossed her final grenade.
“Get back in the damn truck,” she ordered. “We’ll figure out the rest while we drive. No use in freezing off limbs before we have to make friends and influence people.”
He stared at her in near shock before his smile spread, and as usual, warm molasses heat drifted through her belly. “You’re not going to call it off?”
“Nope, but I am going to up the ante. You’ve got one hell of a bill to pay.”
* * *
He’d always pridedhimself on being one of the smarter of the Stone boys, but getting back in the vehicle and heading on to their destination gave him plenty of time to reassess.
On the good side of the ledger: Kelli had not instantly taken his keys and run him over until he was dead. Although hewassmart enough to know that was still a high possibility.
She grabbed the printout he’d made of the actual events and was staring at the sheet intensely. Again, something he should’ve done with her if he’d been smart enough to discuss this a few days ago.
“So they’re impressed by family-run stables. Silver Stone definitely has that. Caleb and Tamara would’ve done a great job attending if she was up to it. So it’s not a lie, not really. I can do this.”
He couldn’t help it. A laugh escaped. “You really have to do that bit of mental aerobics in order to be able to pull this off?”
She glanced up at him, her face innocent. “D’uh,yes. I don’t lie.”
“Kelli, have you been interfering in dangerous situations for the last six months without telling anyone?”
She was quiet for a moment before shaking her head. “I did tell someone. I told Ryan, and we set something up to help the women who need it. I didn’t tellyoubecause you didn’t need to know, and when you asked me, I didn’t lie. I just refused to answer.”
He made a rude noise. “You spend more time figuring out how not to tell the truth than it would take to just spit it out.”
“Says the man who could’ve told me at any moment in the past four days that we were marching into this situation pretending to be lovebirds,” she snapped.
“I didn’t tell you because I was an idiot,” he snapped back.
The truth was enough to get her to shut up.
At least for a few minutes, and then she was at him again, waving the piece of paper vigorously. “There are only two events where we’re going to get to talk about Silver Stone and what we’ve got going on. And even that is a stretch.”
“Because the gala is not specifically about the horses. It’s about building relationships with other people.”
She let out an enormous sigh and damn near collapsed on the seat. “Relationships that are built on a lie. Gee, I don’t see how this is going to end poorly at all.”
