Page 62 of A Rancher's Bride
“Good trouble,” Diane promised. “Now, skedaddle.”
He blew her a kiss then hung up.
Diane flashed her a grin. “Come on, Cinderella. We have a little more work to do before storming the castle.”
* * *
The week had been amazing,but as it came to a close, Luke was tempted to ignore the final event and curl up in front of the fireplace with Kelli.
The only reason he hadn’t was because she actually seemed excited by the idea of the fancy ball, and by this point he was getting more entertainment out of watching her than the sheer pleasure of their indulgent getaway.
He ignored the glasses of wine on the table and grabbed a longneck instead, twisting to observe the growing crowd. “It’s going to be a shock to the system heading home,” he admitted to Jack.
“Don’t kid yourself,” Jack replied. “You’re just as eager as I am to get back to find out what’s been going on while we’ve been gone. There’s something about being in the field that does a man good.”
“Amen to that.”
They clinked bottles, grinning at each other.
Music played softly in the background, and a few people were already on the dance floor. There was another thing to look forward to, Luke reminded himself. Dancing offered a reason to have Kelli in his arms, and he was grateful.
Getting horizontal with her was amazing. Having her against him, or close by and just talking had turned out to be nearly as sweet.
“We’re thinking about having you come south in May.” Jack dropped the bomb like it was nothing. Luke wiped beer from the side of his mouth as he tried to stay calm. “Want you to take a look at what we’ve got that might work with any of the bloodlines you’re developing.”
Luke caught Jack by the hand and shook it gratefully. “We’d be delighted.”
“No guarantees yet.” Jack seemed reluctant to point that out. “But you and Kelli have impressed the hell out of Diane. She’s not an easy sell.”
“She’s a good businesswoman. No expectations, but we’d sure appreciate the chance to work closer with you.”
“Luke?”
The familiar female voice had the bubbles of excitement in his belly fading far too quickly.
Jack’s eyes widened slightly in the second before Luke pivoted to find Penny Talisman standing before him.
Her parents were farther behind her, pacing into the room. Sean nodded briefly as he met Luke’s gaze. Then he ignored him, sliding forward to shake hands with Timothy Carlyn.
Luke pulled himself together and focused on the woman in front of him. “Penny. How’ve you been?”
She shrugged, smoothing back her long blonde hair and tucking it behind her ear. Everything exactly in place. “Keeping busy, same as usual. My father has me dealing with the European market. The contacts I made this last summer are turning out to be very profitable.”
“Good for you.”
She looked uncomfortable, reaching around him to introduce herself to Jack.
Luke probably should’ve done that. But then again, he didn’t really feel like it. He didn’t feel like doing her any favours, or making the effort to be rude, or…anything. He was pretty much not registering on the emotional scale when it came to her. Which was interesting.
He glanced at his watch and wondered exactly when the girls were going to show up. He debated sending Kelli a text to warn her Penny was there, but before he could act, a slim man in a very expensive suit marched up to join them.
Luke didn’t recognize the stranger, but when the man stopped next to Penny and grabbed her hand, Luke raised a brow.
Itwasn’tjealousy. All he felt for Penny was a lingering business interest because of their ranches’ continuing interaction.
Still, Penny’s cheeks flushed. She pulled herself together to introduce the man. “Dimitri Zabou. From Italy.”
“And now from here,” he said with a whisper of an accent, lifting Penny’s hand to his mouth and kissing her knuckles as he stared into her eyes. “Penny and I are engaged.”
