Page 31 of Cowboy Stole My Heart
Mia paused and smiled at him. “What were you going to say before?” she asked. “Was everything okay with Tex?”
“Fine,” he growled out, his face like stone now. She could feel the cool, cold undertones of his mood as she stood in front of him. “I’ll see you another day.”
Mia watched him stalk past Trent, not even saying hello even as her date held out his hand to introduce himself. She felt numb and stared after him as he left.
“Someone you work with?” Trent asked.
Mia nodded, pulling herself away from Sam’s retreating figure, wishing she wasn’t so stuck on thinking about him. She was drawn to Sam in a way she couldn’t understand, something about him pulling her in and making her want to know more about him, making her want to kiss him again and see his face soften, to see his eyes crinkle as he smiled down at her. But the Sam she’d just watched storm away from her house didn’t show any resemblance whatsoever to that man.
“Ah, he’s a horse trainer. We’ve been working together,” she managed. Trent raised a brow, looking surprised. “He’s an employee of yours? I’d suggest finding a new horse trainer, maybe one with better manners.”
Mia smiled. Weakly. “He’s great with the horses,” she said, realizing how silly that sounded. “But yeah, he could work on his social skills.”
She had no idea what she’d done wrong, or why he’d turned so dark on her, but something told her that whatever had been going on between her and the sexy horseman was well and truly over before it had even started. And even though she was all dressed up and about to have a fun time out with a handsome man, she felt deflated. She’dhave traded her heels for boots to follow after Sam in a heartbeat.
“Ready to go?” Trent asked.
Mia nodded. “Give me a sec to close the doors up. I’ll meet you around the front.”
She methodically closed the doors and windows, before hurrying out to meet her date. Trent was cute in a preppy kind of way, his hair perfectly combed, clean shaven, pants pressed and loafers impeccable. She should have been impressed, but instead all she could think about was a man with eyes the color of drizzled dark chocolate, cheeks covered in stubble, wearing worn jeans that he filled out in all the right places.
“Let’s go,” she said, smiling at Trent and pretending that she was thrilled to be going out instead of longing to stay at the ranch.
***
“So are we going to talk about it?”
Sam glared at Nate. “Talk about what?”
“Whatever it is that has you all bent out of sorts?” Nate chuckled and Sam scowled.
“Nothing to talk about,” he said, straightening his shoulders, not realizing how hunched over his beer he’d been. “How was New York?”
Nate laughed. “Well, I’ve been telling you about my trip the past few minutes. You’ve been too busy staring into that beer of yours like you’re gonna kill it instead of listening.”
“Sorry,” Sam muttered, lifting the glass and draining it. “Want to switch to whiskey?”
“Do you even have to ask?”
He watched as Nate pushed his beer aside and nodded to the bartender. “Two Wild Turkeys. Straight up, double shots.”
Sam turned to him, heels hitched on the barstool. “It’s good to see you. It’s been too long.”
“Yeah, it has,” Nate agreed. “But seriously, what’s up? You look like you’re ready to commit murder.”
“Ah, it’s nothing. Forget it,” Sam said, brushing it off and sure as hell not wanting to talk about it to Nate or anyone else. “How’s my lovely sister?”
“Worried about her brother,” Nate said, nudging Sam’s whiskey toward him and holding it up. “Cheers.”
Sam clinked his glass to Nate’s and took a welcome, small sip. It burned a warm trail down his throat, a fire he’d long ago learned to enjoy. He took another sip before relaxing back against the bar. Thank god for strong liquor.
“So? Come on. What’s up? You look like shit.”
“Me?” Sam laughed. “You’re like a dog with a goddamn bone, you know that? And you’re the one with dark circles under your eyes, looking like shit.”
It was only a half truth; Nate did look tired, but he’d never looked like shit in his life. Sam, on the other hand, knew he probablydidlook like shit.
“How’s the work at the Ford ranch going? You tamed that asshole stallion yet?”
