Page 1 of Duke
CHAPTER 1
Bull’s-eye
Wheeler
November
That’s my cowboy.
I know it three heartbeats into the extended eye contact I make with the tall, broad-shouldered blond who greets me with a smile as I walk into the ranch’s enormous kitchen. He’s the kind of handsome in his faded button-up and baseball hat that makes my stomach do several backflips.
It’s my first time visiting Lucky Ranch, so I have no idea if cowboys in general are this friendly and gorgeous or if this guy is special. Whatever the case, I don’t hate it.
“I’m Duke.” He extends a hand. “Pleasure to finally meet the gal Mollie’s always talking to about boots on the phone. And about banging—”
“Can you not be gross for five fucking seconds?” Cash rolls his eyes. He’s my best friend and business partner Mollie’s boyfriend. He’s also Duke’s older brother.
Cash can be gruff, but as evidenced by his smile, he’s a secret softie. That smile probably has something to do with the fact that Mollie is tucked into his side, her eyes sated and happy as she looks up at him. They’ve been dating for all of two months, but it’s obvious they’re smitten.
“Bangingbusiness ideas.” Duke’s lips twitch. He looks a lot like Cash. Blue eyes. Square, Superman-like jaw. “Just showing respect where respect is due. As co-CEO of her own damn company, Miss Wheeler Rankin here knows what I’m talking about. Ain’t that right?”
I laugh as I take his hand. Mollie told me cowboys are a different breed, but I didn’t believe her until now.
The guy already knows my last name. Does that mean something?
Thathasto mean something.Mollie must’ve really talked up my arrival, and Duke must’ve really been paying attention. The idea makes a shiver of excitement dart up my spine.
The kitchen is full of people, their voices rising and falling in a happy kind of chaos. The space is clearly built to accommodate a crowd, with a huge island and a farm table with room for at least twenty.
Warmth blooms in my center. Feels good to laugh and be around people. Get out of my head for a minute.
Duke holds my hand—holds my gaze—with warm, intense confidence. His grip is firm.
“Nice to finally meet you too,” I reply.
Be careful, a voice inside my head warns as I stare into his eyes for a beat too long.
But then I remember my stay here on the ranch is temporary. Stumbling into any kind of real emotional intimacy is impossible when you’re literally and figuratively all over the place. Which is why I’m only looking for some no-strings-attached fun right now. Considering cowboys have a reputation for never resting their heads on the same pillow twice, I figured they’d be a perfect fit.
There are five Rivers brothers, all of them part of a long line of ranchers going back generations. Is being charming and gorgeous and so damn…big in every aspect part of their DNA?
Dallas may only be two hundred miles northeast of here, but you’d think the ranch was on a whole other planet for how different these cowboys are from the guys back home. Men there will approach you, but their friendliness is all pretense.All a show of swagger. But Duke here? His friendly energy feels genuine, like this is who he is all the time.
I also adore how he drops compliments that actually land.
Guys back in Dallas definitely don’t have hands this calloused. A hot, lovely drip of awareness works its way through my center at the feel of Duke’s palm pressed to mine. It’s dry, smooth in the center but rough at the base of his fingers and thumb.
Mollie was absolutely right about cowboys being a different breed. She discovered this fact after recently inheriting Lucky Ranch, her wildly wealthy late father’s two-hundred-thousand-acre property in the small town of Hartsville, Texas. After butting heads with the ranch’s foreman, Cash, the two of them promptly fell in love.
Now, Mollie has decided to split her time between Hartsville and Dallas, where our company is based. As her business partner, that means I get to regularly visit Lucky Ranch. Which is, well, lucky for me, because I’m interested in this cowboy.
Very,veryinterested in having some of that meaningless fun with him.
Judging by his expertise in flirting, there’s a good chance Duke just might want the same thing.The twins—babies of the family—are wild cards, Mollie told me, referring to Duke and his brother Ryder.You never know where they are or who they go home with.
Perfect.
“You know a lot about Bellamy Brooks,” I reply to Duke, referring to the cowboy boot company Mollie and I started in our dorm room eight years ago at the University of Texas.
