Janet Evanovich - Full House

"She is, well, she was your fiancee."

"Yes, she was. Past tense."

"Nevertheless, I don't want to get into the middle of something unpleasant."

"Sheridan boards her horse here, but she doesn't tell me how to run my business or my personal affairs."

"I thought perhaps the two of you would iron out your difficulties and get back together."

Nick couldn't hide his surprise. "That isn't likely to happen. Sheridan and I parted ways months ago."

"It's obvious she wants you back."

"Look, if you really want to discuss this, I will, but the only reason Sheridan would even think of wanting to resume our relationship is because I've backed off, and she loves a good challenge."

"She looks like someone who's accustomed to getting what she wants."

"In most cases, yes, and she's not above using her father's influence to get it. They're very much alike."

Billie was torn. Was it really over for Nick and Sheridan? At least he sounded convinced. But what lengths would the woman go to in order to win him back?

"Nobody has ever given me something this nice," she confessed, gazing at the horse in awe. "I don't know what to say except thank you very much." She turned to him. "In the future, though—"

"You get stationery." He smiled, relieved to have the matter settled. "I thought we'd go out on a trail ride. I need to unwind and you need to make friends with Velvet."

She nodded.

He helped her mount and adjust her stirrups. "We'll just walk tonight. You can give him a loose rein. When you want him to go forward, apply a little pressure like this," he said, positioning her leg against the horse as he'd shown her before with Zeke. He took her hand in his and arranged the double rein between her fingers. "When you want to stop or go slower you apply a little pressure here." He demonstrated a slight tightening of the reins. "Okay?"

"Okay." Billie tried the commands and felt cautiously optimistic when the horse obeyed. She solemnly followed Nick down the wide dirt drive, mesmerized by Velvet's steady rhythm, his long ebony mane and tail flowing to the cadence of his step. Nick pulled his horse up beside Velvet so they could ride side by side, and Billie noticed the tension in his jaw as he stared into the distance. "Tough day?"

He shrugged. "Small domestic problem."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Maybe later. Right now I'm trying to forget."

"You're not being too successful," Billie observed.

"No."

They rode on in silence through the tall grasses of the meadowlands east of the house. Rabbits and pheasant scurried from the intrusion of horses and humans, and a broad-tailed hawk circled overhead, rising and dropping on the evening drafts. Billie tilted her head back to watch him, unaware that she was being watched.

The light reflected off something nearby. Nick spotted Max, but decided it wasn't the best time to go after him. The kid crouched in the crook of a thick-leafed maple that hugged the treeline marking the end of the meadow. He was dressed in long denim shorts and a sloppy T-shirt that read "Save Planet Earth." His baggy socks bunched at the top of his black-and-white high-top sneakers, revealing long skinny legs and scraped knees. His dark hair was too long, slightly unkempt, his bangs falling past his eyebrows where they sometimes got in the way of his wire-framed eyeglasses.

Nick reined in his horse at the top of a hill and drew the boundaries of his property for Billie. They gazed at the sun, fat and red, slipping behind dark clouds and mauve hills. Maybe twenty minutes of twilight left, he thought. Not enough time to get to the barn and send out a patrol. The house was closer, but Nick wasn't sure it was safe. Max would never intentionally hurt anyone, but he was human … and humans made mistakes. It was a mistake that Nick worried about.

He sighed and turned his horse toward the barn.

"We'd better be heading back," he told Billie.

Billie glanced at the treeline and then at Nick. He'd seen something he didn't like — the grim look on his face told her as much — but she couldn't imagine what it was, and she had the distinct impression he didn't want to tell her. It was the ornery bit of Irish inherited from her mother's side of the family that made her want to push. "Well?"

Nick looked at her sideways. "Well what?"

"What's out there?"

"Sky, trees, grass …"

"And?" Billie prodded.

"And you're pretty nosy," he teased, not wanting to get into a discussion about Max. The kid would bring out the mother and the teacher in Billie, and she'd start talking about the boy needing hugs again. She'd want to reform him, take him under her wing. And Max would make mincemeat out of her. Nick had seen it happen before. Max didn't take kindly to maternal authority, and his methods of rebuffing it could border on the diabolical.

"Not going to tell me, huh?"

"Nope."

Billie looked at him slyly. "There are ways of making a man talk, you know."

Nick grinned. "Sex?"

"Pie."

"Playing hardball again, huh?"

"You don't know the half of it," Billie said. "It's apple. Freshly baked and perfect. Golden flaky crust, just a hint of cinnamon, nice tart apples."

"And if I spill my guts, I get this pie?"

"Yeah."

"And if I don't talk, what then?"

"Well, actually, you get the pie anyway," Billie admitted. "I baked it for you this morning. Sort of a thank-you for the steak and ice cream."

Nick's eyes darkened. "Looks like if you want information you're going to have to find a new bribe. Maybe I should name the terms."

Billie's stomach dipped. "Apple pie is about as high as I'm prepared to go right now."

He shrugged. She had not said no, she was merely putting him off temporarily, especially if she was still concerned about Sheridan. There was a difference, and he had to admit it made the prospect of their mating even more exciting. "Then I'd love some pie." Nick guided their horses toward the stable and dismounted once they reached the entrance. He handed his horse over to the groom who'd taken Arnie's place.

He went to Billie's side. "A little slower this time," he said, waiting for her to swing her leg over Velvet's back. He stepped close, ready to aid her if she needed it. She slid the length of him, and his body responded instantly. "Are you sure you don't want to renegotiate?"

Billie felt her heart accelerate as her body touched his. She took a steadying breath and scooted away. "I'm still counting on the pie. I figure if you mellow on chocolate-chip-cookie fumes, you'll be putty in my hands after you taste my pie."

"Is that what you want?" he said in a sexy whisper, backing her against the partially opened barn door.

"Would you like me to be putty in your hands?" He could only imagine what it would be like having a certain part of himself in her hands.

Playful flirting, Billie thought, but it could easily be turned into something much more serious … something she wasn't prepared for. "I'd like you to show me how to take care of Velvet."

Nick sighed and eased away from her. While it was definitely physically frustrating, Billie's slow pace was almost refreshing. Most women were easier, but the woman before him presented a challenge. He had known women who couldn't be rushed, not many, but enough to have made him more than capable of planning a strategy that worked, even with the best of them. He realized, even as he thought it, that he was still the same old Nick, the king of cads.

When they left the barn an hour later, Nick walked Billie to her minivan and peered through the window at his pie. "You weren't kidding! You really did bake me a pie."

Billie feigned insult as she opened the door. "Did you doubt me?"

"No. Not for a second."

She handed him the pie and looked around for his car. "Where's your car?" Even in the dark, Billie could see Nick flush under a five o'clock shadow.