Vicki Lewis Thompson - Cowboy All Night

“I actually don’t need anyone to help.” Aria wasn’t sure she’d be able to concentrate with Brant standing right next to her at the stove. Earlier she’d thought of him as a calming presence, but he wasn’t having that effect on her now.

“I promise not to get in your way.” His smile was endearingly genuine. “And I’m very good at taking direction.”

“I’ll vouch for that.” Herb pulled out a chair for Rosie and motioned her over to it. “The guy knows how to listen.”

“I reluctantly admit that’s true,” Cade said. “He may turn out to be good at this, after all. Mom, more champagne?”

“Love some.” Rosie sat and allowed Cade to refill her glass. “If I’m not going to help cook, then maybe we should talk about what needs to be accomplished this weekend. I haven’t allowed myself to think about that today because Linus took priority, but those kids will be here before we know it.”

“Even more reason I should be the one to help, so you guys can discuss academy stuff.” Brant turned to Aria, his expression hopeful. “Right?”

“Right.” Dear God, what had she gotten herself into? First she’d offered to cook a dish that was loaded with significance for Rosie and Herb, and now she’d be working with a sexy cowboy. She relished a challenge, but this might be a bigger one than she’d anticipated.

The four people sitting at the table obviously assumed she had the meal under control. Herb rounded up a pen and pad of paper while Rosie began outlining the weekend’s projects. Ringo snoozed in his bed tucked into a corner of the kitchen.

Aria glanced over at Brant.

He laced his fingers together and turned his palms out as he stretched both arms in front of him. Then he jogged in place. “Put me in coach. I’m ready to play.”

She couldn’t help laughing. “All right. While I prepare the onions, you can cut the bacon into one-inch pieces, cover the pieces with water and boil them.” She pulled a saucepan out of the cupboard and handed it to him.

“I’m boiling the bacon.” He sounded amused. “Can’t say I’ve ever done that before.”

“You’re probably used to pan-frying it.”

“To be honest, bacon isn’t my long suit.”

“Well, this part is easy. Once you have it cut up and in the pan of water, turn the heat to high. When it starts boiling, turn the heat to low and let it simmer for ten minutes.”

“I can do that.”

“So what’s your long suit?”

“I’m a pretty fair hand with toast.”

“I see.” She wasn’t sure how he could be funny and sexy at the same time, but he pulled it off.

“Okay, I’ll come clean. I don’t know anything about cooking.”

“Then why did you volunteer to help me?”

“Because I want to get to know you better.” He turned away and started cutting up the bacon as if he hadn’t just dropped a conversational bombshell.

Her heart rate picked up. “Why?” Trying to be nonchalant, she filled another saucepan with water, set it on a burner and switched the heat to high.

“I’m about to work with your foal. I want him to suit you.”

So maybe his gesture had been strictly business-related. “But actually he needs to suit my brother, not me.”

“I suppose that’s true. Then I’ll try this answer on for size. You intrigue me.”

“Oh?” Maybe his motives weren’t strictly business-related. Maybe he was interested in her as a person. He even might be interested in her as a woman. She didn’t need that kind of complication in her life, so why was her pulse racing?

“Is that other pan of water supposed to be boiling, too?”

Startled, she glanced at the bubbling water. “Yes. Yes, it is.” She dumped the onions in. “How’s that bacon coming along?”

“Just scooped the pieces into the water and turned on the heat. Am I good or what?” He did a little victory dance.

“Yes, you’re amazing.” Although he made her laugh, he was horribly distracting. At this rate she’d ruin the meal. “But you know what? I can handle it from here if you want to hang out with the others.”

He grinned. “Trying to get rid of me?”

“No, of course not.”

“Tell the truth, Aria.”

She hesitated. But Lexi had claimed nothing bothered him. “I admit you’re destroying my concentration.”

“Damn. And here I promised not to get in your way.”

“You’re not getting in my way. It’s my fault. I’m not paying attention to what I’m doing and that could be a problem, especially when I set fire to the brandy.”

“You’re going to set fire to it on purpose?”

“Yes, and I—”

“So this is one of those flaming dishes?”

“Yep.”

“Hot damn. I’ve always wanted to see how that’s done. Look, I won’t make any attempt at conversation. I won’t say a word unless it’s required. I’ll just stand here and do what I’m told. Can I stay?”

She couldn’t very well admit that he could turn her brain to mush simply by his existence. She took great pride in her cooking. Sending him back to the table would be the smart thing to do. But that wasn’t what came out of her mouth. “Sure.”

“Thanks.”

She prayed that she wouldn’t burn down the house.

3

BRANT KNEW HE made Aria nervous, but backing off wouldn’t solve the problem. So he’d moved in closer and joked around with her, which had worked better. He couldn’t say for sure if her skittish behavior was a sexual thing, but he suspected she might be unwillingly attracted to him.

He was definitely interested in her, but he could dial that back if she wasn’t in the market. A boyfriend didn’t seem likely unless he wasn’t in town. She’d put her heart and soul into Linus’s birth so any guy worth her time would have been here for the event.

She could be hesitant to encourage a new relationship for any number of reasons, and he’d respect that. Her uptight attitude in the beginning had put him off a little, but after they’d shared a special moment while admiring the newborn colt, he’d found himself liking her, after all. He’d looked forward to being around her a little more. Then she’d proudly given her champagne toast.

He hadn’t been prepared for the visceral punch of desire as she’d stood on the porch in her flirty little dress, glass raised and sincerity ringing in her voice. Despite not knowing her very well, he’d been swamped with lust. He’d desperately wanted to kiss her. He’d wanted to do a lot more than that.

So he’d volunteered to help her fix the meal to see how she reacted to working closely with him. She’d admitted he was a distraction, which probably meant she was interested in him, too. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that she was resisting that attraction.

If so, they should have a frank discussion about it. That little colt would pick up on either positive or negative tension between them and he wanted Aria to be part of the training process. That way she could continue using his methods after he’d left.

Ideally her brother would participate, but no telling how that would turn out. Aria already loved the colt. Brant had seen it in her eyes. If her brother lost interest, she would take full responsibility for Linus’s welfare, which meant she needed to be included in the early stages of his socialization.

Right now, though, wasn’t the time for that discussion. He didn’t plan to talk at all unless necessary. Following her instructions, he cut up the mushrooms while she cooked the onions and bacon in a heavy skillet. He concentrated on being totally nonthreatening as they worked silently side-by-side.

Gradually her shoulders lowered and her breathing evened out. He matched that rhythm and she seemed to loosen up a little more. She was getting used to having him close by. She might not be flattered to discover he was using a horse training technique to settle her down, but she’d never hear that from him.