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figure in all the right places. His entire body tensed as his gaze lingered on her full breasts. She was
perfect.
 Stunning, he murmured, working hard to draw a breath into his lungs.  Absolutely stunning.
She smiled nervously.  Why, thank you, Mr. Cooper, you don t look so bad yourself.
Dex glanced down at his white shirt, black tie and jeans. Pretty simple, really. But the best he could do
considering Ty was no clothes horse.
 Thank you, ma am, he drawled, then offered his arm.  Shall we go?
He walked her to the passenger side of the truck and opened the door.  Wait, I almost forgot
something, he said as he reached inside. He withdrew the small box and offered it to her.
 What s this? she asked, breathless.
 Open it, he urged.  You ll see.
Her hands shaking with impatience she quickly loosened the ribbon and removed the lid.  Oh, it s
beautiful. She took the blue and white carnation wrist corsage from the box and smiled up at him, her
eyes suspiciously bright.  Thank you, Ty. That was very sweet of you.
He slipped it onto her right wrist.  Can t take a lady to a dance without a corsage. He smiled, warmth
filling his chest, reminding him of how sweet this particular lady was.
She pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, then shook her head.  I swear, Ty, it s like I don t even know you
anymore.
He held out his hand to assist her into the vehicle.  Are you saying I m not always this nice?
 No, it s not that. She adjusted her dress, then looked at him.  But you took my idea of opening a
dude ranch far better than I could have hoped. She lifted one slender shoulder in the barest of shrugs.
 Now flowers. She reached up and felt his forehead.  It makes me wonder if you ve come down with
something.
What did Ty have against her opening a dude ranch? he wondered. Could he have overstepped his
bounds there? They would have to discuss that as soon as Dex had a chance to call him, which had
better be soon.
He gifted Leanne with a smile.  I ve just decided that life s too short to sweat the small stuff. There s
always a way to work anything out, he assured her, hoping like hell he was right.
When they arrived at the Rolling Bend community center the place was already packed. The band was
loud, as Grandmother Cooper had said it would be, and the night was warm. Dex escorted Leanne to
the door, but she stopped him when he would have opened it.
 Ty. She looked up at him, those pretty blue eyes far too serious.  Just for tonight could we pretend
that we re not who we are?
Confused, Dex tried to read her expression for some hint of what she was thinking.  I don t know what
you mean.
She placed a soft hand on his arm, sending heat rushing through him.  Just for tonight, let s pretend
you re not Ty Cooper, the rancher who loves nothing more than raising his cattle. That I m not Leanne
Watley, struggling dude rancher. And that our parents haven t tried to marry us off for years. Let s just
be two people who want to have a nice time together for one evening. Just one night, she added
softly.
The urge to take her in his arms and show her just what they could do together if they forgot for this
one night was almost more than he could restrain.
 We can do that. He stared directly into her eyes, hunger roaring inside him. At that moment he
would have given anything to really have her for one night.  Just for tonight.
He opened the door and they entered the loud, exuberant festivities. He wondered if Miss Leanne
Watley had any idea how close to the edge she d pushed him. It would take nothing short of a miracle
to keep him from crossing the line tonight.
BEFORE Ty could have the first dance with her, Leanne found herself whirled around the dance floor
with half a dozen different young men. All single, all hoping she was looking for a husband. Did people
around here think of nothing else?
Her gaze sought and found Ty. He looked so handsome. He d abandoned his hat, leaving it on their
table, but he looked even better without it. Why had she never noticed that before? She wanted
desperately to run her fingers through that thick, dark hair. All week this crazy attraction had been
building. She just couldn t get him off her mind. Finally, she d decided there was only one way. She
closed her eyes and wished they could really be together in the truest sense of the word for just this
one night. Maybe she would realize it was nothing but raging hormones.
But Ty was too honorable for that. If they made love, especially under the circumstances, he would
demand that they marry.
Sometimes being a virgin could be so annoying.
Ty looked up from his conversation with Mr. Dickson from the hardware. His gaze caught hers and he
smiled. Her heart did that little acrobatic flip only he had the power to cause. The song ended and her
dance partner thanked her. She wove her way around the fringes of the crowd. A fast, bluegrass tune
started and the dancers still on the floor kicked their heels high and let go whoops of enthusiasm.
Earlier, Jenny Cooper had announced that she and Chad were expecting. Angelica, their little girl,
looked downright miserable. Leanne was happy for Jenny and Chad, but she couldn t quite work up the
proper enthusiasm. She told herself she wasn t jealous. She didn t even want to get married.
But part of her did, she admitted glumly, then chastised herself. Where on earth had that thought
come from? She tried to understand it, rationalize it somehow, but she couldn t. It simply was. She
wanted to be Mrs. Ty Cooper. Part of her wanted to have his babies. She shook her head and reached
for a cup of punch. But a saner part of her wanted to do just what she was doing. None of this should
be happening. It didn t make sense. Lord have mercy, she d never been this confused in her life.
A wide palm settled against the small of her back and a familiar body, warm and muscular, moved in
close to hers.  May I have this dance, pretty lady?
Leanne sat her cup down and looked up into Ty s dark eyes.  I thought you d never ask.
He smiled. Her heart flip-flopped.  I was waiting for the perfect moment.
Only then did she realize that a slow, aching love song had started to play. He led her to the dance [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]