“Then there’s my last point—and it’s my personal favorite: I’m stronger than you.” He snaked an arm around her waist, securing both of her arms down at her sides.
“Don’t you dare.” She grunted and squirmed, but it only made him tighten his hold. Then he lifted her clear off her feet, which was amazing and torturous at the same time. He pried the rope from her fist one finger at a time, his touch and the friction of their smooshed bodies intoxicating. If she focused on that, she’d melt instead of resist. “Brady, I swear. If you don’t put me down right now, I’m gonna—”
“Oh. Sorry to interrupt.” The figure was merely a dark profile against the bright light streaming in through the stables, but she could tell by the shape and his voice that it was Eric Richmond.
Dundee placed himself between the CEO and her and Brady, glancing toward them to see if Eric was a welcome guess or not.
Brady loosened his grip, slowly lowered her until her boots hit the ground, and fully turned toward the guy. The arm he’d lifted her with remained around her waist, and he hooked his hand on her hip, the heat of his touch slowly spreading throughout her entire torso.
“Hey, Eric,” she said, and her stupid voice betrayed her breathlessness yet again. “This is Brady Dawson. He and his family run the at-risk youth ranch next door.”
Eric extended his hand, and Brady stared at it for a beat. She was about to jab him in the ribs with her elbow for being rude when he finally reciprocated the gesture.
They shook, and Tanya said, “This is Eric Richmond, CEO of RichTech. He’s recently inherited some land and is thinking about getting into the ranching business.”
Although Brady nodded, he remained in her space and seemed to have no intention of moving. “It’s a tough gig. Nonstop, few to no vacations.”
“I’m used to that. It took tenacity and a lot of long hours to build a business from the ground up as well.”
Was this jealousy? That might be a promising development… As she glanced from Brady to Eric, who also stood taller than usual, chest puffed out, Tanya realized this was less about her and more about the two of them. Ugh, men.
“If y’all are gonna just stand here and waste time having a pissing contest, I’m gonna get on with my day.”
She began to move away from Brady, but he caught her hand. “Hold up. I wanted to talk to you about something else.”
Just like that, she was under the spell of his blue eyes, scruffy jaw, and a voice she could point out in a lineup.
She conjured up an image of her behind heavily tinted glass in a police station as the officer asked, Is this your best friend, the one you’re afraid doesn’t love you in the way you love him?
They’d instruct the guy in the other room to speak, and she’d indicate it was the culprit with an affirmative nod.
Focus, Tanya, or he and Eric will see right through you.
* * *
There was something about the way Eric the city-slicker CEO looked at Tanya that Brady didn’t like. A few minutes ago, he’d been debating whether or not to scold himself for checking out her ass, so call him a hypocrite, but there’d also been bantering, the zing of their ongoing competition, and all that history crowding the air.
Hell, he’d forgotten other people even existed until they’d been interrupted.
In the name of civility and getting the guy to stop checking out his Yaya, he asked, “So how are you enjoying your stay on the dude ranch, Eric?”
The guy’s gaze returned to Tanya immediately, and a crooked grin spread across his face. “Quite a bit. I was cocky enough to think the one summer on my aunt’s ranch qualified me for a month of riding and driving cows, but this one humbled me. I can hardly keep up with her.”
This one. The guy had been there all of four days. How much could he tell in that amount of time? That she woke up earlier than his prissy ass? That she was better at roping and riding? Duh.
But instead of rolling her eyes along with Brady, Tanya flashed the CEO a smile, and were her cheeks turning pink? “I appreciate that, but I should probably warn you that so far we’ve only had easy days. And you might want give Taffy extra grain before our ride this afternoon so he won’t try to dump you off to nibble on grass. He’s not so persuaded by charming words.”
If she hadn’t said it in her soft voice, that smile still on her face, it might’ve sounded like a slam. As it was, it sounded disturbingly like flirting.
Usually, she gave guys who tried pickup lines on her a tongue-lashing. And persuaded by charming words? Did that mean she was persuaded? Did she think the guy was charming?
Years ago, Brady slammed the door closed on thinking of Tanya as anything more than a friend—to the point he got downright grouchy whenever his family members poked him about it. Over the past few days, he couldn’t stop rereading her texts, and he’d been sure there was a playful undercurrent. One that nudged that door a crack open again. He reckoned he should’ve just shut it and left well enough alone, but he’d wanted to at least peek at his options.
Now he worried he’d read things wrong and was in danger of making a mess if he went and opened his big mouth.
And if Tanya wanted to flirt with a guy who was completely wrong for her, it was her business. Too bad the toxic churning in Brady’s gut made it difficult to believe his own thoughts. Add in his jumbled emotions, and that was definitely his cue to go. “Well, I’d better get to town before the feed store closes. But I’ll call you later, okay? Then we can finalize the events and whatnot.”
“Okay,” Tanya said. “Talk soon. And FYI, I’m charging interest on those ropes.” The smile she aimed his way sent another swirl of confusion through Brady, but he couldn’t help returning the gesture.
“You know I’m good for it.” He considered running with his inner caveman and leaning in and kissing her cheek. Then she’d punch him in front of Eric, and wouldn’t that just be the cherry on a shit sundae?
“Come on, Dundee. Let’s go.” Brady readjusted his grip on the multicolored coils in his hands and strode out of the tack room into the much roomier walkway of the stables where he could get the oxygen he seemed to be missing.
His trusty dog rushed ahead and launched into the bed of the truck.
Brady could hear Tanya and Eric behind him, also exiting the stables, but he didn’t linger. He’d said his goodbyes, and Dundee was already prancing around like Brady was taking an eternity. The driver’s side door opened with a metallic squawk, and through his dust-covered windshield, he spotted Eric still grinning and talking to Tanya.
Brady roughly shifted into first, the gears grinding at the effort. It’s just my protective instincts kicking in.