She’s standing her ground. She casually crosses one of her legs over the other, her tanned knee poking out from a large rip in her jeans. Her lips aren’t cherry red today. I’m not sure if she has anything on them—they’re just a shiny, rosy pink. Still tempting as fuck and has me wanting to taste them again.
“Fine.”
I step back, reaching up to unbutton my shirt. I maintain my eye contact with her as I undo one button after the next. I grab the open lapels, roll my shoulders, pull off the shirt, and toss it toward her.
“Clothes are in there.” She points toward the closet as I drop my hand down to the waistband of my jeans.
She’s trying hard to keep her eyes on mine, but I watch them flick downward momentarily. I undo the button and zipper and hook my thumbs like I’m about to pull them down when her throat constricts again. This time her eyes drop and don’t come back up.
“Sorry, boss, forgot I have to keep things professional.” I walk back into the closet and I can feel her eyes burning into my back. It’s cute how she thinks she has the upper hand in this.
I pull my jeans down and kick them to the side, pulling on a pair of the Dockers and grabbing one of the shirts.
“Pants are a little tight,” I say as I walk out of the closet and back into the room. “Might have to buy new ones.”
She stands and walks over to me. “What are you—?” She circles me slowly and I swivel my head around in a circle to follow her. “Pants aren’t too tight, trust me. Can you tuck the shirt in?”
I nod and tuck it in. She disappears into the closet, returning a few seconds later with my hat and boots.
“Need to see the whole thing.”
“Well?” I ask after putting on the entire outfit and feeling pretty fucking silly doing this in my own home.
Brooklyn tilts her head as she looks me over before stepping closer. She reaches around my neck, adjusting my collar. I can smell her perfume and it’s sexy and almost has a spicy note to it. Suddenly I feel like sweat is beading on my brow. She must notice, because she starts asking me questions—trying to intimidate me.
“Younger women make you nervous?”
“No.”
“Powerful women intimidate you?”
“Only my mother.” That makes her smile.
“This one is a keeper, hold on.” She turns around and grabs her phone that she’s placed on my bed. “Just stand there.” She holds the phone up and I hear the camera shutter sound.
“Did you just take my picture?”
She doesn’t look up from her phone. “Yeah, need it for the photo shoot. That way we’ll know the looks and can easily grab them so you can change between shots.”
I nod. This actually makes sense. “So am I trying on the rest of these? Because I’ve got some cattle I should attend to.”
“Yes, and Ranger and Decker are covering things on the ranch until 8, so we have plenty of time.”
We repeat the process of me trying on the clothes while she snaps photos of them once she has them nailed down.
“So, what made you want to focus more on the ranch than the brewery?”
Her question takes me by surprise as she organizes the clothes into the outfits after I finish trying them on.
“Just wanted something different,” I shrug. “Trent was always better at the CEO stuff than I was, and he seems to thrive on it. Seemed like the best option was for him to take over the brewery.”
“You ever wonder what your life would’ve been like if you’d chosen that path?”
I can feel my brow furrow as I think through that question.
“Nah, I’d just be in everyone’s way.” I shake my head.
“Well, for what it’s worth, I don’t think Trent or your dad would ever feel like you’re in the way at the office.”