My gaze slips down her body, despite my best efforts to keep eye contact. A certain part of me hardens to the point of pain when I see the fabric of her blue dress stretching across her wide hips, thick thighs, and round ass. Fuckin’ hell, thatass.
Never knew I had a type, but this woman… she’s achingly gorgeous in a way I don’t understand. It’s not just her extra curves and lemon honey scent that have me tripping all over myself to talk to her. It’s the way she froze when I first laid eyes on her, like she felt the universe shift, too. Impossible, I know, but a love-sick cowboy can hope.
Reluctantly, I pull my eyes back up to meet hers, though she seems a little dazed as she stares at my chest. I’m not normally a vain person, but damn if I don’t stand a little taller knowing my girl likes what she sees.
“Hey, I’m Griz,” I say, holding my hand out to her.
She stares at my hand like it’s going to bite her, then darts her eyes up to meet mine. I know my girl felt whatever this connection is between us, but she’s wary. A protective streak I didn’t know I had hits me square in the chest, the need to soothe her anxiety overwhelming me. Who hurt her? Who broke her trust? I’ll find out soon enough, then spend the rest of my days showing this precious girl she’s safe right here with me.
Reel it in,I tell myself sternly. She hasn’t even spoken a word to me, and here I am, rearranging my whole life for her. I’ll have to take it slow with my woman. I can manage that, I think.
I keep my hand steady, studying the gorgeous woman as she nibbles on her bottom lip, debating whether or not to trust me. Eventually, the beauty slips her hand in mine, sealing her fate.
Her soft skin warms me all over, flames dancing down my spine as I wrap my calloused fingers around her hand. Goddamn, I can feel her pulse fluttering against the inside of her wrist, and it takes a considerable amount of effort not to lift her hand up so I can kiss that spot.
This woman is overwhelming every single one of my senses.
“What’s your name, beautiful?”
“Monty,” she murmurs. The tip of her tongue snakes out, wetting her bottom lip. She has no idea what she’s doing to me, which only makes her that much more irresistible.
“Like Monty Python?” I ask, leaning on the bar. She narrows her eyes at me, hunching her shoulders slightly. Not off to a good start.
“No, like Montana,” my girl says with a firm tone.
“Montana is your real name?”
“Yeah, but no one calls me that.”
“Alright, Monty it is.”
I give her my best smile, but she turns back to the bar, waiting for her drinks. Damn. I can’t be the only one feeling this, right? I scramble to think of something to say, some way to get her to look at me with those ethereal eyes.
“What do you do for a living, Monty?”
“I’m in college.”
“At Sequoia University?”
“Yeah,” she says as she watches the bartender make her drinks.
“What are you studying?” I try again.
Getting her to open up is like pulling teeth. I don’t have much experience with women, but I guess I never thought it would be this hard to get the girl of my dreams to talk to me. I’m not one to give up easily, though. Never have been. And certainly not when it comes to the most important person in my life. I’m insane, I know. But I can’t help it. I know what I want when I see it and damn if I’ve ever wanted anything the way I want Monty.
It’s always been my brothers and me on the farm. We spent most of our time growing up working and helping our parents. Girls were never on any of our radars, but now that our parents are retired, and it’s just me in my big house all alone, I’ve started to think about it more.
I don’t leave the farm that often so I haven’t had the chance to meet a ton of women. When my brother, Kai, asked me to grab a beer with him, I never would have guessed the future Mrs. Ford would be here.
“I’m an English major,” my girl finally answers. Not a big fan of volunteering information, I see. It’s okay. I didn’t grow up on a ranch without learning how to work hard for what I want.
“You want to be a writer?” I ask.
“Editor.”
That being said, I’ve got to get a better game if I want more than one-word responses from this stunning woman.
“That’s cool.”Cool? I’m such a dork.“I’m a farmer. I work on the Ford Ranch.”