“You mean theStud Farm?” she asks.
I wince at the nickname the locals gave our place a few years ago. Apparently, there isn’t much to do in this small town except drive by Ford Ranch and gawk at me and my brothers working out in the fields. We all hoped it was just a phase, but the name stuck. We’re not players, we’re not vain, and we don’t want that reputation.
“Uh, yeah, that farm.”
“Hmm. I’ve heard some of the rumors,” she says, her voice turning cold as ice.
Shit.“They’re not true,” I cut her off.
“Sure.”
“They’re not,” I insist. “I swear.” I’m about to tell her it’s been years since I’ve even looked at a woman with anything close to desire, but that might come across as desperate.The cowboy doth protest too much.
“It doesn’t matter,” Monty says. “I’m not looking to date or anything. Besides, I have an interview there tomorrow. It might be awkward to work together if anything happened,” she says as the bartender sets her drinks down in front of us.
“So, you’re saying somethingmighthappen between us?” I ask with what I hope is a charming smile.
She huffs out a laugh and I can see it then, she wants me too. There’s a twinkle in her light blue eyes that lets me know she’s just as mesmerized by me as I am by her.
So why is she trying to brush me off?
Monty reaches for the drinks, and I stop her with my hand on her wrist.
“Just give me a chance.” I realize how whiny that may have sounded, so I force a smirk to my lips. “I’d love to give you a ride.”
I try not to wince at my words, and instead, end up winking at her.
Kill me.
She stares at me, her face turning red with anger.
And then it hits me.
Her hand.
She slaps me across the face.Hard.
I cover the sting on my cheek with my own hand, shocked and also turned on as hell. Inappropriate, I know. But I can’t help thinking how wild she’ll be when I finally get her beneath me. Fuck, I can’t go there. I need to fix things with my future wife before she thinks I’m some sleazy player.
I turn back to apologize to her, but she’s already grabbed her drinks and is stalking across the bar to her friends.
I watch her go, wanting to kick myself.
How did I mess things up so badly so fast?
I head back to my brother and glare at him when I see the way he’s grinning at me.
“Looks like that went well,” Kai says.
“Shut up.”
“No really, how did it go?”
“You saw me crash and burn.”
“No, but I saw you get slapped by a girl you have no right to drool over.”
“Isn’t that Oakley?” I ask casually, smirking when I see his head whip around.