What I really want to tell her is to marry me, but I hold my tongue. Fuck, is this how West felt about Cassie for ten years? Is this why he looks at her like she’s the one who paints every sunset?
“That...You didn’t ask me.”
I blink, the thought having never occurred to me. “Why would I ask?”
“That’s what a man does for a date.”
“Maybe weak men who would be happy letting you slip through their fingers,” I answer. She’s mine. Doesn’t she know that? Can’t she feel it just from that one kiss? We’re meant to be. It’s inevitable, and I’m not letting her run from this.
She chuckles at that and carries Abby across the room to the playpen. She sets her down in it, giving me a view of the most perfect ass that’s ever been around. My pants grow tighter as I imagine her bent across my bed like that with me plowing into her from behind. Now that I know she feels something for me, every depraved and filthy fantasy that I’ve tried to fight against is rushing forward.
She straightens and turns around. She quirks an eyebrow when she realizes where my eyes were. “Yes, I’ll go to the Christmas dance with you.” She pauses then and chews on her lip. “Except I don’t have anything to wear.”
All the better. We’ll stay at my place and have our own private Christmas dance. I definitely think I’ll like that better. Still, I’m thinking I shouldn’t share that idea out loud. “Go into town and get one. Expense it to the ranch.”
She frowns. “I can’t do that.”
“Yeah, I’ll write the whole evening off as an expense,” I answer. Truth is, there are a lot of expenses for the ranch that I never claim. To me, it’s silly to get reimbursed when it’s a family business. But if she wants a pretty dress—if she wants a million of them—I’ll happily make sure she gets them. “I do a lot of business at these events.”
“Abby needs a bottle first.”
“Go ahead and feed her. I’ll take care of everything,” I promise. This will be an evening neither of us forget.
* * *
Chloe
Micah wasn’t lyingwhen he said he’d take care of everything. While I was feeding Abby, he stepped outside to make a phone call. Next thing I know, Cassie showed up with a ranch credit card and squealing that we were going to have so much fun.
“We have to make a quick pit stop,” she tells me, pulling her tiny silver car into the apartment complex in town. “Have you ever been inside Liquid Courage?”
I shake my head. I work too damn hard for my paychecks to be the type that drinks them away. At least, that’s how I used to feel. Now I get to spend my days taking care of my little Abby. It’s still hard but it doesn’t feel like work. It just feels like I was meant to be doing it.
“Well, this is Peyton. She’s the bartender there and she’s...” Cassie pauses and presses her lips together. Finally, she adds, “Ledger’s best friend.”
“Are they not best friends anymore?” I ask, trying to understand her hesitation.
“Oh, they’re best friends,” she answers too quickly.
Before I can ask anything else, Peyton is bounding into the backseat of the car. Her enthusiasm and energy surprise me. She’s covered in tattoos and when she talks, I can see something in her mouth shine. It takes me a second to realize it’s a tongue ring. “This is perfect. I need a girls’ day out.”
Despite the fact that I barely know Peyton and Cassie, the three of us fall into an easy rhythm while clothes shopping. They help me select a purple dress with a deep V in the back.
Cassie claps her hands together. “My brother is going to flip when he sees you in this.”
“It’s perfect,” Peyton agrees. We talked her into a ruby red dress with a slit up the thigh. I think she’s going with Ledger to the dance. I’m curious about their relationship but I don’t know how to ask. Even if I did, it’s not my business to pry.
“Are you going to the dance?” I ask Cassie.
“Already got my dress, though I don’t think West will let me wear it for long. He’s such a caveman.” But her tone is filled with amusement and something else. Lust and longing and love.
I think about my mom and the way she’s been through so much with the men she’s married. “How did you know West was the one for you?”
A dreamy smile takes over Cassie’s face. “I always knew he was the one, from the first moment I saw him.”
“You didn’t. No one finds their soulmate as a teenager.” Peyton snorts. But the look on her face isn’t one of disbelief. It’s envy. She quickly hides it when she realizes I’m looking at her.
Cassie doesn’t seem the least bit bothered by Peyton’s words. If anything, she lets out a soft sigh.