The Texas Rancher's Vow

His gaze was tender. And filled with a yearning as strong and sensual as her own. He ran a strand of her hair through his fingers, admitting softly, “Only because I didn’t figure pushing you would get me where I wanted to go.”

Actually, Jen thought, it kind of was. He was just kissing her lightly and she was already fantasizing about taking him into the shower again and soaping him down, then moving right back to his bed.

Matt continued, in all seriousness, “I promised myself this afternoon—and now I’m promising you—that I’ll slow down.” He paused to let his words sink in. “Give us time to get to know each other.”

That was quite a promise. And one she hadn’t expected. Jen inhaled a shaky breath, aware that she was closer than ever to falling for him. Completely.

Unfortunately, love and reason did not often go hand in hand.

Feeling she owed it to him to be honest about this much, she predicted, “It’s not going to change anything in the long run.” Although it was already changing something now, because if he kept this up, she wasn’t going to be able to resist him for long.

Matt smiled and kissed her lightly on the lips. He took her hand and led her to the table, then returned to the dinging microwave to get her dinner. “You keep telling yourself that. I’m going to tell myself something else entirely.”

* * *

JEN WAS STILL THINKING about what Matt had said the night before, when she accepted Emmett’s offer to lend her a car, and drove to town early the next afternoon.

She knew Matt was a decent guy. He loved his dad, still grieved the loss of his mother—although he tried to hide that—and meant well in general. The problem was, he assumed Jen and he could keep it casual, keep it private, and continue sleeping together without their emotions getting in the way.

And while that might be true for him, it wasn’t for her.

She already had developed a huge fascination for him, which prompted her to do foolish things she had never considered before. Such as allow herself to be distracted from work. Mix business with pleasure. And make herself vulnerable to a man who was so far socially and financially out of her league it wasn’t funny.

She had learned the hard way that men with Matt’s background did not trust the intentions of someone from a background like hers.

They might say they did, in the beginning, but money always got in the way in the end.

Jen didn’t want to see that happen to her and Matt.

She wanted at the very least for them to get to know each other and form a solid friendship.

And she knew Matt wanted that, too.

Whether they would be lasting friends remained to be seen.

Aside from each losing a parent, they might find out they had little in common save sexual chemistry. And if that was the case, well, their fascination with each other would probably fade.

In the meantime, what she needed to do was spend as much time working and as little time alone with Matt as possible.

The first order of business was the photo printing shop in town.

She’d already scanned the pictures on to her computer, so it was a simple matter to get them printed the way she wanted. From there, she went to the Lockhart Boutique on Main Street.

The dress salon was busy. A young actress was getting fitted for an awards show scheduled for later in the summer. A bride and her attendants were trying to select bridesmaid dresses—not easy, when there were so many gorgeous gowns and styles to choose from. Another young woman was trying to pick out a gown for the West Texas Ranchers Association summer gala.

Learning Jen was there for the same reason, the striking brunette introduced herself. “So you’re the artist Matt has been talking about.”

Jen made a face. “Good or bad?”

She laughed, as if that was a silly question. “All good, of course.” She extended her hand. “I’m Emily McCabe-Reeves, owner of the Daybreak Café across the street.”

Jen had heard of her, too. She turned around, checking out in the three-way mirror the turquoise gown she was trying on. “Luz told me that’s the one place in town I’ve got to be sure to visit.”

Emily stepped up to have a look at the grass-green gown she had on. “You should visit us, too. My husband, Dylan, and I have a ranch not too far from the Triple B. The Last Chance Ranch for troubled horses.”