A Cowboy Comes Home by Barbara Dunlop Read Free Book Online Page B

became introspective. “I remember wishing I could be that beautiful.”
    Caleb couldn’t hold back his opinion. “You are that beautiful.”
    Mandy laughed. “No, I’m not.” She held out her hands. “Calluses. I have calluses. Danielle has a perfect French manicure, and I have calluses.” She peered at her small hands. “I think there might even be dirt under my fingernails.”
    “Danielle has never had to clean tack.”
    “No kidding.”
    “I mean, she lives a completely different life than you do.”
    Mandy’s face twisted into a grimace. “She goes to parties and I shovel manure?”
    “Her world is all about image. Yours is all about practicality.”
    “I’m just a sturdy, little workhorse, aren’t I?”
    “Are you wallowing in self-pity, Mandy Jacobs?”
    She went silent, her glare speaking for her.
    Caleb moved inches closer, fighting a grin of amusement. “Are you by any chance jealous of Danielle?”
    Mandy tossed back her hair in defiance. “Jealous of a stunningly beautiful, elegant, intelligent, successful lawyer, who’s flying off to Rio—”
    “Sao Paulo,” Caleb corrected, enjoying the flash of emotion that appeared deep within Mandy’s green eyes.
    “They’re both in Brazil.”
    “It’s a big country. One’s a beach resort, the other’s full of skyscrapers, banks and boardrooms.” He fought the urge to reach out and touch her. “But I’d take you to Rio if that’s where you wanted to go.”
    She cocked her head sideways. “You’d take me to Rio?”
    “I would.” He dared stroke an index finger across the back of her hand. “We’d dress up, and go dancing at a real club and have blender drinks on the beach. You could even get a manicure if you’d like.”
    “Are you flirting with me?”
    He met her gaze full on. “Absolutely.”
    “You have women like Danielle in your life, and yet you’re flirting with me?”
    “I am.”
    “Why?”
    Caleb debated for a moment before answering. But then he reminded himself he was in Colorado. People were forthright around here. And he owed Mandy no less than she was giving him.
    “Because you’re real,” he told her. “You’re not some plastic package, constructed to appeal to a man’s anthropological triggers. When you laugh, it’s because you’re happy. When you argue, it’s because you have a point to make. And when your eyes smolder, it’s because you’re attracted to me, not because you’ve spent days and weeks practicing the exact, right look to make a man think you’re interested in him.”
    “I’m not interested in you.”
    “But you are.” He smoothed a stray lock of her hair and tucked it behind one ear. “That’s what’s so amazing about you. Your body language doesn’t lie.”
    “And if my body language slaps you across the face?”
    “I hope it’ll be because I’ve done something to deserve it.” Because, then the slap would be worth it.
    “You’re impossible.” But her voice had gone bedroom husky. Her pupils were dilated, and her dark pink lips were softened, slightly parted.
    “It’s not me you’re fighting,” he told her.
    She didn’t answer. Her breathing grew deeper while a pink flush stained her cheeks.
    He moved the last couple of inches. Then he dared to bracket her face with his hands. Her skin was smooth, warm and soft against his palms. His pulse jumped, desire igniting a buzz deep in his belly.
    He bent his head forward, his lips parting in anticipation of her taste. He hadn’t even kissed her yet, and desire was turning his bloodstream into a tsunami.
    She sucked in a quick breath, her jade-green eyes fluttering closed.
    Caleb could tell stop signals from go signals, and this was definitely a go. Her head tilted sideways, as she leaned into his palm. He crossed the final inches, her sweet breath puffing against his face in the split second before his lips touched hers.
    Desire exploded in his chest. He’d meant it to be a gentle kiss, but raw passion pushed him