Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 57350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Adam crossed his arms. “You and the Lady Elks need to leave well enough alone, Dawn.”
Hawk glanced sideways at his fiancé. “Please tell me you’re not involved in one of their schemes.”
Dawn patted his broad hand on the table. “Of course not.”
Instead of looking reassured, Hawk’s eyes narrowed. “Dawn Eleanor Freeze, I’m telling you right now—”
Dawn’s phone buzzed. She lifted it to her ear just as a waitress arrived and set down four plastic red glasses of water before passing out laminated menus with curled edges.
“Hey,” Dawn answered the phone.
The sparkle in her eyes dimmed, and her mouth tightened as she listened. “Wait—what? Is she okay? What’s happening?”
Hawk turned almost fully in the booth, broad shoulders angling toward Dawn. Adam shifted beside Bianca, his posture sharpening.
“What’s going on?” Hawk asked.
“Who’s hurt?” Adam said.
Dawn held up a finger. “Yeah, we’re on our way home.” She motioned for Hawk to slide out of the booth.
The big guy moved quickly, helping her out.
Adam rose as well, the table wobbling faintly. “Do you need help? Who’s in trouble?”
Dawn ended the call. “No. Leila fell off her horse.”
Hawk went still. “How bad?”
“Lisa said she’s fine,” Dawn said. “A little banged up. She wasn’t sure whether she should call us.” She glanced at Bianca. “Lisa’s a distant cousin who was babysitting.”
“But she’s fine?” Adam asked firmly.
Dawn shook her head. “Yeah, but I still want to go home.” Dawn looked at Hawk, who nodded immediately.
“Definitely. We’re going home and checking on her,” Hawk said.
Adam straightened. “If you need me, call me.”
Dawn reached across the table and squeezed Bianca’s hand, brief and warm. “Why don’t you come by tomorrow morning for coffee, and I’ll show you around a working ranch? We’ll have to take a rain check on the double date.”
Bianca opened her mouth to object to the wording, but Dawn and Hawk were already moving, the bell over the diner door jangling sharply as it swung shut behind them. The booth felt quieter without them, the air settling.
“You can go if you want.” Bianca looked up at Adam.
“No.” He slid into Hawk’s vacated seat across from her, crowding the table. “If Lisa said Leila’s okay, she is. Kids fall off horses all the time around here.” His gaze warmed. “I like the cowboy boots. You trying to fit in?”
“Definitely,” she said, the word coming too easily. Why not tell him the truth?
His eyes held the most intriguing shades of brown with gold flecks. “Rodeo means something different here than a drive.”
She rolled her eyes and fought amusement. Yeah, she’d spent some time on Rodeo Drive. That had been important to her mother, so why lie about it?
The waitress appeared again beside the booth, pen poised. “Adam and the movie star lady. How are you tonight?” She had bright purple hair and a lip piercing, and was dressed in jeans and a cute blue sweater that looked handmade rather than bought.
“Fine, and don’t gossip, Taylor,” Adam drawled.
The girl winked at him. She couldn’t have been more than sixteen and apparently had no problem ignoring the slight bite in his tone. “Right. Like everyone in town doesn’t already know you’re together on a date. It’s nice to see you with someone, Adam.”
Bianca bit her lip. Why not have some fun? “Adam doesn’t date much?”
Taylor leaned in. “Like, hardly at all. I mean, we thought he and Dawnie Freeze were dating, but she’s always loved Hawk, so that wouldn’t have worked out, anyway.”
Adam sighed. “Dawn sings at the bar sometimes, but we’ve never been on a date. Ever. Not once.”
Taylor patted his shoulder. “I know. It’s okay.”
Adam’s jaw set.
The oddest urge to laugh overtook Bianca, and she cleared her throat. “Well, he’s cute and he owns his own business. You’d think he’d be a fine catch.”
Taylor shook her head, tsking her tongue. “Right? I know of several women who’ve tried to lasso him, but no one is quick enough. He’s a stubborn one.”
Oh, this was hysterical. The look on Adam’s face, one of warning, tempted Bianca to change the subject. But she just couldn’t. “Maybe he doesn’t like women?” She lifted her glass to her lips.
Adam cocked his head.
Taylor sighed. “That would be totally fine, because I know Jamie Bobston totally thinks Adam’s hot, and he and Larry Jakob broke up almost a year ago, but only women have been sneaking out of Adam’s rooms above the bar early in the morning. You know? Walk of shame and all that?”
Bianca almost spit out the water.
Taylor grinned. “Not that it’s a walk of shame. That’s just a figure of speech, you know? Nobody judges. Everyone would just like to see Adam happy. In fact, he never takes anyone out to his ranch house to stay. He should.”
“Taylor—” Adam started.
Taylor held up a hand. “So, if you end up leaving the bar early in the morning, don’t be embarrassed, okay?”