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Things weren’t working out, Tyler decided a few days later. Despite them both agreeing to talk about the attraction they felt for each other, they were simply too busy to find the time to do just that. Each time they tried to set up a time to talk, something came up.
The world seemed to be against them. On the plus side, though, the business was taking off. He’d found quite a few new buyers when he’d taken a short trip to Dallas. They’d also come up with ideas for other breeds they’d consider and what buildings they’d need in the near future. Whenever he had a suggestion, Annie gave him the benefit of the doubt . . . well, after she first made him justify his opinion. But if he could back up his ideas with hard facts, she would listen, and often agree.
“So you think about this spot?” Annie asked. They’d walked over to a location beyond the barn on Tyler’s ranch where Brett thought a new storage room should be built.
“I think it’s great,” Brett said.
Annie looked at him and groaned. “Of course, you do. You recommended it.”
Tyler walked around the area. “Should work. It’s close to the barn.”
Brett jumped in. “This building will enable us to use our old barn just for sick horses. We can move everything else to your ranch, Tyler.”
“You want the sick horses so far away from everything else? Shouldn’t someone be near them at all times?” Annie asked.
“I will be close,” Brett said.
“Not at night,” Annie pointed out. “Your apartment is miles away, as is my house and Tyler’s house.”
“Well, about that . . .” Brett scratched the side of his face, then eventually said, “I’ve been talking to Dad and Mom about buying their place.”
Tyler might not be the smartest rooster on the farm, but even he knew this conversation might not go well. He looked at Annie, but he couldn’t tell from her expression how she felt about this new development. Why didn’t the people in her family share things with her? Seemed mean.
“I see,” she said. “Then your plan should work.”
With that, she started walking back to the barn. Brett and Tyler fell in step with her. Tyler would give anything to know what Annie was thinking. But she didn’t say anything, and Tyler wasn’t about to ask.
When they got back to Tyler’s barn, Brett headed over to the stalls. Tyler hesitated for a moment, then followed Annie to the small office she’d set up in the back.
“Go ahead and say it,” he said once she was sitting behind the desk.
“Say what?”
Her expression might be one of confusion, but Tyler would bet his best boots that Annie had an opinion about this sale. “What do you think about your folks selling their house to Brett?”
She shrugged. “It’s fine.” When he gave her a pointed look, she added, “I was surprised.”
Tyler sat in the chair facing her desk. “That he was buying it?”
With a small shake of her head, she said, “That they were selling. I didn’t know they had definitely decided to leave Falling Star. I know they’ve been talking about Tahiti, but I thought Brett and I had convinced them they needed to visit first. They have to learn what would be involved if they wanted to live there. It’s not as simple as moving to Florida or Arizona.”
“You should talk to them,” he said.
“I will.” She glanced out the door, then said, “Mind closing that?”
Tyler had a feeling he knew why she’d asked, so he did as she said. After the door was closed, he sat back down. “Want to talk about us?”
She looked at him, her hazel gaze unwavering. “Yes.”
“Good idea. So what do you think?”
A small smile appeared on her face. “No way. I’m not going first.”
“But it’s the polite thing to do—let ladies go first,” he said with a smile.
She laughed at his comment. “No. Not on this. What are your thoughts?”
He admitted the truth. “I’d like to date again.”
His response seemed to surprise her. For a moment, she just looked at him. Then she said, “And what happens if we break up? What happens to the business?”
He hadn’t really thought about that. But now that she brought it up, he realized it was a good point. “We’d have to agree not to let it impact the business.”
After sitting quietly for a few seconds, she said, “I don’t think I could do that. I’d have to sell my part of the business.”
Once again, she surprised him. “First off, I hate to start dating thinking only about what happens if it doesn’t work out.”
“But we have to do it,” she said. “It’s the mature thing to do.”
She was right and he knew it. “Fine. If we break up, I’ll sell my part of the business. You and Brett can still work it.”
With a shake of her head, she said, “No. I’d have to sell. Brett and I wouldn’t be able to buy you out. I have a backup, my bookkeeping, so I’d be fine.”
When he realized she was adamant, he relented. “Fine. I’ll buy you out.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.” He stood, shaking his head. “I have to say this was the least romantic conversation I’ve ever had.”
“But the most adult,” she pointed out.
She was right, but man, he hated that they had already planned what would happen if they failed. “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure we never have to follow this plan.”
His comment earned him a small smile. “I will too.”
“Okay. So you want to go out?”
Before she could answer, Brett burst in the door. He seemed surprised that Tyler was in the office with Annie. “Oops. Sorry.”
“It’s fine,” Annie said, then added, “Tyler and I are going on a date.”
Tyler had to laugh at the comical expression on Brett’s face. “I know. It’s a surprise.”
Brett shook his head. “Yes and no. I knew you two should get back together. The whole town knew that. I just never thought you’d be smart enough to figure that out.”
“Gee, thanks,” Annie said dryly.
“So when are you going out? Where are you going? Do you need a babysitter? Let me know if I can help. I’m a relationship guru,” Brett maintained.
This time, Annie laughed. Loudly. “You’re kidding, right? You don’t have a clue what you’re talking about, and you’re the last person to discuss relationships. You’ve only recently started dating women who are old enough to vote.”
Tyler couldn’t prevent a chuckle from escaping him. Annie had a point—Brett’s dates did tend to be young.
Brett frowned at his sister. “Fine. I’ll back off, if that’s what you want. But remember, I’m available for babysitting.” Then he winked at Tyler. “I’m glad you two are steaming each other’s glasses again.”
With the pronouncement, Brett left. Tyler could hear him whistling as he walked the length of the barn.
“Well, if nothing else, we’ve amused your brother.”
“True.” She looked at him, her expression worried. “I wonder why he came in. He never said.”
Tyler looked at the door, then back at her. “True. I’ll hunt him down and ask.”
“Are we making a mistake?”
Tyler had been heading for the door, but now he stopped, rooted to the spot. He had so many decisions to make in his life right now. Was it fair to get involved with Annie? He knew he wanted to, but was that a good enough reason?
“I’m not sure we can avoid it,” he admitted. “I have trouble thinking of anything but you these days. I’m constantly distracted when you’re near.”
His response seemed to surprise her. For several moments, she just looked at him. Then she smiled and said, “Really?”
He chuckled. “Don’t sound so surprised. You’ve always driven me crazy, Annie. You still do.”
“Then let’s go out on a date,” she said.
Tyler grinned. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this happy.
**
“We lost the babysitter,” Tyler said the second Annie opened the door. “Brett can’t make it, so he called your parents, who can’t make it, so they called my mother, who can’t make it.”
Annie took the news in stride. “Well, then we’ll have to have a different kind of date.”
Tyler was glad she didn’t call off the date. He wanted to see her, and it didn’t matter to him if Courtney was with them.
The door still blocked his view of everything except Annie’s face, but he knew she wasn’t ready for their date yet. Her hair hung in cute uncombed curls around her head, and her skin glowed like it had been recently scrubbed.
“So where should we go?” she asked.
“To someplace with a child’s play place,” he said. “That barbecue place we went to last time was nice, but she had no place to play. I bet we can find someplace better.”
Pushing lightly on the door, his grin grew when she released it and let him walk inside the house.
“We’ll have a great time,” he said, trying to keep his voice even when he saw what she wore. She had on a faded red robe that was a little too short and a little too tight, and it made Tyler’s blood pressure shoot up at an alarming rate. He cleared his throat. “Courtney loves me.” Needing to distract himself from the temptation Annie posed, he glanced around the living room. “So where is she?”
He didn’t have to wait for an answer to his question.
Courtney peeked out from behind her mother’s legs. The toddler let out a squeak of pleasure and ran to Tyler, her hands outstretched. “Man Man.”
Tyler scooped her up and gave her several noisy kisses on her forehead, which reduced the little girl to a fit of giggles.
“Just look how happy Courtney is to see me,” Tyler said, giving Courtney’s pudgy cheek another loud kiss. “Now how can we possibly leave without her?”
When he glanced at Annie, her attention was focused on the small gold watch on her wrist. After a few seconds, she nibbled on her pink lower lip, and he knew he had her. “Okay. If you’re sure you don’t mind,” she said.
“It will be fun.” He moved forward, close enough to her he could smell Annie’s perfume. He’d formed an addiction to the sultry scent, which always sent his thoughts racing to what his life would be like if he had a caring wife and a precious daughter of his own.
Annie stood watching him through narrowed eyes. Finally, she relented. “Fine. But just so you know, this kind of date can be messy. I’m going to change into jeans and a t-shirt.”
He smiled at her over Courtney’s blond head. “Sounds good to me.”
For a moment, her gaze locked with his. Then, with a tiny shake of her head, she headed down the hallway to her room.
Tyler waited in the living room, trying to teach Courtney to say his name, but she was adamant that he was Man Man. Finally, Tyler accepted her decision.
“Man Man it shall be,” he said in a silly voice that made her laugh.
Annie walked out of her room just then. “I told you. Sometimes you just accept what she calls things. When she gets older, she’ll learn the right words.”
“Or I’ll adjust to Man Man,” he teased.
As she’d promised, Annie had changed into jeans and a t-shirt, but these jeans were fairly new and not the old ones she wore to work on the ranch. The deep-blue t-shirt also seemed very new. Annie had always been pretty, but tonight, she looked beautiful—no, more than beautiful—she looked . . . mesmerizing.
“You look great, Annie,” he said, thankful that the attraction he felt at the moment didn’t echo in his voice.
Still, Annie must have sensed his thoughts. Meeting his gaze, she looked at him for several long moments. He only hoped she could read in his eyes what he longed to tell her.
The look she gave him was filled with suspicion. “Don’t—” She caught herself, then said, “Thank you.”
Tyler couldn’t help smiling. She almost told him not to compliment her, but at the last minute, she’d changed her mind.
Things were progressing nicely.
“Ready to go?” she asked.
“Courtney, you all set?” he asked the toddler. At the sound of her name, Courtney tipped her head and grinned up at Tyler. He tapped her nose, making her giggle. “Let’s go.”
**
“I had a wonderful time,” Annie said, surprised that the evening had gone so well. Just like the last time they’d eaten out, Tyler had been charming, and even Courtney had behaved.
Several times during the evening, Annie had thought about her feelings for Tyler. She was falling for him all over again. And she knew all too well that falling in love with Tyler was like going over Niagara Falls without even having a barrel for protection. All Tyler had to do was stand near her and her heart slammed in her chest, her stomach grew tight, and her skin tingled with anticipation. Once Tyler’s lips touched hers, she felt like she was on fire.
She was incredibly aware of the man standing by her front door with a sleeping Courtney in his arms. Annie moved toward the door, trying not to make eye contact with him and failing. His sparkling gaze never left her face. Struggling to keep a grip on her shaky nerves, she brushed past him and opened the door. Once inside, she led the way to Courtney’s room and watched as he lay the sleeping toddler on the bed. Together, they left quietly and returned to the living room.
“So . . . tonight was fun.” She deliberately tried to keep her tone light.
Tyler scratched his chin, his crooked grin still firmly on his face. “Yes.”
“You were great with Courtney. You always are,” she said, at a lost for topics. But her statement was true. He was gentle with her little girl, which was a side of him she had never known existed until a few weeks ago.
He grinned again. “She’s impossible not to love.”
Annie tossed her purse on the couch. She wasn’t certain what she wanted to happen now because she wasn’t sure she could trust herself at this moment. She found Tyler Nelson way too appealing.
He must have sensed her confusion, because he walked over to her. “I think I’d better head home.”
Annie tipped her head so she could look at him. As much as she wanted to tell him that was a good idea, she knew she wouldn’t. He was weaving his spell, seducing her with his gaze, with his words. She’d been so very lonely for such a long time, it felt wonderful to be alive again. Her blood soared through her veins; her heart slammed against her ribs. So many thoughts scrambled through her mind, images of the past, of her with Tyler, and of the kisses they’d shared.
She cleared her suddenly dry throat. “Probably the best idea,” she lied.
Tyler chuckled, the deep rumbling sound making Annie’s muscles tighten and her breathing become ragged. He ran one finger down the side of her face. “Then I’ll say good night,” he murmured, bending his head toward her.
She knew where this was headed, but she couldn’t do a thing to stop it. His husky voice enticed her, lured her into playing his game, a game she definitely wanted to play.
Tyler slipped his arms around her waist, and she moved forward without any prompting on his part.
“How about a chaste kiss like this?” he said, his voice soft and seductive.
She did nothing to stop him when he dipped his head and placed his lips against hers. His light kiss was enough to make her legs feel shaky. She wanted him to deepen the kiss, but he didn’t. Instead, he pulled away and studied her.
“Tyler” was all she said, but her husky voice made her feelings clear.
“Well, maybe I should try a quick brush like this.” When his lips returned to hers, she slipped her hands over his shoulders and linked her arms around his neck. This time, the kiss was slower, longer but still, he ended the kiss much too soon for her liking.
“You’re a mean man,” she teased.
“Okay, well how about a lingering goodbye,” he said. When his lips met hers this time, he kissed her for several long minutes. The kiss was filled with passion and promise. Annie felt it clear to her toes. She kissed him back with everything she had. When they finally ended the kiss, Annie couldn’t prevent the quiet groan that escaped her lips. Tyler ran a string of soft kisses down the side of her neck. When his mouth returned to hers, he said against her lips, “So I guess I’ll say good night.”
“Um, okay.”
“Tyler,” she murmured, leaning against him. He made her feel safe and scared at the same time. Without waiting for her to say anything else, Tyler dropped one final kiss on her mouth and walked to the front door.
“You’re leaving?” she asked, stunned.
“Yes. This is our first real date. I want this relationship to last, so I plan to take things slowly.” With a small, sexy grin, he said, “Good night, Annie.”
After he’d left, Annie stared at the door. Maybe he was right. They were starting over again, so it made sense to take their time. Maybe this time things would work out. And who knew? Maybe all the wishes she’d made on falling stars hadn’t been a waste.