Hell on Heels (Hotel Rodeo #1)(45)

“They say blood is thicker than water, but that’s nothing but bullshit,” Ty continued. “Tom is more of a father to me than mine ever was, and we aren’t even kin. Do you know what he did when that bull killed my father?”

“No. What happened, Ty?”

“Tom showed up the next day and drove me out to his ranch. He walked me out to where he had the bull penned and handed me a loaded rifle. That bull was Tom’s pride and joy and was intended to be his new herd sire. Hell, it wasn’t even the bull’s fault. He was just doing what he was bred to do—what he was born to do—but Tom nodded at the bull and said to me, ‘Do whatcha gotta do, son.’ I climbed inside that pen, stared the bull straight in the eye, and pulled the trigger. I shot the sonofabitch four times, but it didn’t bring my ol’ man back.”

“Oh my God.” She covered her mouth. “You were only a kid. How awful.”

“It was, but my point is that Tom stepped in and has been there for me ever since. He’s the real deal, Monica. He loves you. Screw the rest of ’em. Live your own life.”

“Yeah, well, independence isn’t all it’s cracked up to be,” she replied softly. Why did only Tom find her worthy of love?

Looking for a distraction, Monica stared out at the vista almost nine hundred feet below. The sun had started to dip, painting the mountains in the distance in soft shades of red, gold, and purple while the city came to life below in all its gaudy and glimmering glory. It was breathtaking, enough for her to lose herself for a time. “The view up here is incredible,” she murmured.

“It’s still only the second-best view,” Ty’s voice softly rumbled back.

“And the first?” she asked.

“If you really want to know, it’s watching the sunrise over Red Rock Canyon . . . from my bedroom window.” The invitation for something far more than the view glittered in his eyes.

Monica’s pulse raced with panic. She ached to see that sunrise but didn’t know how she could ever survive it unscathed. She should check into another hotel or, better yet, one of the condos at the Aria just down The Strip—anything but another night with Ty.

It would be so easy to succumb to temptation, but self-preservation prevailed. A moment later, she excused herself and slipped away to the ladies’ room to make some calls.

When she returned, Ty stood to pull out her chair. Monica sat down to the main course, only to find her appetite gone. “You’re folding again, aren’t you?” Ty easily read her thoughts. “I can see it in your eyes.”

She drew a long breath and forced her lips to form the right words. “Yes. Frankie’s already on his way to pick me up.” She laid her napkin down and stood on wobbly legs. “I’ll be staying at the Aria if you need me. Could you please send my things over?”

“Sure.” He said nothing further, but she registered the flicker of disappointment in his eyes.

Unable to suppress the urge, she laid her hand lightly on his. “Thank you for the dinner, Ty. I truly did enjoy it.”





Ty watched her leave, cursing himself. Why the hell did he keep setting himself up like this? He’d never been uncertain of himself where a woman was concerned, but Monica wouldn’t let him rest easy. Every time he thought he was on solid footing, it seemed to move beneath his boots, like shifting desert sand. He never knew quite where he stood.

He’d heard the hitch of her breath, had felt the sexual tension in her body, had seen the flare of desire in her eyes. His senses were long attuned to all those signs. There was nothing mixed about any of those signals, but she’d still walked out on him. She’d rejected him again.

Goddammit.

He reminded himself that he’d be seeing Cassie tomorrow night. But it wasn’t any good pretending anymore. He didn’t want Cassie. Or any other woman. He wanted Monica.





Chapter Fourteen


Monica forced herself to put one foot in front of the other, telling herself that leaving Ty at dinner had been the right thing. The smart thing. She never could have resisted him if she hadn’t. He made her feel far too much like a junkie needing a fix. Sleeping with him the first time had been a big mistake. She couldn’t afford to make that error again. She wasn’t a fool. She recognized her feelings as more than infatuation, and it was only going to get harder to keep up the pretense.

Especially now.

Tonight she’d seen Ty in an entirely new light. And every new revelation about him only increased his appeal. She’d underestimated him in so many ways. Ty was fiercely loyal to Tom. She’d been dead wrong to ever think otherwise. He was also intelligent, funny, and amazingly intuitive. He’d cut straight to the core of her relationships with her family and with Evan, with an insight she’d never gotten from three high-priced psychotherapists.

Staring up from the base of the Stratosphere at the last of the jumpers, she breathed a shaky sigh of relief that she’d narrowly escaped such a fall. She knew she was already teetering on the edge of it, but where Ty was concerned she didn’t have the protection of a safely harness.

Just as Frankie pulled up with the limo, she was startled by the contact of a warm hand on her shoulder. Her pulse racing as if in a free fall, she turned to find Ty. “Tell him you’ve changed your mind.”