Slow Hand (Hot Cowboy Nights, #1)(69)

“No.”

“He cheated?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I wasn’t there long enough.”

“You’re wrong there. Where there’s a cheater there’s a way. I speak from experience. The length of the relationship is irrelevant. So did he get drunk and slap you around?”

“No. He’s a perfect gentleman and doesn’t drink. Well, not anymore.”

“Did he suck in bed?”

“God no! He was incredible. The best. Ever. No contest.”

“All right, time to cut through the bullshit,” Shelby said, blunt as ever. “What is your freaking problem, Nikki? Why the hell are you sitting here in Georgia completely miserable, when you could be happily boffing like bunnies with your hot Montana cowboy lawyer?”

Nikki gaped at Shelby as if she were Confucius incarnate. “You know, Shelby, that’s a damned good question.”





Chapter 19


Wade had left Nikki in a rage, but his bottled fury had faded to really pissed-off by the time he’d driven back to Bozeman. Now after weeks of aging, it had mellowed all the way down the scale to moderate resentment. Although he still hadn’t spoken to her directly, he’d kept up with the smallest details regarding her estate. Wanting to avoid any awkwardness in their professional relationship, he’d limited his communication with her as much as possible, instructing Iris to field her questions and return calls on his behalf.

It was easier for them both this way. He missed her like hell, but didn’t know what he could say to her that he hadn’t already said. Well, there was one thing. It had even been on the tip of his tongue more than once, but repeating those three words without some assurance of reciprocation scared the shit out of him.

Since she left, he’d gone back to his old routine, filling all his days and more than half his nights with work. Defying his best efforts, she still invaded his thoughts every moment he let his mind stray. Wade vividly recalled every detail, from their first meeting at the airport to their bitter parting, and everything in between—especially what had come in between.

His mind lingered on those days and nights that now left him feeling sexually frustrated and confused. There were still so many things he’d wanted to do to her. Hell, he couldn’t even look at a cannoli without getting a hard-on. He’d never experienced anything like it. He craved her voice, laugh, the feel of her beneath him, surrounding him, but it was much more than great sex. Everything about them together seemed to fit. It had seemed like some kind of karma the way they had come together. It had to be. She was so damned easy to be with. He loved that about her. There was no pretense about her. Nikki was the real thing. They were the real thing. Why couldn’t she see it, too?

Wade toed off his boots and then shrugged out of his shirt. He was considering whether he should relieve his sexual frustration with a cold shower or just go ahead and jerk himself off, when the phone rang. His chest tightened when he recognized her number. For a moment he considered letting it go to voice mail, but on the fourth ring, he snatched up the phone.

“Hello, Nikki.” He paused. “What can I do for you?”

“Hi, Wade.” Silence. “Do you think we can talk?”

“Depends on what you want to talk about. Anything business related is billable time.” He winced at his tone. He sounded like a real *.

“I know that,” she replied. “But I need your advice.”

“That so? Then I’m all ears, sweetheart.”

“Allie called me with an offer on the riverfront piece today.”

“Yeah, I heard about that. She worked some magic pulling that deal together. The buyer’s the same guy who wanted the Flying K. When that deal fell through, she showed him your quarter section on the river. Turns out he’s an avid angler and snapped at it like a trout to live bait.”

“Lucky me,” she said dryly.

“You don’t sound too excited,” he couldn’t help remarking. “You’re gonna accept the offer, aren’t you? I understand it’s a cash deal.”

“So you think I should accept it?”

“Yeah. Take the money and run…wait,” he couldn’t help adding, “I guess you already did that second part.”

“That was unfair.”

“Never said I play fair.”

Another silence. “Allie says there’s also an offer on the pasturelands, but it’s a lease. That’s what I really needed to talk to you about.”

“There are significant tax advantages to leasing it out, especially if you keep it agricultural. If you sell off everything at once, you’re likely to lose your ass in taxes.”

“That’s what I thought, but I want to better understand the ins and outs of all this before I decided anything. So you think I should accept the lease deal as well?”

“Yes, as long as the price is fair.”

“I don’t know if you’re going to feel the same about the offer when I tell you who’s made it.”

“Why would that matter? Who is it?”

“Your brother?”

“Dirk?” That news took him by surprise.

“Why would your brother want to lease pastureland from me?”

“I’m not involved,” Wade replied curtly.