Taking Charge (Lone Star Burn #4)(35)

Her eyes met his and were full of such yearning, he would have promised her anything. “I’d want to forget about everything back in Mavis and enjoy the weekend.”

He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her fingers gently. “So do it.”

She looked deeply into his eyes and bit her bottom lip. “Just like that?”

“Just like that. Lucy Albright, let’s go see people we love and have a few laughs.”

With a shaky sigh, she said, “That sounds perfect.” She smiled, and it lit up her face. “Sarah has been asking me to come visit, and I’ve been putting it off. It’ll be wonderful to see her.”

David nodded. “I’ll enjoy watching Tony sweat a little about the fact that all his help wants to join me in Mavis.”

“They do?” She looked so concerned that he rushed to reassure her.

“Not really. A year ago they would have, but things are better there now. He’s a damn fine horse trainer, and they’d stay just to learn from the best, but even a good man needs his ego trimmed back a bit now and then.”

She looked across at him through her lashes. “Even you?”

As serious as he could force himself to sound, he said, “No. I’m the perfect combination of humble and amazing.”

Her eyebrows shot up, then she laughed and it was music to his ears. “It’s hard to see the humble.”

David kept smiling, simply happy to see her smiling.

She shook her head. “I know the story about how you met Tony, but I can’t imagine the two of you working together for as long as you have. You’re so different. He’s closed off, but you’re easy to get along with.”

It was a question David had been asked many times. “On the surface, Tony and I seem different, but in ways that matter we have similar philosophies. You can tell a lot about a man by how he is around creatures that depend on him. On his worst day, in his darkest of hours, Tony made sure his horses were respected.”

Lucy nodded. “I can see that. What about Mason Thorne? He’s an interesting bird.”

David thought that was a good assessment of the ex-actor turned California State senator. “Once I looked past the bull he spouts, I began to appreciate that he’s often the first one to show up when someone is in a bind. He and Chelle are the perfect pair. She grounds him, and he puts a sparkle in her eyes that wasn’t there before.”

Lucy’s expression closed, and she turned away from him. He didn’t know exactly what he’d said that upset her, but he let her withdraw. He’d bring her back to that bridge again and again until she was able to cross it fearlessly.





Chapter Nine


Lucy stared down at the blanket of clouds below the plane and gripped the armrest. When David had mentioned how good Mason and Chelle were for each other, she’d thought, I want that.

That’s all it had taken to send her into an emotional tailspin. Could David and I be that for each other? What if he hates the idea of me selling sex toys?

Stop.

I’m overthinking this.

David’s a nice man.

He’s fun to be with.

None of that means we’ll spend the rest of our lives together or even date. I don’t need his approval.

Enjoy the weekend. Flirt a little.

Nothing has to happen.

She glanced across the small aisle at David. He was reading a magazine, but he looked up and met her eyes. She opened her mouth to apologize. She wanted to say she knew how ungrateful she seemed and how much she appreciated his kindness, but she closed her mouth without uttering a word and turned away from him again.

The pilot announced they were preparing to land, and Lucy let out a sigh of relief. After landing, she unbuckled her seat belt, gathered up her purse, and forced a smile to her face. “I can’t wait to see Sarah.”

When David didn’t say anything, she raised her eyes to his. In one strong, incredibly sexy move, he dug his hand into the hair on the back of her neck and kissed her until she was arching against him wantonly. He released her and said, “Me too,” as if they hadn’t just exchanged a soul-rocking kiss.

Lucy swayed on her feet and brought a shaking hand to her lips. David stepped back and motioned toward the door. “Ready?”

She searched his face for what he was thinking but couldn’t read his expression. “What are we doing, David?”

A gentle smile stretched his lips. “Forgetting about everything else and enjoying the weekend.”

The pilot opened the door of the plane, and before Lucy had time to think much about what David had said, Sarah was bolting up the plane’s steps to hug her. “It is so good to see you,” Sarah exclaimed.

Lucy hugged her back tightly. “You too.”

Once released, Sarah threw her arms around David and gave him what looked like a bone-crunching embrace as well. “It feels like you’ve been gone forever.”

David laughed. “Hardly more than a week.”

Sarah’s smile was infectious. “Tony missed you, too, although he probably won’t say it.” The three of them walked down the steps of the plane together.

Tony pushed himself off from the front of an SUV and came to greet them. He wasn’t the huggable type, but Lucy gave him one anyway. He hugged her back, proof of Sarah’s influence on him.