Her Sexy Texas Cowboy

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“JESSICA, IT’LL ALL be fine. You just need to stop worrying,” Renee said in her most soothing voice, trying to calm her sister’s newest anxiety issue. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes, though, and was glad her sister couldn’t see her through the phone.

“I know you’re rolling your eyes at me over there,” her sister chirped back, “but this is important. What if the whole thing is a disaster? I’ve been planning for months for every possible problem, but I never expected this.”

Renee sighed. “Stew is a nice guy. You’re just freaking out because you haven’t met him yet and it’s a little weird to think of Mom having a boyfriend. What do you think he’ll do, scream obscenities during the ceremony? Take off all his clothes and bathe in the potato salad at the reception?”

She snorted, picturing her mother’s slightly stuffy boyfriend doing anything of the sort. “Besides,” she continued, “I thought your wedding was going to be super low-key. You’re having it at your house. How much could there possibly be to plan, or to screw up? You said you were keeping it casual.”

She looked at the bridesmaid’s dress hanging on the back of her door. It was all clean lines and conservative cuts. Pretty, but definitely not something she would wear to a gala or anything. The only thing that kept it from being something Renee might wear to a dinner with friends—besides the fact that she was always too busy to go to dinner with friends—was the color: a gorgeous violet, the color of a summer evening right after the sun set.

It was a beautiful color, but Renee knew it was all wrong for her. She pushed her shoulder-length, strawberry blond hair behind her right ear, wishing she’d been gifted with Jessica’s lustrous auburn locks. Her sister could pull off that color just fine, but Renee was certain it just made her look even more washed-out and freckly than normal. Not that she’d say anything like that to her worrier of a sister.

“It’s casual,” Jessica replied, “just a very planned casual. I don’t want to have to worry about anything that day, and the only way that’ll happen is if I have everything planned. That way, I won’t need to feel anxious about anything.”

“That’s why I’m flying in tomorrow, Jess. I’m tying up the last few things at work tomorrow morning, and then I’ll have the whole week completely free to help with everything. We’ll make sure it’s all ready and you can enjoy the weekend without needing to triple-check anything, because we’ll have already taken care of it.”

Renee waited for her sister to see the logic in what she said, though she seriously doubted Jessica’s ability to go an entire day, especially her wedding day, without feeling anxious. Still, it was her job to keep her sister from freaking out, and she was prepared to do her damnedest. No matter how difficult it was for her to go an entire week away from her job.

She heard Jessica let out a deep breath and smiled to herself. After twenty-six years as sisters, she’d gotten pretty good at figuring out how Jessica was feeling, and she knew she’d said the right thing.

“You’re right, Renee. It’ll be great, I’m sure. Thanks again for coming down early and helping. I owe you.”

“It’s nothing,” she answered, even though her fingers itched when she thought of all the work she’d be missing over the next week. “I have the vacation time just sitting there, and we can spend some time doing sisterly things. It’s been a long while since just the two of us hung out.” Renee picked up another pair of jeans and tossed them into her half-filled suitcase.

“Definitely. Oh! I almost forgot. Is it okay if Aaron’s friend Jeremiah picks you up from the airport? He’s going to be in town anyway. You remember him from Vegas, right?”

Renee felt her ears burn, so glad her sister couldn’t see her blush. She remembered Jeremiah, all right. Her heart thumped harder in her chest just thinking about Aaron’s drop-dead-gorgeous friend. She had flown to Las Vegas in early December to surprise her sister with her perfect “bachelorette party,” which meant dinner and drinks with family and Jessica’s best friend, Cindy.

Renee hadn’t expected to be introduced to the sexiest man she’d ever met, but when Jeremiah walked in with Jessica’s fiancé, she nearly fell out of her chair. Even over a month later, she could still picture his sparkling brown eyes, easy smile and thick dark hair, which she had spent more time than she’d like to admit imagining running her fingers through. The blood rushed away from her face and to a much more intimate location just thinking about it.

“Renee?”

She was brought abruptly out of her reverie by her sister’s voice. “Sure, that’s fine,” she responded, hoping her sister didn’t notice her sudden breathlessness.

“Great. He said he’d meet you at baggage claim. See you tomorrow, little sis. Thanks again.”

“Love ya, big sis. See you tomorrow.”

She hung up and sat at her table, letting her mind wander right back to Jeremiah. She hadn’t really talked to him that night in Vegas, and that was on purpose. Throwing herself at the best friend of her sister’s soon-to-be husband was definitely a no-no, and trying to have a normal conversation with someone that sexy seemed impossible. Avoiding the situation altogether had been her only plan of action.

Still, she couldn’t help but notice how friendly and easygoing he was with the whole group. She also couldn’t help but notice the way his muscles moved under his shirt and the way his lips begged to be kissed. He had been playing the starring role in her fantasies since then, and those lips had played a very important part.

And now she was going to be spending a significant amount of time with him in close quarters. She gave herself about a fifty percent chance of getting through the car ride without saying or doing something incredibly stupid.

Renee shook her head, trying to get herself together. This week was about Jessica and Aaron, not her desire to jump into bed with Jeremiah. Maybe if she told herself that enough times, she’d remember it when she actually saw him.

* * *

JEREMIAH’S EYES, THE color of coffee, captured her and sent jolts of excitement along her spine. He stepped so close she could feel the heat from his body all the way down hers, and he placed his hand on her neck, his thumb rubbing along her jawline, making her purr in response.

His other arm slid around her waist, pulling her even closer, until her body was pressed against his and she could feel his hardness and strength. Renee let her hands graze over the muscles of his arms as they moved up and around his neck.

When he spoke, his voice was a low growl, his usual carefree tones darkened with primal urgency. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do this.”

Her breath came in short gasps as she waited while he leaned toward her with agonizing slowness, his lips drawing ever closer. Her mouth opened for him, inviting him in.

Renee sighed and opened her eyes. Her dark bedroom greeted her, feeling much colder and emptier than it usually did. She glanced at her phone for the time and groaned. Her alarm would be going off in five minutes. Not nearly enough time to slip back into her dream and enjoy the image as completely as she would like.

She told herself to get up, but stayed under the covers with her eyes closed, allowing the picture to last just another moment.

Finally, after another sigh, she pulled herself out of bed and turned on the light, running her fingers over her face and through the tangles of her hair. She hadn’t seen Jeremiah in weeks, yet she could still picture exactly how sexy he was. And if she couldn’t keep her hands off him in her dreams, how was she possibly going to get through the next week around him?

Maybe he wasn’t as fantastic in real life, she told herself. Maybe she’d let her imagination run away with her since Vegas, and he’d end up being a complete disappointment when she saw him again.

Yeah, right.

She shook her head to quiet her thoughts and tried to refocus her mind on the tasks she wanted to tackle this morning, but even her job couldn’t completely erase the image of Jeremiah with his arm encircling her. She shook her head again and went to make some coffee. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

FORTY MINUTES LATER, Renee walked through the snowy streets to work. It was only a couple of blocks from her apartment, but her toes felt frozen by the time she stepped into the building, and she gratefully breathed in the blast of hot air that greeted her. New York City was bitterly cold in February, and her dress slacks and heels didn’t exactly keep her toasty. At least Texas would be warmer, she reminded herself, trying to create some excitement about her trip to replace her nerves over seeing Jeremiah again and the guilt of being away from her job for so long.

In the elevator, she took off her thick coat and brushed her hair back off her shoulders, watching the numbers climb until it stopped on the twentieth floor. As the doors slid open, the two-foot-high letters loomed above her, as they did every day, and just like every other day, they made her smile. The Empire Magazine head office had been her home for almost four years, since she became an intern fresh out of college, and she felt her heart jump with excitement in the same way it had since her first day.

Renee’s friends constantly told her she was a workaholic and needed to take a break, but the truth was, she loved her job. She had meant to take today off as well as next week, but in the end she hadn’t been able to do it—there were a few last things she wanted to tweak before going, and Renee couldn’t bring herself to leave the work for the others on her team. Or worse, just submit everything as it was.

Striding quickly through the hallways, Renee made her way to her office, smiling at coworkers as she went.

As her computer booted to life, she settled into her chair. She just needed two hours to finish perfecting one of her spreads for the next issue, and then she would leave, she promised herself.

A head covered in black curls popped into her doorway as Jeff, a man on Renee’s design team, leaned in. “You’re not supposed to be here, remember? That’s how vacations work.”

Renee smiled. “I know. I’m just not quite finished with the layout of one of my articles. Then I’ll go, I promise. I’ve got a flight to catch.”

“Well, Patty heard you were in the office. She wants to see you, whenever you have a second.”

She thanked him, wondering what her boss could possibly want to see her about. She was probably just going to lecture her about overworking again. Patty did that every few weeks, and had been overjoyed when Renee told her she needed to use some of her vacation time.

Renee glanced at her computer once more before leaving her office. The spreads would need to wait a few more minutes.

Four hours later, Renee rushed out of the building into the icy air, praying she would make her flight. Her mind was such a jumble with what Patty had told her that there was hardly any room for anxiety to creep in.

After forty years in the business, Patty was retiring. And she wanted Renee to take over her position. Renee still couldn’t believe it. She had thought it would be years before she’d get this opportunity, and here it was, so close she could taste it.

As she hopped out of the cab and dashed into the airport, thoughts of her new job stuck with her, sending flurries of excitement through her stomach.