Secret Love

And that was the reason for his bad mood.

The men were still talking about her visit and the pies she’d baked for them. There was nowhere he could go on the ranch without hearing her name or someone singing her praises. He knew she had baked another batch of cookies, this time for his men. It had been Blaylock whom she had called to pick up the delivery, not him. A part of him should have been overjoyed at the thought that he hadn’t had to see her again, but he wasn’t.

It had been two days and two nights, and instead of feeling relieved, he was feeling annoyed. Which was one of the reasons he had deliberately not gone back to the ranch at midmorning like he normally did. Blaylock had casually mentioned at breakfast that he would be going to the cabin to fetch Diamond to the ranch for a cooking lesson in chili making.

Jake shook his head. Although everyone knew that Blaylock made the best chili this side of the Mexican border, he couldn’t figure out why on earth Diamond would want to know how to do it. She had enough money to hire the most expensive cooks that money could buy. Why would she want to learn anything about cooking chili?

Just for the novelty of it, an inner voice told him. It’s something new and different to her. It’ll wear off soon enough, and she’ll be just like the other sophisticates, bored as sin. Who knows. She may even become bored enough to shorten her three-week stay at Whispering Pines.

Jake’s jaw tightened and the muscle there began to twitch at the thought of her leaving before she was supposed to. He suddenly became irritated with himself yet again for even caring what she did. Totally frustrated, like he had been for the past two days, he stomped out of the barn and walked toward the house.

Opening the door, he paused in the doorway when he heard the sound of voices. More specifically he heard Blaylock’s chuckles and a woman’s laughter. No one had to tell him that laugh had come from Diamond.

Jake frowned. Blaylock had assured him Diamond would be gone when he returned to the ranch later that afternoon, so what was she still doing here? He decided not to even find out. He was about to ease out of the door and go back to the barn before anyone realized he’d come in, when Diamond and Blaylock walked out of the kitchen into the hallway. They looked over in his direction and saw him.

Jake swore beneath his breath as his gaze met Diamond’s. He suddenly felt the walls crashing in on him, tumbling his world as he knew it. His breath got lodged in his throat. Heat gripped his entire body. Waves of awareness washed over him. All these things were happening, it seemed, all at once. And it didn’t help matters that she looked so darn beautiful.

Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to breathe normally and to get control of himself. He tried not to notice how totally feminine she looked in a floral print sundress. And he sure as heck tried not to notice that she was wearing her hair differently. It was combed back in, of all things, a ponytail. And to make matters worse, it didn’t help any for her to look at him with such a warm smile on her lips. Especially when they were lips he now knew the taste of. If only he didn’t remember that.

“Hello, Jacob. It’s good seeing you again. How have you been?”

Infuriated with himself for letting her get next to him again, he folded his arms across his chest. “If you must know, ma’am,” he drawled with agitated politeness, “I haven’t been doing so hot. But thanks for asking.”

Diamond lifted her brow, and Jake saw a flash of comprehension form in her eyes. “Really, Jacob? Now isn’t that a coincidence. I haven’t been doing so hot myself.”

“Getting bored already?”

She smiled at him again—darn it. “I could never get bored here.”

Jake shook his head. He had heard that one before. “Well, don’t let me stop whatever the two of you were about to do. I’ll just run upstairs and take my shower.”

“I was about to take Diamond back to the cabin, Jake, but now that you’re here, maybe you could take her back. I need to get dinner started,” Blaylock said, reminding them of his presence.

Jake stared at Diamond for a second before making a decision. “Sure, why not. Are you ready to leave now, or can you wait until after I’ve showered?”

“I can wait.”

Nodding, Jake turned toward the stairs. “I’ll be back down in a half hour.”

“I didn’t mean to be a bother, Jacob.”

Jake had brought the Jeep to a stop in front of the cabin and instead of getting out, he had turned in his seat. He was staring at her, Diamond thought, and had even pushed his Stetson farther back on his head, away from his eyes as if to get a better view. He had not said one word since leaving the ranch house. But he didn’t have to, she concluded. What she saw in his expression spoke volumes. Desire, hot desire, flared in his dark eyes, and the sparks from it flamed her all over and took her breath away.

Diamond tore her gaze away from his. The heat penetrating from his eyes had become unbearable. The woman in her recognized his need. It was surrounding her, entrenching her. The woman in her also recognized his resistance. He didn’t want to have anything to do with her. She understood. Deep down she didn’t want to have anything to do with him, either, but the attraction was too strong, too overwhelming for either of them. She had realized that fact two nights ago when he had kissed her. She had realized it again today when she had seen him for the first time since that night. Even with Blaylock in the room with them, they hadn’t been able to mask the heat, the wanting, the desire. When he had mentioned that he hadn’t been doing so hot, she had wanted to go to him, stroke away the hardness that had formed in his cheeks and then soften his grim mouth with her own.