Do You Take This Enemy?

Julian nodded.

Ashley waited while Gabe set his son in the back of the pickup and Julian seemed to lose interest in the adults and began to play with his toys. Gabe walked back to talk to her.

As he neared, his brown eyes held her. What caused all this electricity when she was within four feet of him? It surely wasn’t from the schoolgirl crush she’d once had.

He stopped only a few feet away and hooked his hands into his pockets.

“You cheated,” she said, too aware that her voice was breathless.

“How’s that?” he asked while his brows arched with curiosity.

“Bringing your son. He’s adorable.”

Something sparked in Gabe’s eyes, and he inhaled deeply. “You don’t know that. You only said hello. He could be a little terror.”

“Little children aren’t terrors,” she replied promptly.

“When have you been around any?”

“My younger cousins. I volunteered to teach Sunday school and to coach soccer when I was in Chicago. I like kids.”

“You’re making me like my proposition even more,” he said, moving closer and reaching out to touch her arm lightly. “If you’re seven months along, do you know what you’re having?”

“Yes. A girl.”

“Ahh. That’s nice. Boy or girl—it’s great. Except I know a little more about boys. But I can learn,” he said, smiling at her, and she shook her head.

“You’re irrepressible,” she said.

“I’m surprised that you wanted to meet here, where any neighbor who passes will see a Brant talking to a Ryder and start all kinds of rumors.”

Electrified by his touch, she stepped back slightly.

His brow arched, and he gave her a look that made her whole body tingle. “It bothers you to stand close to me?”

“I’m not accustomed to being around Brants,” she said, knowing it was a ridiculous answer, but she didn’t want to admit how much he disturbed her.

He reached out again to stroke her arm lightly with his finger. “This is an interesting surprise, Ashley,” he said softly, his voice growing husky. “We have some kind of chemistry between us.”

His dark eyes were full of curiosity, and she flushed. “It doesn’t outweigh all our family history of feuding,” she replied.

A faint smile curved one corner of his mouth and his long-lashed, bedroom eyes snapped with interest. “I disagree. I think it snuffs out any idea of feuding with you. No, when I get around you, feuding is not what I want to do,” he drawled in a sexy tone that made her pulse jump another notch.

She leaned closer to him. “You know what I think? I think you’re trying to sweet-talk me into this marriage you’re proposing. You may forget about the Brant-Ryder history, but I can’t.”

“Now I find that a real challenge—to see if I can make you forget about the feud,” he said softly.

She knew he was flirting, and, while it was exciting, at the same time she was suspicious of his motives. There was too much at stake, and in five generations, no Ryder had ever trusted a Brant.

“It’s absolutely impossible for me to forget.”

“We’ll see,” he said with amusement dancing in his eyes. “Did you think about what I said?”

“I’m thinking about it.” She would never admit that she couldn’t put him or his proposal out of her thoughts.

“Good.” His gaze swept over her. “You sure have changed since high school.”

“You didn’t know me in high school,” she said. “You’d already gone off to college.”

“I was home at a couple of parties—I saw you around town. We just didn’t speak. You were a skinny kid with braces—you’ve grown up into a beautiful woman.”

“Thank you, but you can save the compliments.”

“Did you tell your dad about my proposal?”

She was looking into dark eyes that nailed her with their forcefulness. He was too close, too masculine, too sinfully handsome. She could detect his aftershave, and facing him at this range was more disturbing than ever.

“Yes, I did. He was furious and appalled.”

“But you know I have a proposition that’s worth considering, don’t you? Admit the truth now.”

“Yes, I do,” she snapped.

“Go to dinner with me tomorrow night so we can discuss marriage.”

“I don’t want to go out to dinner and start all kinds of wild rumors. This whole thing is impossible,” she replied, feeling butterflies at the thought of a date with him. She clamped her lips closed, turning to reach for her pickup door.

His hand shot out and held the door closed. “Now just calm down and let’s talk a minute.” His breath blew against her nape and he stood so close behind her that she could feel the heat of his body. As she looked at the tanned wrist and hand that held her door closed, her pulse skittered.

She turned around. “Move away.”

He studied her, and her heart drummed. When his gaze dropped to her mouth, she couldn’t even breathe. “Move back and give me room,” she said, placing her hand on his chest to push lightly. It was a tactical error because the instant she touched his muscled chest, tingles raced through her and the curiosity in his eyes shifted to blatant desire. She yanked her hand away.

“My, oh my, this is a surprise,” he drawled softly. “You and I have some wild attraction going here.”

“It’s purely physical,” she said, but all force had gone out of her voice. He still stood too close to her, and she hoped he couldn’t hear her thudding heart.

“Might be purely physical, but it’s damned powerful. Too powerful to ignore, I can tell you that.” He touched her hair, pulling free the ribbon that held it behind her neck. “You grew up to be a real beauty.”

“Thank you, but I don’t believe your compliments are sincere.”

Again, she saw that flash of amusement in his expression. To her relief he stepped to one side, leaning a shoulder against her pickup, looking relaxed, sexy and curious.

“Let’s go to dinner and talk about my proposal,” he suggested. “We can go to San Antonio. It’s a big enough city that we can find a spot where no one will know us.”

“This is so absurd. I don’t know why I’m listening to you.”

“Because you’re intelligent and you know I’m making a good offer. You’re listening because when we get near each other, both of us almost go up in flames. Which surprises me as much as it does you.”