three servings of homemade cornbread served with the duck, she didn’t have room. “But thank you.” A.J.’s mom tilted her head and squinted, obviously suspicious of anyone who turned down her pie, so Ana reluctantly gave in. “Um, okay. Maybe a sliver.”
Now it was A.J. chuckling as he patted crumbs from his mouth with his red-and-white linen napkin. She jumped in her chair when the tip of A.J.’s cowboy boot tapped hers. Footsy?
Buuut, she was wearing the cutest short boots with side fringe Ella claimed needed to be paired with the dress. Lucky they were both a size 8. They were another design of Ella’s. On her tour, A.J.’s father had said he’d created a studio on the ranch for Ella’s sewing and leatherworking hobby.
A.J. also looked sexier than ever in a black tee that highlighted his amazing arms, broad shoulders, and chest. His shirt was matched with a pair of classic stonewashed jeans that showed off another amazing “asset” of his. Brown leather boots and a hat to finish off the sexy cowboy look. The beige hat had a hand distressed finish with a cattleman crease. Well, that’s what Ella explained while Ana stood in a daze, mentally undressing A.J. as he’d strolled onto the patio just before dinner was served.
She’d never known cowboys were her weakness until meeting him. And Ella was trying to turn her into a cowgirl.
“I hope you two are planning on staying a bit longer,” A.J.’s dad said. “I do know your secret, so—”
“And what is that?” A.J. used his playful tone, the one Ana knew well and loved, and positioned his attention on his father, but Ana’s heartbeat suddenly took a wild ride.
His dad waved a hand in the air like he was swatting a fly. Heck, maybe there’d been one. After all, they were in the South where the flies were big enough to ride like a horse, according to McKenna. Plus, the smell of the roasted glazed duck wafting through the air, coupled with the pecan pie, had to be an insect attractor. “That Ana let you win during that little shooting competition down at the range before y’all showered and got cleaned up for dinner.”
A.J.’s focus whirled to Ana, who let out a breath of relief upon hearing that was the secret he knew. A.J. flashed her a sneaky grin. “Or maybe I let her think that she let me win, but really—”
“Sure, Son,” his dad interrupted. “You keep telling yourself that.” Oh, and his dad was a jokester, too.
But also, his dad was right. “I may have taken it easy on him.” Since the cat was out of the bag about her being FBI, she hadn’t felt it necessary to hide her shooting skills, but she was in A.J.’s home, and it would have been impolite to let A.J. lose, right?
“You should come to the wedding,” Ella blurted out before A.J. had a chance to offer a comeback to Ana’s teasing words. “What do you say?” The question had Ana dropping her fork when she realized Ella was speaking to her. “I mean, we have plenty of room.” Ella’s gaze tore across the table to A.J., and the stiff way she held her shoulders back left no doubt she was angry about something. “In fact, A.J., you ought to invite all your friends for the nuptials.” Her accent was thicker than A.J.’s, same with the rest of his family members. “You know, bring back those Teamguys that were here this past weekend. The ones who worked so hard to try and scare my fiancé out of marrying me.”
Ohhhh. Yeah, she was pissed at A.J. Ana could practically see the steam rising from Ella’s ears like a kettle about to blow. And everyone at the table must have felt it.
A.J. set his fork alongside his plate and lowered his gaze to the remaining bites of pie. He’d taken off his hat before dinner, which Ana assumed was a sign of respect down South. “And where is Brian right now? With the wedding so close, why ain’t he here?”
Jesse abruptly stood from the table as if he’d rather be anywhere but there at the moment. “I think I hear an alarm or something beeping inside. I best go check that out.” He positioned his eyes on Ella from where he stood on the other side of A.J. for several heartbeats, and it was then that Ana knew why he wanted out of there.