Miley poked her head through the open door of her boss’s office. “There’s a real-live cowboy at reception asking for you.”
“What?”
Julia looked up from her notes. She’d taken over Melanie’s old corner suite, and still got a vicarious thrill every time she stepped over the threshold.
“Like a gorgeous, fit, hot hunk of man kind of cowboy,” Miley said in tones of reverence and awe. “I’d save a horse any day.”
Julia rose from her chair and followed Miley down to the lobby of the MZB offices. Even from the back she knew that particular cowboy way too well. He hadn’t seen her yet so she could drink in the angles of his pretty face and spectacular physique without his noticing. With his white Stetson, cowboy boots, and fleece-lined denim jacket, he should’ve looked out of place in her world, but somehow he looked just like home.
She hadn’t heard from him in a month, and had missed him so badly that she’d contemplated breaking her own rules and texting him. She was glad that it hadn’t taken him two years to come and find her.
He swung around from his contemplation of the artwork and offered her the full blast of his cocky smile.
“Ms. Garcia.”
She found herself smiling back. “Mr. Miller.”
He walked toward her and was intercepted by Miley, who stepped in his path and stuck out her hand.
“Hi! I’m Miley. Ms. Garcia’s paralegal.”
“Hey, Miley.” Kaiden shook her hand. “Kaiden Miller. Nice to meet you.”
His amused gaze settled on Julia. “I was hoping I could persuade your boss to have lunch with me today.”
“Why on earth would she say no?” Miley breathed as she neglected to release Kaiden’s hand. “I mean, if she can’t make it, I’d be happy to go in her place—like a sacrifice thing, taking one for the team, you know.”
Kaiden finally eased his hand free, and Julia stepped forward.
“I think I can make time for lunch.” She gestured behind her. “Would you like to come through to my office, Kaiden, or would you prefer to meet me somewhere?”
“I’m happy to wait while you finish up.”
As they walked away, behind Kaiden, Miley was giving Julia her impression of a dying swan, complete with an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
She led the way into her office and stood back to let him go past her, getting a lungful of pure Northern California cowboy as he squeezed by.
“Nice view,” he commented going straight to the window. “Corner office and everything.”
“Thanks.” She sat behind her desk and looked expectantly at him. “What brought you into the city today?”
“I had some business to attend to for Ben and Silver’s foundation. As they aren’t always going to be available in Morgan Valley, I’m going to act as the local liaison point.”
“That makes sense.” She tried to act like this was a normal business meeting, but her heart was thumping, fit to burst.
“I came to meet with some developers to get a sense of what they can do for us.” Kaiden fingered the brim of his hat.
“What kind of developers?” Julia asked.
“Land developers, your kind of people.” He studied her carefully. “Like Andy from Brooksmiths.”
“Those guys who pay me the big bucks to destroy small ranchers like you and my dad?”
She waited to see how he intended to deal with her deliberate lob.
“Mr. Evans seemed to like them. He truly believes he is leaving his ranch in good hands.” He paused. “He made me realize that sometimes, giving the land back to nature, or using it in a different, more sympathetic way can be a valid choice.”
“I agree with Mr. Evans. There certainly isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach.” Julia sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. “You’ve obviously been doing some homework.”
“I tried. Andy’s a good guy with an honest heart and a respect for the land. I can only appreciate that.” Kaiden took the seat in front of her desk. “I also talked to your parents.”
She shut down her laptop and fussed around to avoid his gaze. “Really.”
“Yeah, I guess I should’ve realized that when I caught Blaine in your father’s bedroom, he wasn’t just admiring the new plumbing, but working out who he had to deal with if he wanted to get possession of your family ranch.”
“Correct.”
“Except, he didn’t want to bring someone like Brooksmiths on board. He was thinking large-scale development, and a huge backhanded payoff for him. When he talked to Miguel and your father, he got the impression that the ranch would go directly to your brother, and that he was the guy