The Tycoon's Tender Triumph Page 0,24

wore red because it was too bright, too intense. “Trust me, I don’t look good in red.”

He smiled, a sexy, personal smile that made her heart speed up a bit. “Oh, darlin’, you really need to try on something red. And definitely something sexy.”

“No.”

“Yes. Do it just to see how much it can turn heads and get a reaction from other men and women in the room. It will irritate the hell out of me so that should give you enough incentive, won’t it? And we’re going now. Come on,” he said and stood up, walking around to the other side of his desk, picking up a set of keys as he passed.

Chloe was dumbfounded, but refused to be railroaded. “Sam, I’m not going shopping with you,” she replied, crossing her arms over her chest and standing still despite the fact that he was almost to the doorway.

With one eyebrow, he turned to watch her. “Are you sure you have the money for a dress?”

She didn’t, but there was no way she was going to admit that to him. She’d just have to dip into her savings one more time. Or maybe there was another way, she thought, thinking back to some of her marketing ideas. “Leave it to me.”

“As long as it’s red.”

As she stood next to him at the doorway, she poked him in the chest. “It’s not going to be red,” she stated emphatically.

He didn’t reply instantly, but instead, his eyes roved over her face, stopping at each of her features for a moment before moving to the next. “You’re loss,” was all he said in the end.

She cleared her throat and stepped back. “What time?”

“I’ll pick you up at six o’clock tomorrow evening. The dinner starts at seven, but it will take about thirty minutes to get into town.”

“And what about the other thirty minutes?”

“That’s for drinks. It’s going to take me at least that long to get you into a more relaxed state of mind.”

“You mean liquor me up,” she challenged with a raised eyebrow, imitating his expression from earlier in their conversation.

He chuckled. “Whatever you want to call it.”

“I’m not going…”

“Honey,” he stopped her and leaned closer, one arm going up over the door frame as he held his body only an inch from hers, “don’t you dare say you don’t need it because right now, you’re wound tighter than grandfather clock and if you don’t learn to relax, I believe you’re going to explode.” He leaned imperceptivity closer before saying, “But I plan to be around to watch you come undone, which is a completely different thing. And much more enjoyable,” he said softly.

Chloe couldn’t breathe. She stared at him, barely able to move or even blink.

Jessy broke the spell by coming around the corner. As soon as Chloe heard Jessy’s voice, she jumped and quickly moved out of the office doorway while Jessy brought a tray of warm cookies down the hallway. “I have to go,” she said to both Jessy and Sam.

“Take a few cookies with you, dear,” Jessy said with a motherly voice. “You’re probably still hungry, not eating enough out there in that old house. You need to be here, keeping warm and visiting with these two ornery pain in the necks, is what I think,” she grumbled as she put some extra cookies into Chloe’s hands.

“And be back here tomorrow morning, ready to go over the details.”

Chloe waved behind her, unable to respond but her feet carried her all the way back to the kitchen where she grabbed her borrowed coat, then realized that she had no way to get back to her house.

Sighing, she realized that it was time to exercise the beauties anyway. Maybe she could ask one of Sam’s ranch hands for a lift back after she was finished.

She walked out to the stable and greeted her five horses. Each time she was around these guys she was struck once again by how beautiful they were with their soft, brown eyes and warm muzzles.

Chapter 4

Friday morning dawned sunny and bright with the normal winter cold in the air. Chloe stuck her nose out of her blanket, wondering why she’d slept in so late. Usually she was already up by the time the sun was coming over the horizon.

And then she remembered. She was supposed to work with Sam today, working out the details of her business plan. Groaning, she pulled her head back under the blanket, just as she heard the front door to her