Roping the Cowboy Billionaire - Emmy Eugene Page 0,82

not changing everything about this house,” he told himself as Tam opened the door.

“Hey, cowboy,” she said in a flirty voice. Her eyes dropped to the folder in his hand. “Are those the sketches?”

He tightened his grip on them. “After we eat, sweetheart. I’m starving.”

“You’re always starving,” she teased. Stepping back, she added, “Come in then.”

He did, and the scent of browned and delicious meat met his nose. “Something smells good.”

“It’s my granny’s pot roast,” she said. “I know what you like.”

“Yes, you do.” He grinned at her and swept her into his arms. “You must know what I want now.”

“Mm, I think I have an idea.” She smiled up at him and kissed him, making most of Blaine’s dreams come true. She didn’t let him enjoy it for long, though, before she ducked her head and added, “I want to see what’s in that folder.”

“I’ll bet you do.” Blaine stepped away from her and looked toward the kitchen. “After dinner.”

“Fine,” she said. “I know how to get what I want.” She preceded him into the kitchen and got down two plates. “Get out the forks, buddy.”

Blaine did what she said, then set the folder on top of the fridge while she pulled potatoes and carrots out of the slow cooker. “We’re ready for the yearling sale,” he said. “In case you were going to ask.”

“I was,” Tam said, turning toward him. “I was just going to ask.”

“Spur bought The Gambler.”

“He did?”

“He couldn’t stand to let him go,” Blaine said. “Cayden’s not super happy with him, because he’d already printed the sale order. Well.” He shrugged. “He’d sent the file to the printer. He was on the phone with them all afternoon.”

“I feel bad for him,” Tam said. “Did you know he asked Virginia Winters to dinner?”

“He mentioned it,” Blaine said. “He never went.”

“She said she was really busy right now.”

“Yeah, Trey looked up what was going on at the Winters’ distillery, and she’s up to her eyeballs.”

“What do they have going on?”

“A massive fall festival from now until Halloween. They cut mazes in their wheat and barley, and it’s a real riot down there.”

“So he’s just going to wait.”

Blaine watched her move a knife through the pot roast with quick, precise movements. “He’s going to wait.”

“I understand waiting.” Tam gave him a dry look, and Blaine’s heart deflated a little bit.

“Listen, I’m really sorry about the thirtieth birthday and all the other times I was an idiot.”

Tam met his eye, clearly appreciating the statement. She said, “You don’t need to apologize for anything, Blaine. We each have our own path, you know?”

“I do know.” He picked up a plate and handed it to her. “Did you get that shoulder bag done?”

“No,” she said darkly. “It’s so thick, my needles kept breaking.” She flexed her hands and squeezed her fingers into fists. “I gave up, because my hands hurt and I wasn’t willing to break another needle. I threw away six today as it was.”

“You didn’t charge enough for that thing.”

“No, I did not.” She moved out of the way with her dinner and went to sit at the table. Blaine loaded his plate with meat and potatoes and joined her.

“Will you cook for me when we’re married?” he asked.

Tam looked up at him. “This is literally the only thing I know how to make.”

He put a bite of beef in his mouth. “It’s real good.”

“Will you cook for me?”

“If you like boxed mac and cheese.” Blaine grinned at her.

“I do,” Tam said with a sparkling smile. “Don’t think I don’t know that you feed all your brothers on Sundays.”

“They’re easy to please.” Blaine kept one eye on the clock and ate as slowly as he could. His phone brightened at minute twenty-three with one word from Spur.

Done.

Then a few more. Olli says good luck.

Blaine smiled and flipped his phone over, forced himself to wait a few more minutes, and then said a prayer that his odds would be on the side where everything was perfect when he led Tam outside. When thirty minutes had passed, he finally got up and walked over to the refrigerator.

“Okay,” he said. “You want to see what I’ve come up with?”

“I’ve been dying a slow death,” she said.

He returned to the table and sat beside her again as she moved their plates out of the way. “Okay,” he said, his pulse beating irregularly. “If you don’t like it, it’s fine. I’m not married to it. If you don’t want to do it at all,