The Colton Bodyguard. Carla Cassidy
other, it would be a bonus. But she wasn’t going to be persuaded to sneak into his room for a bout of mind-blowing lovemaking again.
Feeling strong and looking forward to the day of work with the horse, she left the bathroom and headed for the kitchen. She found Tyler seated at the kitchen table, a newspaper folded and laid to the side of him and a cup of coffee before him.
Clad in a navy business suit, a white shirt and a navy-and-silver-striped tie, he looked like the man she’d been accustomed to seeing on the rare times they had run into each other when she’d been with Mark.
The only difference was the warm smile that lit his handsome features when she walked into the room. “Coffee is made, but you’re on your own for breakfast this morning.”
“That’s fine,” she replied. She poured herself a cup of coffee and joined him at the table. “I suddenly feel terribly underdressed for coffee.”
“You look gorgeous in denim and flannel,” he replied.
“And you look handsome in your power clothes. I know you’re probably ready to head into work, but before you go, I need to talk to you for just a minute.”
“I’ve got something to discuss with you, too. But you go first,” he said.
She raised her chin and looked into the depths of his eyes. “I am not going to sleep with you again.”
His lips rose in a rueful smile. “You haven’t slept with me yet.”
She huffed out a sigh of frustration. “You know what I mean. I’m here to train your horse and that’s it. I’m not going to be your nightly toy to play with at will. If you want me again, then we have to get to know each other first.”
He looked at her in obvious amusement. “So you want me to court you.”
She eyed him with a narrowed gaze. “Are you making fun of me?”
He laughed. “Not at all. I’m just trying to get clear on what you want or what you need from me.”
“I’m not arguing that there isn’t some sort of crazy physical attraction between us, but I won’t settle for that. We don’t really know each other. I want to get to know you out of bed, and I want you to get to know me that way, too.”
He sobered and nodded. “As much as I’d love for you to be my bedtime toy every night, I respect your wishes. I’d like to get to know you better. That’s part of what I wanted when I first saw you so many months ago.”
He took a sip of his coffee and set the cup back down. “Greta, I understand that we rushed into things fast and furious and you want it to slow down. I can be slow and patient.” His eyes twinkled. “I promise I won’t try to cajole you into my bed again. I’ll wait until you ask me to make love to you again.”
“You sound sure that I will,” she replied.
“That’s hope you hear in my voice.” The twinkle in his eyes disappeared and he picked up the folded newspaper next to him. “And on a much less pleasant note, the issue I wanted to talk to you about is this...” He opened the newspaper to a prefolded page and shoved it across the table in front of her.
Greta looked down in horror at the photo of her and Tyler kissing by the side of her Jeep. The caption read Cattle Princess Jilts One Brother for Another.
It was after nine when Tyler finally left the house and Greta headed out toward the small corral. Tyler had suggested that it was probably Mark who had taken the picture and given it to the newspaper. The accompanying story had been tawdry and filled with misinformation and salacious half facts.
Tyler had tried to calm Greta down, but she’d been both furious and embarrassed. She knew her father had a subscription to the Oklahoma City paper. How was she supposed to explain all this to him...to the rest of the family?
She breathed in the fresh morning air as she walked briskly to the corral, telling herself that the article and photo didn’t really matter. But she was surprised to find herself hurt by Mark’s betrayal, if, indeed, he was responsible for the picture and the column of gossip.
When she reached the corral, she remained outside the wooden enclosure. There was no way she could go in and begin to introduce herself to Sugar until she relaxed herself. The horse would immediately pick up on any anger or anxiety Greta carried with her, and at the moment Greta had both bubbling hot inside her.
A short dark-haired man came out of the barn to greet her. He introduced himself as Raymond Edwards. “Yes, Tyler told me you’d be around,” she said. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Greta Colton.”
“I know who you are, Ms. Colton. I know of your work,” he said respectfully.
“Please, make it Greta,” she replied and turned her attention to the horse backed against the far railing. “And I don’t know if Tyler told you or not, but from here on, that horse’s name is Sugar.”
Raymond grinned. “If you can make that filly sweet as sugar, then I’ll know your reputation as a miracle worker with horses isn’t overblown.”
“Time will tell,” Greta replied. The two chatted for a few minutes, talking about rodeos they had both attended and mutual acquaintances in the horse business, and then Raymond returned to his work in the barn, leaving her to sort out her mood.
The photo had been such a shock. Why would Mark want to do something like that? Why would anyone do that? Something so ugly? Why make her out to be some kind of a slut when he was the one who had left her to languish in a jail cell while he wined and dined old girlfriends?
It was mean-spirited and so unfair, and it only made her more grateful than ever that the wedding had been called off before she’d married such a man.
Did Tyler possess that kind of mean streak, too? That was the problem. She didn’t know him well enough to discern all of the facets of his character.
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