Her Sexy Texas Cowboy. Ali Olson
be warmer, she reminded herself, trying to create some excitement about her trip to replace her nerves over seeing Jeremiah again and the guilt of being away from her job for so long.
In the elevator, she took off her thick coat and brushed her hair back off her shoulders, watching the numbers climb until it stopped on the twentieth floor. As the doors slid open, the two-foot-high letters loomed above her, as they did every day, and just like every other day, they made her smile. The Empire Magazine head office had been her home for almost four years, since she became an intern fresh out of college, and she felt her heart jump with excitement in the same way it had since her first day.
Renee’s friends constantly told her she was a workaholic and needed to take a break, but the truth was, she loved her job. She had meant to take today off as well as next week, but in the end she hadn’t been able to do it—there were a few last things she wanted to tweak before going, and Renee couldn’t bring herself to leave the work for the others on her team. Or worse, just submit everything as it was.
Striding quickly through the hallways, Renee made her way to her office, smiling at coworkers as she went.
As her computer booted to life, she settled into her chair. She just needed two hours to finish perfecting one of her spreads for the next issue, and then she would leave, she promised herself.
A head covered in black curls popped into her doorway as Jeff, a man on Renee’s design team, leaned in. “You’re not supposed to be here, remember? That’s how vacations work.”
Renee smiled. “I know. I’m just not quite finished with the layout of one of my articles. Then I’ll go, I promise. I’ve got a flight to catch.”
“Well, Patty heard you were in the office. She wants to see you, whenever you have a second.”
She thanked him, wondering what her boss could possibly want to see her about. She was probably just going to lecture her about overworking again. Patty did that every few weeks, and had been overjoyed when Renee told her she needed to use some of her vacation time.
Renee glanced at her computer once more before leaving her office. The spreads would need to wait a few more minutes.
Four hours later, Renee rushed out of the building into the icy air, praying she would make her flight. Her mind was such a jumble with what Patty had told her that there was hardly any room for anxiety to creep in.
After forty years in the business, Patty was retiring. And she wanted Renee to take over her position. Renee still couldn’t believe it. She had thought it would be years before she’d get this opportunity, and here it was, so close she could taste it.
As she hopped out of the cab and dashed into the airport, thoughts of her new job stuck with her, sending flurries of excitement through her stomach.
Or maybe that was from the thoughts of Jeremiah, who would be waiting for her when she landed Texas. He hadn’t been far from her thoughts the whole morning, either.
JEREMIAH PARKED HIS truck in the concrete structure outside of the airport. He was glad Renee’s plane wouldn’t be landing for another fifteen minutes, because he needed some time to pull himself together and calm down. Not that he’d been able to do that all day, or really since he’d met her in Vegas weeks ago.
For the thousandth time, he reminded himself that this was Jessica’s little sister and he’d have to be an idiot to even try to make something happen with her, no matter how fast his blood surged through him when he pictured her. He’d spent enough time around Jessica since she moved down to Texas from New York to know exactly how badly it would go if he made a move on Renee.
Not that he and Jessica didn’t get along, but dating someone in her family was a whole different story. He knew just how protective Jessica was about her little sister, and he was pretty sure Jessica thought of him as some kind of pickup artist. Not the kind of guy you’d want your sister with.
He could only imagine what Jessica had told Renee about him. Even if she wasn’t off-limits, the chance that she’d be interested was slim enough. She probably thought he was a playboy who spent the majority of his time flirting with random strangers. Which, he had to admit, wasn’t far from the truth for the majority of his adult life. But he was almost thirty now, and for the past year or so the excitement of that life had dwindled and died.
And then he met Renee, who put the final nails in that coffin without even knowing it. She had passed into and out of his life like a breath of fresh air, making the prospects of other women seem dull and stale in comparison.
He didn’t even know what it was about her that had struck him so forcefully, but he’d been knocked backward when he first saw her. Their first night in Vegas, he and Aaron and Jessica had gone to dinner with her bachelorette party, which consisted of Jessica’s best friend, sister and mother. The moment they entered the restaurant and he saw Renee laughing about something her mother had said, he’d been awestruck.
She was beautiful, certainly, but no beautiful woman had ever made his jaw drop like that. It was also the first time he’d actually felt nervous when meeting someone. He never felt anxious, even that one time he’d asked out and been summarily dismissed by that supermodel. Aaron had laughed about that one for weeks. Somehow, Renee cut right through what Jessica called his “devil-may-care attitude” and left him feeling awkward and uncertain.
There was something about the way she laughed, the sparkle in her eyes, the way her light red hair fell over her shoulders, the freckles across her nose that made her look wonderfully fresh and happy, the sexy tilt of her chin that seemed to exude self-confidence. Whatever it was, something about her made it hard to think straight.
And even though they’d hardly talked, he had a suspicion that she might just be interested in him, too. When they’d been introduced, a light flush had spread up her neck, and she had let go of his hand just as quickly when they shook for the first time. Like she had felt the same jolt of electricity as he had.
Just the memory of her was enough to make his body jump to attention, and he felt an uncomfortable swelling in his jeans.
Jeremiah took another deep breath, trying to relax his body, and climbed out of the truck. If he could just get through the next hour without doing anything stupid, he would be able to keep his distance from her for the rest of the week and avoid the almost-overwhelming temptation to kiss her.
* * *
RENEE STEPPED INTO the airport restroom and went straight to the mirror, looking at the damage done by her flight and trying to put herself back together. She glanced at her skirt and blouse, trying to straighten out the wrinkles, ignoring the tiny voice reminding her that Jeremiah was off-limits.
Of course he was off-limits. She knew that, and he certainly wasn’t the reason she’d opted to ditch her comfy travel clothes and instead wear makeup, heels and her black skirt that hugged in the right places—not to mention the silky black underthings. She just thought it would be nice to look her best when she showed up at her sister’s house.
The voice laughed at her unconvincing lies.
After taking one last look in the mirror and trying to wish away the dusting of freckles across her nose that made her look like a Girl Scout, she gave herself one more silent pep talk. Remember, nothing can happen with Jeremiah, and he probably just thinks of you as Jessica’s little sister, so seeing him for the first time since Vegas is no big deal. There’s definitely no reason for your stomach to feel like this. So stop staring into a mirror like a crazy person and leave this bathroom.
She didn’t budge. Renee swore under her breath at her idiocy and steeled herself for what would assuredly be a very not-sexy week full of helping Jessica and staring at a guy who hardly knew she existed. Then she finally managed to walk out of the bathroom and through the terminal exit doors to baggage claim. She found herself standing in a cavernous room studded with numbered carousels slowly circling luggage.
Her