“Yeah?”
“If this doesn’t work, you’re on the next flight out of New York.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“I mean it, Leo! You can’t just?—”
Leo grinned as he hung up the phone and put the device into his pocket.
Soft music filledthe extravagant ballroom. Tables by the dozens were placed strategically around a space intended for dancing. The DJ and the banquet table were situated at the back of the room, whereas the stage complete with a podium was at the front.
Leo didn’t know how Noah managed to get him on the list, but when he’d offered his name, the man at the front let him in.
Every person around him looked like they made more money in a day than he could make in several months of working the ranch—evidenced by their clothing choices and the ridiculous way they carried themselves.
How could people be so out of touch with reality? The amount of money they spent on those gowns could feed a small village in a third world country.
Leo shook his head, clearing it.
He wasn’t here to judge the people who chose to live their lives this way. He was here to find one city girl in particular. Leo moved toward the bar and ordered a whiskey, hoping it would be enough to numb the sharp edges of his mind.
The urgency he felt so strongly one minute, shattered in the next and the hairs on his arms lifted.
Of course he’d already seen her in the dress. That wasn’t what caught him off guard. In fact, he couldn’t figure out what it was exactly that had his heart going haywire. She was standing beside Chaz speaking to an older couple. Her date was lucky he wasn’t touching her, or Leo might have lost what little control he had to steal her away by any means necessary.
The longer he watched her, the clearer it became that she was aware something was off. She fidgeted and glanced around the ballroom.
Then her eyes locked with his.
Surprise.
Longing?
Then fury.
Leo smirked, choosing to lean against the bar where the drinks were being served rather than going to her. The whiskey waspushed across the counter and he picked it up, lifting it in a toast to Kat.
Her face flushed and she turned her attention once more to the couple before her.
The next hour was torturous. That was the only way to describe it. Leo itched to stride up to the woman he loved and pull her against him so he could show her what she meant to him. But he didn’t. Right now, he needed her to know that he was here for her. He wanted her to start paying attention to the fact that she was miserable in the city and she actually wanted to return home—home to Rocky Ridge. One way or another, he’d get her back there because that was where they belonged.
Surrounded by rolling hills, snow-capped mountains, horses, and cattle.
One of these days, he’d have her clad in jeans, boots, and a hat again.
The way she moved through the room was just as impressive as it had always been, but this side of her wasn’t the Kat he knew. Her soul was being torn in two directions. At some point couples had started dancing.
Memories of the wedding they’d attended at Twisted Rivers Ranch accosted him and without realizing what he was doing, Leo found himself striding across the room to where she sat at a table.
Chaz had slipped away somewhere, leaving her vulnerable. He wasn’t sure if Chaz even knew that Leo was present, but right now, it didn’t matter.
Let him see.
“Princess.” Leo held out his hand toward Kat and she startled, her eyes lifting to meet his eyes.
“Leo,” she whispered.
“Dance with me.”
