“Now you’ve got yourself into it,” Trenton warned.
If Andie didn’t know better, she’d say he was jealous. “Those guys work here?”
Trenton’s lips were a flat line as he nodded, nostrils flared. “So essentially they’re hitting on their new boss. Dummies.”
A small giggle snuck up her throat. “They seem harmless to me.”
“They’re all right,” he said under his breath. “They work out on my ranch too. In fact, they live in the bunk house I keep for the ranch hands.”
“You own a ranch of your own?” she asked. “Andyou do this?”
Trenton nodded.
“Hmm.” There seemed to be a lot more to him than Andie would have guessed. She liked that.
“We get to ride horses!” a little voice exclaimed from the open doorway.
“You gotthatright,” Trenton boomed, rubbing his hands together and moving to greet the guests.
A small boy, probably five or six years old, rushed up to Trenton with wide eyes and an even wider grin. “Are you arealcowboy?”
“I guess you could say that,” Trenton answered.
“Billy, wait up,” a female hollered as she hurried in through the doorway behind him. The woman’s gaze darted about the barn before settling on Trenton and the boy. “There you are,” she cooed, her voice turning sugary sweet. She ran an appreciative gaze over Trenton, grinned, and primped the red locks of her hair.
“He’s got a lot of energy,” she explained. “I can hardly keep up with him, being a single parent and all.”
Andie resisted an eye roll.Real smooth.
“I can imagine, ma’am.”
Ma’am?If the woman was anything like Andie, she wouldnotlike being called ma’am.
“Please,” she said in a near whisper. “Call me Linda.”
Andie focused in on Trenton’s reaction to the woman’s attention.
Two steps back. He took two steps back as the woman extended her hand. He gave her a small nod, shook her floppy-looking grip, then hunched down to meet eyes with the boy.
“You ready to learn about horses?”
And as the kid responded with an exuberant cheer, Andie tried to work out the odd sting that settled over her. It was a familiar feeling, she knew that much. It was probably just residual discomfort from their conversation about her past. The way she’d messed up already and told him it was a helicopter accident that took her parents. Yet just as Andie settled on that idea, she caught sight of the single mom—Linda. She had one hand draped over Trenton’s shoulder as she moved to straddle the bay of hale.
“You can sit with your legs up front if you’d like,” Trenton said. “Like a bench.”
A trill of laughter echoed throughout the barn. “Of course,” she bellowed. “What was I thinking?”
Talk about obvious. The woman was a flirt. The thought caused that sting to flare up in her chest once more, making it clear just what the sensation was—jealousy.
Recognizing the emotion only intensified her discomfort. It felt as if the churning heat had spread straight to her head as she tried to rationalize with herself. Who cared if this woman, or anyone else for that matter, liked Trenton and he liked her back and they lived happily ever after?Shedidn’t like him.
In fact, a few hours ago, she didn’t even know he existed. And during her first introduction to the man, she actually disliked him.Jeez.All of that seemed pointless compared to the biggest factor of all, which was the fact that Andie hadnointention of hooking up with anyone now or ever. Why would she, when her one relief about the life change was getting out of her relationship with Vincent?
A fresh swell of encouragement rushed through her as she repeated that final factor in her mind.
Their new business partner might be handsome enough to cause a few butterflies in her tummy—which was more than her last relationship managed to do in its three-year run—but so what? That didn’t change the fact that she wasn’t in the market for a man.
Andie waited for a second wave of affirmation to come over her, but a different thought swept in instead. One that said even if shedidwant to have a relationship down the road, it would probably never work. She had a secret to hold, now and forever.
