Breathtaking. Gorgeous. Absolutely mesmerizing.
He wasn’t the only one to notice. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. Neither could anyone else. Self-assured, she glided across the room with a soft smile, her lips tinted a deep berry color. In contrast, her eyes were lined in black with a subtle pink shadow. Her dark hair fell in layers around her face and down her back and made her cheekbones and green eyes stand out all the more.
Perfect.
He’d seen a hint of this woman when she came to his office to discuss business just before she left for school. But this…he never saw coming.
Cody wanted like he’d never wanted anything more. It opened that crack in his chest, the one that opened when he’d touchedher in his study at the picnic. Something wanted to come out, but he tried to hold it back. If he let it loose, it could ruin everything.
He’d spent too many years taking care of Brooke, treating her like a best friend. Because that’s what she was. Now? She’d changed. Maybe he’d changed, too. Because he shouldn’t feel this kind of pull toward her.
And he definitely shouldn’t feel the possessive punch to the gut when he caught other men staring at her in that little black dress. Strapless, her breasts rounded softly above the top.
Too tight. Too short, even if it did hit her long legs just above the knee and looked absolutely perfect on her.
Brooke wasn’t supposed to look like that. Men weren’t supposed to watch her while she walked by.
Charlie wasn’t supposed to stand that close, or smile at her like some horny teenager.
He better shut it down before Cody put him face down in the Caesar salad platter.
Cody’s chest shouldn’t tighten when she smiled. His blood pressure shouldn’t rise when she laughed at something Charlie said. He sure as hell shouldn’t feel the tug and pull pushing him to go to her, but he did.
God, look at her. So confident. All he wanted to do was tell her how amazing she looked. And keep her all to himself. He didn’t want all the men in the room looking at her. She was his.
No, she’s not.
She stopped by her mom, who took Brooke’s hands and held them out, so she could admire Brooke all dressed up and looking fantastic. Susanne smiled with pride and released her, so Brooke could take her plate out to the tables on the veranda.
He caught her eye, but instead of making her way to him, she acted like she still didn’t see him. What the…
Why?
He didn’t like it. It hurt. More than it should. The distance she put between them made him ache. And worry. What did this mean?
“Cody was the perfect addition to the board at the children’s hospital. He’s got all the others trying to outdo him in bringing in donations and top talent. I knew he was the right man for the job,” the governor gushed about him.
Cody could care less right now.
Kristi beamed beside him. “There’s no one better.”
Governor and Mrs. Harris nodded their agreement. He barely noticed or cared what they thought. He did what he did for the hospital because it mattered, not to get people like the governor and other influential people in the room to pat him on the back. But he’d take it with a smile, because that’s what it took to keep men like Governor Harris happy—because they thought you owed them, even though he was the one busting his ass. “Thank you for the praise and continued support.” A diplomatic statement given expectation.
“You’re going to do big things.”
Funny, he thought he was already doing pretty damn well for himself.
Except Brooke still hadn’t looked his way. Not once.
Mrs. Harris tilted her head toward a couple across the room. “The Hendersons have just arrived. Let’s go say hello.”
The governor and his wife made their way across the room.
He caught Brooke kissing his ranch manger, David, hello. Then she almost lost her plate when another ranch hand grabbed her from behind and hugged her to his chest while he kissed her bare shoulder and teased her about something.
He saw red at the way the guy manhandled her and had already taken two steps to put a stop to it when Kristi’s hand snaked out and caught his forearm in a viselike grip.Her smoldering blue eyes told him she wasn’t happy about something.
He’d become accustomed to receiving that look.
