Why was his heart racing?
Must be his body’s natural reaction to the fear of getting caught.
Nothing more.
He climbed the single step and rapped his knuckles loudly on the door, letting a bracing breath out into the cool, dark night. The music paused, followed by the sound of her footsteps on the hardwood. He reminded himself to be good, be nice, and welcoming. Pre-emptively, he stretched his mouth into a grin.
Colette opened the door, brows furrowed, and head tilted up to one side.
“Hi, Marshall,” she said. “What are you doing here?”
“I came with a peace offering,” he said, showing the two brown bottles clasped in his hand. “I feel like we got off on the wrong foot this morning in our meeting.”
“It’s okay. I knew there would be some adjustments once I started working on the files. I get it.” Her mouth tilted up to the side, not smiling. She seemed wary.
Marshall swallowed. Of course she had her guard up. Clearly, she wasn’t picking up what he was putting down.
“Can I come in?” he asked.
Colette chewed her lip nervously and glanced down at her pajamas, the shorts fluttering as her hand brushed against them.
They were a real problem.
There was something wrong with that fabric.
And he wasn’t even going to get started with how the button up top offered a tempting glimpse of her cleavage. That would be rude.
He was here to make her comfortable, not drool all over her living room sofa. All this time, he was worried about the other ranch hands, and here he was, acting like a man who had never seen a woman before.
It wasn’t the first time he was with a beautiful woman, and he could handle it.
Truly, he could.
“I’m not really dressed for guests,” she said, looking behind her at the kitchen. “I was wiping out the cupboards and unpacking my food. I must look like a mess.” She waved her hands to indicate her appearance.
He held his tongue. There would be no discussion of whether those pajamas were appropriate or not. None.
Marshall glimpsed the grocery bags and nodded. “No problem, I can go. But here, a peace beer,” he said, handing her the drinks. He turned to retrace his steps down the path to themain house. He had made his gesture; Jack would be satisfied. Marshall could sleep easy tonight.
“Wait. Please come in,” Colette said, stepping away from the doorway. “I can’t refuse a peace beer.” She gave him a small smile and waved him into the house. Walking quickly to the kitchen, she pulled out two glasses and placed them on the counter. Turning to reach into another cupboard, she found some chips.
“Can’t have beer without snackies,” she said with a laugh.
The sound tickled Marshall’s ears, goosebumps scattering over his arms. He straightened in his chair and cleared his throat. The chip bag was popped open and emptied into a large bowl.
“I’m excited to hear all your ideas to fix the ranch finances,” he said, popping the top of his beer and taking a swig. “There’s been some weird shit happening lately. I truly welcome your insights.” There. That almost sounded like an apology.
Colette tilted a glass and poured a perfect beer, no head. Marshall’s eyes widened. She was a woman of many talents, this city girl. Just what the ranch needed.
“Well, my background is accounting, but I’ve dabbled in some business management. I’m always willing to learn more. I’m eager to dive in and see where we could repair some of the damage and if there are any areas we could create new revenue streams. You know, starting fresh.” She licked her cherry lips and brought the glass to her mouth.
Marshall looked behind her to distract himself from the curve of her neck as she swallowed. He wondered if she had cherries in the fridge; her lips were so goddamned full and rosy, it looked like she had eaten some. He shook his head, truly bewildered at his train of thought. The reason for this visit was to establish a positive relationship with his new co-worker, not start picturing himself pressing her up against the counterand… Nope. He was doing it again. He cleared his throat and thrummed his fingers on the table nervously.
“I’m eager to hear all your ideas,” he croaked. Marshall closed his eyes and breathed in, trying to reset. They had gotten off on the wrong foot, and he was a nice guy. He wanted to apologize. Make things right. “And I want to apologize for being snippy this morning.”
“Oh?” she answered, her mouth forming the most enchanting little “o” he had ever seen. Her big blue eyes trained on him, dark lashes fluttering. Damn, everything about her was so enticing.
“I’m usually a nice guy. I let doubt get the best of me. When you showed up, asking questions and wondering about my employees, I took it personally. I shouldn’t have. It’s what you’re here for. We need an outsider’s point of view to start making sense of everything.” The uneasiness in his chest settled.
