She shouldn’t take him so seriously, shouldn’t allow herself to care about what he thought, shouldn’t even be standing so close to him. It wasn’t appropriate for her to do so with a guest.
As the thought jabbed her, the cabin door opened and one of the range instructors stepped out onto the porch. He had his arms filled with gear and pretended not to see her, but it wasobvious he had already noticed her in the much-too-intimate position with Max.
“We were just finishing.” She tugged away from Max and straightened her spine.
Max didn’t move. Instead, he held himself with a bearing that seemed to claim his right to be there doing whatever he wanted regardless of what anyone thought of him.
She didn’t have that luxury. She had to care. The ranch’s reputation depended on it.
“Didn’t mean to rush you, Miss McQuaid,” the young man said, still not looking in her direction. “But a group is pulling up.”
“Of course.” She was surprised at how much she’d enjoyed her time with Max. Even so, she couldn’t forget she was doing a job, and that’s all this was for both of them.
As she idled the ATV in front of his cabin a short while later, the late-afternoon shadows were long, and the sky was already losing its brilliance. “Have a good night, Max.”
He didn’t make a move to leave. Instead, he stared straight ahead at the cabin. His profile was angular and lean, and the short layer of beard only added to his appeal.
When he turned his gaze upon her, his eyes were intense. “Come in and have dinner with me again tonight.”
She started to shake her head.
“I would love your company.”
“You’ve had my company all afternoon.”
“It went by too fast.”
It had gone by fast for her too, but she couldn’t admit that. “I thought you had work to do.”
“It can wait.”
She hesitated.
“Please, Emberly?” The earnestness in his tone and eyes was too hard to resist.
Besides, she didn’t really want to resist, even though she knew she should. With her indiscretion at the shooting range, she’d likely only added fuel to the gossip about her and Max. No doubt her brothers would hear and would scold her later.
Max reached across and touched her arm with his gloved hand. “Would it help if I beg?”
She loved that he was willing to beg her to spend time with him. Not many men would be humble enough to do it at the risk of coming across as pathetic. But he was far from pathetic. Everything about him was instead magnetic.
“Fine, Max.” She pretended exasperation as she lifted his hand away from her arm. “But you have to agree that there won’t be any more physical contact, not even innocently.”
“Agreed.” He wedged his hands into his coat pockets.
“And no flirting.”
“Agreed again.”
“Then okay. I’ll be back in an hour.”
He smiled. “You have made my night.”
“I find that difficult to believe.”
“’Tis true.”
“I’m sure you’ve had much more fun than I can offer.”
