“Yes. Even now I find it hard to believe I did it. But Chase is…” Hot. Sexy. Impossible to resist. “There was something about him that made me trust him. When we both left in the morning I figured we’d never see each other again. I tried to forget it but I couldn’t stop thinking about it. About him. And then I came to interview. I about died when he opened the door.”
Damaris laughed. “Was he just as surprised?”
“Not quite. He’d read my résumé and thought my first name being the same could be a coincidence. Once I realized who he was I told him I couldn’t work here. But Chase talked me into staying and having the interview. He thought I’d be good for the position and I really wanted the job, so…we made a pact to act like it never happened.”
“Apparently that didn’t work.”
“No. We’ve both tried but the um, attraction between us was still there.” Attraction was such a mild word for what felt like a raging forest fire. “He told me he couldn’t stop thinking about it either. But he’s the one type of man I swore I’d never fall for again.”
“What type of man is that?”
“My unfaithful ex-fiancé is a rodeo cowboy.”
“Ah. You figure they’re all the same.”
“Yes. I know that’s not exactly fair, but—” she spread her hands “—that’s how it is.”
“Look, I know he’s my brother and I’m not objective, but Chase is a good guy. He’s not perfect but he’s not a cheating slime.”
“Part of me realizes Chase isn’t him and it isn’t fair to think all men are the same. But it’s not just the cheating that’s the problem. It’s the rodeo itself. It consumes them.”
“To be successful, it pretty much has to,” Damaris said.
“I know. I understand that, I really do. I’m just not sure I can go through that again.”
“But you want to try.”
“Yes. Chase said he wanted to have a relationship with me. A real relationship. I’ve thought about it until I’m ready to pull out my hair. So I decided maybe that night was a fluke. That it couldn’t have been as good as I remember.” That she didn’t feel a bone-deep connection to him.
“Do you really think it was?”
“No.” She knew their connection was real. Especially since every time they kissed, and especially their rendezvous in the carriage house at the reception, belied the notion that it was no big deal. “But there’s only one way to find out.”
“Not to rain on your parade, but have you considered what you’re going to do if you two do get together and it doesn’t work out? I’ll tell you right now, you’re the best ranch manager we’ve had and we would hate to lose you.”
“I love working here. I don’t want to lose this job either. I think we could manage, particularly because Chase is gone a lot. Besides, who’s to say we won’t get it out of our systems and be fine as friends?”
Damaris choked on her wine, then laughed. “In my experience, the old ‘we’ll just get it out of our systems’ thing rarely works.”
“I don’t know what else to do, Damaris,” she said glumly.
“Give it a shot and see what happens. Cheer up. The worst that happens is you have to quit your job here and we both lose out.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” She smiled. “Does Chase know what you’re planning?”
“No.”
“Are you going to tell him?”
“No.”
Damaris smiled. “I’d say I’d like to be a fly on the wall when he sees you, but I really don’t want that picture in my head.”
Ella laughed. But she admitted to a bit of doubt. What if Chase was with someone else? It wasn’t like she had a claim on him. The last thing he’d said to her was:“You want what you want. And that’s clearly not me.”And she’d let him go.
Chase was perfectly free to flirt with, date, make love to any woman he wanted. But it was going to break her heart if she found him with another woman.
