Her Perfect Cowboy. Trish Milburn

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СКАЧАТЬ if they signed Liam’s company and she had to see him again? Work with him?

      Well, she’d know what to expect then. She’d wear sensible shoes and avoid rainstorms. And she’d have time to steel herself against his rugged good looks, to remind herself that he was not the type of man she’d imagined being with if she ever slowed down long enough to even think about a serious relationship. She wanted someone cultured, refined, who’d seen the far reaches of the world and who might travel to them all again with her.

      Her fantasy man was definitely not a cowboy who was probably more at home with livestock than people.

      The splat of wet clothing hitting the hardwood floor drew her attention, and she looked toward the line of dressing rooms before she considered the wisdom of doing so. Beneath the wooden slats of the door, she noticed a lump of clothes that had to be Liam’s wet jeans and socks. Next to them stood his naked feet and legs.

      Her breath caught when she thought about all the naked flesh that door was hiding. Wet, firm, naked male.

      She startled so much when the front door of the shop opened that she almost slid off the stool. She closed her eyes against the image of Liam Parrish in his altogether, then opened them to meet Verona’s gaze. Another blush zoomed up India’s neck to her face, but she attempted to hide it in the process of standing.

      Blake Magnusson, head of the Blue Falls Tourist Bureau, followed Verona through the front door.

      “I thought we were coming by your office,” India said to Blake.

      Verona waved off India’s words. “Made more sense for us to come here. You’ve got a business to run, and we don’t want to take you away from it longer than we have to.” There was a worrisome bit of devilish sparkle in Verona’s eyes as she scanned the interior of the shop. “Did you hide Mr. Parrish somewhere?”

      India clamped down on the desire to shift her gaze to the dressing rooms. “We got caught in the rain, and he’s changing into some dry clothes.”

      Verona eyed India. “You don’t seem to be too wet.”

      “I was able to get inside quicker.” Thanks to two very strong arms that she’d swear she could still feel scorching her legs and back. Lordy, she needed a fan to cool herself down.

      Thankfully, Liam emerged from the dressing area fully clothed, drawing Verona’s attention away from her. India spared Liam only a glance, but it was enough to notice he’d exchanged his blue shirt for a green one and a dry pair of jeans. Attempting to push away thoughts of that peek at his naked legs, India moved to make the necessary introductions.

      “Liam Parrish, this is Blake Magnusson, head of the Blue Falls Tourist Bureau.”

      The men shook hands before Liam shifted his attention to Verona.

      “And this must be your sister,” he said, glancing back at India for a moment before shaking Verona’s hand.

      “Oh, I like this one,” Verona said, smiling widely. “Blake, hire him on the spot.”

      Liam smiled and even shot Verona a wink. It took India a moment to remember she should be saying something.

      “Verona Charles, former head of the tourist bureau,” India said. “Also known as the lady who hasn’t really grasped the concept of retirement yet.”

      Verona made a dismissive sound. “Retirement’s for old people.”

      “Well, nobody here fits that description,” Liam said, further charming Verona.

      “Mr. Parrish, if I were a younger woman, you’d be in trouble right now.” Verona shot India a look that said while she might be too old for Liam, India definitely wasn’t.

      Geez, just what she needed—to be caught in the crosshairs of Verona’s incurable desire to matchmake. She’d been called Blue Falls’ own Cupid on more than one occasion.

      “I hear you’ve been able to take a look at our facilities,” Blake said, thankfully steering the conversation in a less “Oh, look how hot the cowboy is” direction.

      “Yes, India was kind enough to show me around. I think with a few repairs and adjustments, and some good prize money for the riders, you could pull in a sizable crowd.”

      India directed the others toward the table where this whole rodeo idea had been hatched. Over the next half hour, they hammered out the details and came away with a verbal agreement pending the forthcoming written contract.

      “I think this calls for a bit of celebration,” Verona said as they wrapped up the discussion. “I’m thinking pie down at the Primrose.”

      “Sounds good to me,” Liam said.

      India guessed he’d have a bit more than pie, considering he’d been hungry for lunch when he’d arrived at the shop earlier. The grin on Verona’s face left India conflicted. Part of her didn’t want to leave Verona alone with Liam. Who knew what kinds of crazy ideas she might put in his head? But she’d spent about as much time in Liam Parrish’s presence today as she could handle. She needed some time alone to detox from his way-too-sexy, fry-your-brains looks.

      When India didn’t walk toward the front door like the rest of them, Verona looked back at her. “Aren’t you coming, dear? It’ll probably be slow here this afternoon, anyway.”

      India shook her head. “No, you all go ahead. I’m expecting a delivery this afternoon.” Which was true, but also a convenient way of getting out of the pie outing.

      She thought she heard Verona heave a sigh, but she ignored it. If Verona could find a successful man who looked as if he could grace the cover of GQ, then that would be a different story. Yes, Liam Parrish was dead sexy, but she very much doubted they had anything in common other than being citizens of the great state of Texas.

      Liam opened the door and allowed Blake and Verona to go out ahead of him. But then he hesitated before following them and met India’s eyes. He held the door with one hand and his bag of wet clothes with the other. “It was nice to meet you. And thanks for the use of your dressing room.”

      “You, too, and no problem.” She nodded toward the bag in his hand. “You might want to hang those up in your truck so they don’t sour.” Needing to escape his gaze, she dipped below the front counter to retrieve a couple of wire hangers. “Here. I’ve got more of these than I can use.”

      Liam took a step forward and accepted the hangers. “Thanks.” After a momentary pause, he nodded. “I’ll be in touch.”

      She nodded back then watched as he walked out the door, said something to Verona and Blake then crossed the street to drop off his clothes in his truck. She noticed he just tossed everything into the backseat, not taking the time to hang his wet clothes. She rolled her eyes and forced herself to look away, to refocus on the order form for some 1920s flapper-style fashions.

      But no matter how much she tried to make herself focus on work, her thoughts kept going back to that glimpse of naked legs and the indisputable fact that the sexiest man she’d seen in a long time had been fully naked mere feet from her. And it didn’t seem to matter that he was nothing like her dream guy.

      * * *

      LIAM’S STOMACH FELT AS IF it СКАЧАТЬ