The Rival. Joanne Rock

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       Pull it together.

      Regina cursed herself for finding anything remotely attractive about a man she knew to be her enemy.

      Tall and leanly muscled, Devon carried himself with athletic grace in dark jeans and a fitted black parka. A gray ski cap covered his light brown hair, the knit fabric framing thick eyebrows and pale green eyes. With sculpted features, he was handsome in a way that should have been boringly traditional. Except there was something undeniably compelling about the way his eyes followed her. He didn’t seem like the kind of man who paid attention to every random woman in his field of vision. She’d had time to observe him unnoticed, and he was normally all business. Yet, around her, she felt the heated spark of masculine interest.

      She put the bay in motion. The hoofbeats were softened by the layer of snow sticking on the trail back to the main lodge at Mesa Falls Ranch. The wind picked up, swirling flakes that tickled her cheeks. She appreciated the icy kiss on her skin, needing something to cool her frustration.

      Her keen awareness.

      She’d worked too hard to get close to him to lose focus now. Her whole point in bringing Devon a mount had been to talk to him. Earn his confidence. Instead, the moment he’d gotten close to her, she’d felt the most bizarrely unexpected reaction to him.

      Blatant physical attraction.

      It would have been unsettling enough if it had been one-sided. But Devon’s comment about liking a challenge hadn’t only been about the horses.

      Breathing out slowly, she told herself to let go of the moment and focus on salvaging this time with Devon. His younger brother and business partner, Marcus, was leaving the ranch today with the COO of Salazar Media, Lily Carrington. The pair had fallen in love and spent so much time together during their stay at Mesa Falls Ranch that Regina had had no opportunity to get near Marcus.

      Devon was her last chance to find out how much the Salazar family knew about their father’s book. She’d risked her cover to eavesdrop on a conversation between the brothers the week before, enough to learn that Marcus and Devon didn’t trust each other at all even though they were business partners. And that fact alone called into question everything that had transpired between them.

      They’d spoken like they didn’t know about their father’s book. But could one—or both—of them have been lying?

      One thing was certain: she wasn’t going to learn any more if she didn’t try to get to know Devon better.

      Slowing her horse’s step, she waited until he was close to her again. She noticed he allowed her to keep the lead, however.

      “You ride very well,” she observed lightly, daring a glance toward him as they followed the Bitterroot River toward the lodge. “Did you grow up around horses?”

      He stared out through the snow-covered field where a few deer picked their way back into a thicket.

      “Not really. I went to school with a guy who lived on a Kentucky Thoroughbred farm and I spent a couple of summers with his family.” He pointed toward the woods where the deer had disappeared. “Look. The fawn wants to come back and play.”

      Sure enough, the smallest of the deer hopped out into the field again, running in a circle before it darted back into the trees in a flash of white tail. She felt herself smiling along with Devon until she remembered she had to keep up her guard.

      “Now that I know what a strong rider you are, I’m all the more determined to take you out on one of the trails while you’re here.” She figured a little flattery couldn’t hurt her cause. “You must want to see the full spread of the ranch while you’re preparing СКАЧАТЬ