“How hard it makes what?”

He doesn’t answer immediately. He cocks his head to the side and studies me before he answers. “Staying away from you.”

I look down at the ledger I’m holding and bite my lip to keep the smile of pure pleasure from emerging.

You shouldn’t be happy about that comment, you idiot!

But I am.

“Good God, that’s not helping either.”

My eyes flicker up. He has straightened and is running his fingers through his hair, his head bowed.

“What did I do now?”

“You’re biting your lip and…God! It just makes me think of what you taste like.” He sounds almost pained. And I get the feeling if he could get his hands on me, he’d kiss me.

Something hot and exciting builds in my stomach.

I know I shouldn’t ask. He works for my father. And I have a boyfriend. But none of that seems to matter. I can’t help myself.

“Why are you so determined to stay away from me?”

“I’m the help. Your father wouldn’t like it. And I need this job.”

I’m not sure how I feel about that reasoning. It’s sound, yes. Sound, responsible, respectful, all those things. But…

“And I have a boyfriend.”

It’s perverse that I would remind him of that.

He laughs.

“I’m not worried about him.”

“Why not?”

“Because if he was all that stood in my way, I’d make it my mission to take your mind off him. For good.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that,” Trick repeats. He takes a step into the room. Then another. I see his expression change and my pulse picks up. “I’d be all you could think about. You’d think about my smile all day and my lips all night.” He takes another two steps into the room. Two steps closer to me.

I’m actually breathless with anticipation. The air between us is thick with…something.

And then I see a shape move in the doorway. I look past Trick and there stands my father. He clears his throat.

I’ve got to hand it to Trick. He doesn’t really get flustered. His expression falls a little bit, and maybe cools down from the heat he was wearing a second ago, but he doesn’t jerk like he’s guilty of anything. He just watches me for another second and then turns around to face Daddy.

“Sir, I was just looking for you. A family emergency has come up and Sooty will be out the rest of the day. He thinks he might be able to get back by tomorrow night, but he isn’t sure.”

I watch my father’s face cloud over. Not thundercloud cloud, but close. He hates surprises.

“So what does he plan to do for coverage in the meantime?”

“He’s asked me to stay and keep an eye on things, which I’m happy to do.”

“And what if Mint Julep goes into labor?”

“Sir, I’ve seen dozens of births, even had to assist with a couple in school. There won’t be any problems.”

“Did Sooty leave a number where he can be reached?”

I see Trick stiffen the slightest bit. He doesn’t like being undermined, but he doesn’t say anything.

“Yes, sir. And I have the on-call number of Dr. Flannery as well.”

“That’s as it should be, but I’d like to talk to Sooty. The number?” he says as he strides across the office to the desk.

Trick rattles off a string of numbers and Daddy writes them down then tears the paper off. “Can you two please excuse me?”

I come out from behind the desk. Trick is already at the door. He is waiting for me, but not looking at me. He’s looking straight ahead, at the wall. When I pass him, he shuts the door behind us.

I turn to say something to him, although I have no idea what, but he’s already walking away.

Crap balls!

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - Trick

Just get the hell out of there! Just get the hell out of there! Eyes forward, eyes forward!

I fuss at myself as I walk away. Anything to keep from looking back at Cami and doing what I want so badly to do.

How can a female be that frickin’ distracting? She’s like kryptonite! I can’t think straight when I’m around her and I lose sight of everything important. And that shit ain’t gonna fly!

I give myself a good talking to all the way to the stable. I need to focus on getting the rest of the horses exercised and then check on Mint Julep. This job is important. It has to be the most important thing. Has to be!

In my head, I plan out the evening, an evening that does not include Cami Hines. After I check on Mint Julep, I’ll spend the rest of the night going through her record and getting to know everything there is to know about her and her condition. If that jackass boss of mine asks me anything, I want to be able to answer him immediately and without hesitation.

I’m still thinking of anything and everything except Cami as I saddle Highland Runner. I can tell by the way he twitches when I buckle it on that he’s as unsettled as I am. That’s one problem with spending so much time with a wild horse. He responds to me and my moods. And right now, he’s every bit as restless as I am.

“Calm down, boy. It’s all right. I’m gonna take you out and run some of that off.” I stroke the side of his muscular neck as I prepare to lead him out of the stable.

I turn toward the door and there, with the sunshine streaming in behind her, stands Cami. I can’t see her face at all. She’s a black silhouette backlit by blinding brightness. It’s a halo around her.

Like the angel she is.

I stop. Neither of us says anything until she starts walking toward me. I can feel my body reacting to her the closer she gets. My pulse picks up. My breathing gets a little shallow. I feel the need to fidget as I think about pushing her up against the wall and making both of us forget all the reasons I shouldn’t look at her the way I do.

I rationalize to myself that it actually makes perfect sense. I want her so much because I can’t have her. It’s human nature.

I console myself with that knowledge as I watch the sway of her h*ps as she walks.

Damn, but she’s hot!

She stops in front of me, her hands stuffed into the back pocket of her jeans, making those delicious br**sts of hers strain against the material of her shirt.

“What are you doing down here?” I ask.

I hear her take a deep breath before she answers. “Look, I know you need this job. And you know I have a boyfriend. But we can’t avoid each other completely all summer long. I love to ride and I’m trying to learn more about the business and the horses. And now Sooty’s gone, leaving you with extra work. Seems to me like we ought to be able to at least be friends so we can be around each other, right?”

I don’t want to tear the clothes off of any of my friends!

I think that, but I don’t say it. Instead, I quietly consider what she said, what she’s proposing. It’s a logical thought. I’ll give her that. And if she thinks it’s going to be so easy to be around me without sparks flying, then far be it for me to act otherwise. If she wants to pretend we’re just friends, then I’ll give her what she asks for.

Until she’s begging for something else, my mind finishes perversely. I mentally chastise myself before answering her.

“Just friends?” I shrug. “Sure. I just hope your father’s okay with it.”

“Don’t worry about him. He’s fine.”

I doubt that, but then again, she might be his kryptonite, too. I can’t imagine that she’s heard the word “no” an awful lot in her lifetime.

“If you say so,” I say casually. “Did you come down here just to tell me that?”

“No, I came to help. I can kill two birds with one stone. I can help you and I get to ride. Win-win.”

“And why is it so important that you help me?”

I know I shouldn’t goad her, but I can’t seem to help it. And I have to pay dearly for it when I see her cheeks turn pink before she turns away from me to stroke Highland Runner’s nose.

Her and that blushing!

She must know she’s blushing and I’m reacting, because I can see her pearly white teeth biting into her bottom lip. I clamp my mouth shut against the urge to pull her against me and suck on it for her.

“Well, it helps me, too. I get to learn the horses a little better. You know, the newer ones. I’ve only ever really ridden Firewalker, so…”

“Ahh,” I say noncommittally. “So you’re using me, is that what you’re saying?”

Her head whips toward me and her expression shows regret, as if she really thinks she might’ve hurt my feelings. It just makes her all the more appealing.

“No! That’s not it at all!”

I laugh. She’s adorably gullible, too. It occurs to me that, if Cami has any flaws, I can’t seem to find them.

“Ohmigod, you’re the devil,” she says, trying to conceal the curve of her lips.

“So I’ve been told,” I say, winking playfully at her. When blood rushes to her cheeks again, I bite back a groan. I’m really going to have to quit teasing her or we’ll both end up regretting it.

She clears her throat, obviously searching for a change of subject. “Which other horses need exercising? I can take one, too.”

A few minutes before, I’d decided to take Titan into the round pen, but hitting the trails with Cami is just too appealing.

“Titan. I was going to take him and Runner both out on the trails today.”

“Okay, then I’ll take Titan.”

“Are you sure you can handle him?”

Her eyes sparkle and she sticks her chin out proudly. “I can handle any horse in this stable.”

“Any horse except Runner, you mean.”

“Any horse including Runner.”

“No offense, but you’re not getting on Runner. He’s still too wild.”

“Daddy says he’ll never be ready.”

“Then why would you think you can ride him?”

“I saw you riding him the other day. He looked fine.”

“He’s used to me, but it’ll probably be another couple months before anyone else can ride him.”

“You think?”

“I know,” I say, trying not to let her get my hackles up. “I can feel it in him. He’s coming around.”

“I guess time will tell who knows horses better then, right?”

“I guess so.”

There’s a short and slightly uncomfortable pause before she speaks again.

“I’ll take Titan today then.”

“Fine,” I say, as if she had any other choice. There’s no way in hell I would have let her anywhere near Runner’s stirrups. “I’ll get him ready for you.”

“I can do it.”

“I’m sure you can, but I’ll do it while you talk to him.”

I don’t want to add that my presence will help soothe Titan before she mounts him. Only a person with an affinity for horses like mine would understand. My father used to talk about my sort of “connection” to them all the time. He’d say I was born to work with horses.

Apparently he was right.

Tying Runner’s reins for the time being, I motion for Cami to follow me. “Come on.”

We walk the length of the stable to the other end, where Titan’s stall is. His big, black head is sticking out over the open top half of his stall door. I stop to rub his nose and blow softly into his face before I go to grab his tack. By the time I come back, Cami is feeding him a sugar cube and whispering to him. I can barely make out the words, but the tone says all I need to hear. Her love of horses is clear in every syllable she utters.

I watch Titan’s ears. Although he’s no danger to Cami, he’s not quite at ease with her either. I stroke his neck and chest as I prepare to bridle him, hoping he’ll settle.

“Good boy, Titan. Let’s get you ready for Cami. We’re going out for a ride. You’ll like that, won’t you, big guy?”

All the while I’m stroking him, my voice is calm and soothing. He nickers quietly at me and I slide the bridle into his mouth. His muscles shiver beneath his shiny coat and I can almost feel him relax afterward.

I lead him out of his stall to where I can put his saddle on. I don’t stop talking to him as Cami moves around him, stroking him and getting him used to her. Luckily, Titan is highly trained and very accustomed to the presence of people, even people unfamiliar to him. But when it comes to Cami, I’m not willing to take a chance. I want him calm before we leave the stable.

When he’s saddled and ready to go, I lead him out to join Runner and then hand the reins to Cami. She’s watching me with an odd expression on her face. I’m not sure what to make of it.

“What?”

She narrows her eyes on me. “You really are good with horses, aren’t you?”

I shrug. “Who told you I was good with horses?”

“My father.”

I can’t keep the shock from my face. The only thing Jack Hines has ever shown me is a mild disdain.

“That surprises you?” she asks.

“Uh, very much.”

“Why?”

I shrug again. “You’d just never know that by talking to him. Or at least I wouldn’t.”

“Maybe not, but that’s what he told me.”

“And why were you talking about me?”

My jeans feel a little tighter when she blushes and licks her lips nervously. “He was just telling me about the new staff, that’s all.”

Why don’t I believe her?