Granger. It’s beautiful here.”
She took a sip of her beer. “I’d really like to know more about you, Wesley. I’ve never met a man like you.”
“Call me Wes. Wesley sounds so formal.”
Lydia grinned. “Okay...Wes it is.” She paused a heartbeat before saying, “Tell me something about you that most people don’t know.”
Normally Wes would deflect this attempt at getting personal with some self-deprecating humor, but something about Lydia prompted him to answer honestly. “I want something more out of life. More than ranching.”
His response was not what she would have expected him to say. “Then why don’t you go after whatever it is that you want?” she asked. “Life is short. Live every moment as if it’s your last.”
Wesley met Lydia’s gaze and smiled. “You’re right.” It just wasn’t that easy for him, however. He had to think of his family and what his choices would mean for them.
He leaned forward and asked, “Would you like to dance?”
She surprised Wesley by removing her high-heeled sandals. “Sure.”
He broke into a grin. “C’mon, darlin’.”
* * *
Perspiration dotted her brow as they made their way off the dance floor. Lydia was having the time of her life. The establishment looked like nothing more than an old shack, but the music was great.
Fanning herself with her left hand, Lydia said, “I need a glass of ice water.”
“Have a seat and I’ll get you some,” Wesley told her.
She returned to their table and sat down.
A few minutes later, Wesley walked over with her water. “Here you are, darlin’.”
“Thanks,” Lydia murmured as she accepted the glass from him. “You are a life saver.”
He dropped down into the seat beside her.
She turned to face Wesley and whispered, “This may surprise you, but I am having a great time.”
He eyed her. “Really? In a place like this?”
“Yes,” Lydia confirmed. “It doesn’t look like much, but I like it.”
“I have a confession to make,” Wesley stated.
“What is it?”
“I brought you here to get some type of reaction from you. I wanted a glimpse into the real you.”
“I guess you expected me to throw some type of tantrum.” Wesley had no idea that a place like this was nothing new to Lydia. She used to frequent some of the hole-in-the-wall joints back in Syracuse when she was in college. While she had been surprised in his choice, she was not repulsed by the establishment.
“I didn’t know what to expect, Lydia. I have another admission. From the moment I saw you at the gala, you’ve had my interest piqued.”
Lydia’s heart leaped at his words. It was at that moment that she realized just how much she wanted Wesley to find her desirable. Not just to play into her employer’s plan, whatever it really was. But for her own satisfaction.
“Be honest,” he said. “You’re not a little bit shocked that I brought you to a place like this? I’m sure you expected to be taken to some expensive restaurant.”
“I did,” she confessed. “But it doesn’t matter. Wesley, I’m not some snobby type, if that’s what you were worried about. I’m just a normal flesh-and-blood woman.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Wesley said with a smile. “Relieved actually.”
Lydia laughed. “I have to confess that I wondered the same about you. I had hoped you weren’t some stiff-shirt type of snob.”
“I’m sure you know that’s not me by now.”
She nodded. Lydia thought she detected a flicker in his intense eyes. She shifted in her chair as she struggled to regain control of her emotions.
I’m here to do a job, she reminded herself. Getting involved with Wesley would be a huge mistake. One she could not afford.
Chapter 4
Laughing, Wesley checked his watch. “Lydia, I’m so sorry. I made reservations for us at a restaurant in Helena and booked a helicopter to take us there, but we will never make it in time.”
“I’m sure we can just grab something here in town,” she responded. Lydia did not care much for helicopters, so she was perfectly fine with staying in Granger for dinner.
“I promised you an unforgettable evening, and I’m not about to welch out on a deal. Why don’t you come out to the ranch? I’ll have Rusty prepare a special meal for us.”
“But what about your family?” she asked. “I don’t want to intrude.”
“Most likely, they have already eaten and will have retired for the evening.”
“Wesley, you really don’t have to go to all of this trouble. I’m having a great time with you. We can stay here as far as I’m concerned.”
“I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry.”
“So am I,” Lydia admitted. “Why don’t we just go back to the hotel and have dinner?”
He shook his head no. “It’s all settled. We are going to the ranch.” His tone brooked no argument. “Just give me a few minutes to talk to Rusty.”
Wesley made a quick phone call.
“Dinner will be ready by the time we arrive,” Wesley announced as he put away his phone.
“Are you sure that we won’t interrupt your family’s evening?”
“We won’t,” he confirmed. “Rusty said that they are all in their rooms.”
They walked outside to the car.
Wesley opened the door for Lydia and waited until she was safely inside before walking around to the driver’s side.
“I promise you that you won’t regret this,” he told her. “Rusty is dynamic when it comes to preparing meals.”
Lydia was enjoying her time spent with Wesley immensely. She didn’t need a fancy restaurant or a meal prepared by an award-winning chef. She found that she did not want this night to end. Wesley was turning out to be so much more than she ever expected.
She reminded herself once more that she would have this night with him, but in a couple of weeks, she would be headed back to Los Angeles.
* * *
“Welcome to the BWB Ranch,” Wesley said as he drove through the entrance.
Lydia was in awe at the sight of such opulence. She had seen photographs of the home and knew that the three-story wooden abode boasted five thousand square feet of living space and another five or six thousand square feet of covered porches. “What a beautiful house,” she murmured.
“My parents designed every inch of it.”
“I can’t wait to see the interior.” Lydia wanted a firsthand view of this luxurious home that had been featured in several magazines.
Although Wesley was not aware of it, Lydia had a copy of the Browards’ floor plan.
The master bedroom loft touted two baths, something she had never heard of but thought it particularly useful.
Gwendolyn Webb Broward and her husband, Steven, met them in the foyer.
Lydia glanced over at Wesley, then back at his parents.
“I