CHAPTER 17
Damn stubborn woman. Why hadn’t she let him pick her up at the airport? Colt checked his phone again as he paced outside the exhibition hall. She was late. Of course, she was late. She’d insisted on hauling all her gear by herself, and was probably trying to cram it all in the back of a tiny Uber car. He shook his head and continued pacing. He’d already taken a tour inside, found her booth and sized up the competition. Somehow, she’d managed to score a booth directly across from Stetson. Lucky draw. Vanguard Chaps & Leather was just around the corner, and Colt breathed a sigh of relief that Sammy Jo wouldn’t be breathing down Lydia’s neck the whole time.
Unease settled in his gut. Too much could go wrong this week. He and Lydia would have to play the couple in love in order convince Hal and Harrison Carter, and more importantly, Sammy Jo, that he had every intention of settling down. That wouldn’t be too much of a stretch on his part. Not that he was in love, he wasn’t, but he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Lydia the entire month they’d been separated. Sex with her had done the opposite of get her out of his system. He wanted more. So much more.
Where was she?
A mini SUV pulled up, and Lydia hopped out of the rear passenger door. His chest tightened in a painful rush of pleasure at the sight of her. He closed the distance between them in three steps and swept her into his arms, swinging her in a circle and surprising her with a kiss. Something pulled deep inside him when their lips locked, and he tightened his arms around her, savoring her sweetness. Her mouth was soft and pliant, welcoming. And in seconds, she was kissing him back. With a noise born of need, he slipped his tongue inside her lower lip, dying a little at the ache that erupted in his balls. She answered with a sigh of her own, tongue curling against his. He’d have stood there all afternoon, reacquainting himself with her mouth, her taste, but a series of catcalls registered in his ears, and he lifted his head, out of breath.
“You welcome all the ladies that way?” she teased, giving him a loopy grin.
For a moment he fell into her blue-green eyes, simply glad to see her again. But this was for show. Nothing more. “Just my fiancée.”
Her eyes clouded, and she nodded. “Right.” She gave him a bright smile that didn’t quite ring true. “Sorry I’m late. I had to stop by the print shop to pick up my signs. It won’t take me too long to get set up. If you have things to do, I can meet you back at the hotel.”
He picked up both of the suitcases the driver had stacked on the sidewalk, and tucked a cardboard tube under his arm. “I’m not leaving you to set up by yourself.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Colt,” Lydia called after him, grabbing the remaining bag and following him into the building. “I’ve set up trade shows before. This is no different.”
He ignored her, making his way to her booth. “What’s different,” he growled, setting the suitcases down in the center of her area, “is that you’re my fiancée.”
She dropped her bag and glared at him, hands on her hips. “That may be, but I don’t see other cowboys helping their sponsors set up. Don’t you have things to do?”
Did she have to be so damned stubborn? He crossed his arms, widening his stance, and met her glare head-on. “The only thing I have to do is help your pretty little ass get this booth prepared. No gentleman would allow his fiancée to do that on her own.” If she wanted to face off here, he had no problems staring her down.
After a long minute, she scowled and shook her head, the barest hint of a smile pulling on the corner of her mouth. “Fine. Suit yourself. Open that suitcase.” She pointed to the one at his left. “Plastic container with the brochures gets set on the table.”
He let out a low whistle once he opened the case. A pair of men’s boots with shiny black lizard vamps and bluish-gold brushed leather tops with black lizard inlay, and shiny embroidery rested above the brochures. Next to them was a pair with pale gray vamps and slightly darker gray suede tops, embroidered with white flames. “Holy smokes.” He whipped his head up to study her. “You’ve been busy.” Her cheeks flushed pink, and she met his gaze. Only then did he see the lines of exhaustion around her eyes. She must have worked around the clock. Damn. He’d been so taken with her earlier, he’d failed to notice. “You sleep at all these last two weeks?”
Her cheeks darkened as she shrugged away his question and gestured toward the boots. “You like them?”
“’Course I do. You’re gonna have orders out your ears.”
“Maddie and Jamey Sinclaire lent me their wedding boots too, so I have four samples now.”
“When do I get to wear these?” He stood, handing her the metallic pair.
She set the pair on a white pedestal at the center of the space. “Not until the photo shoot.”
“And when is that?”
“Next time you’re in Prairie. We can set it up while I’m here.” She held out her hand for the other pair. “Once you get the stand put together, the banner is in the cardboard tube. It’s a pretty simple set-up.”
Fifteen minutes later, Colton stepped back to take it in. He’d give her credit, she was good. Her booth oozed urban sophistication, but with enough softness in the colors, it felt warm and inviting. “This feels like you stepped into one of those fancy shops at the Bellagio, or Rodeo Drive.”
Her eyes lit. “Yeah? That’s exactly the vibe I was going for.”
“You nailed it.”
“Great, then I just need to lock up the boots, and we can be on our way.”
Colton zipped the suitcases while she stowed the boots underneath one of the pedestals. “I tried to get us adjoining rooms, but you got one of the last rooms in the whole city.”
“We’ll make it work.”
But as Colt stood at the check-in line with Lydia at the hotel, a hand clapped him on the shoulder. “I thought I might find you here, son,” Hal Carter’s booming voice made him freeze. “Is this the lady I’ve heard so much about?” He peered over Colt’s shoulder to where Lydia stood.
Motherfucker.
Draping an arm across Lydia’s shoulders, he hoped to heck he sounded happy to see Hal. “Sweetheart. Look who it is. You remember me telling you about Hal Carter?” He squeezed her shoulder, but he needn’t have worried. Lydia was the epitome of gracious.
“Of course,” she beamed up at him, then extended her hand to Hal. “A pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Carter. Colton’s told me so much about you. You must be so proud of him.”
“We are, we are,” Hal boomed. “Harrison and I were stunned to learn someone finally caught this guy’s attention. We’re thrilled he’s finally settling down.” He gave Colton a meaningful look, but Lydia had jumped into her role with both feet.
“Believe me, I am, too,” Lydia gushed with a big grin.
Hal zeroed in on her left hand, then shot a confused glance to Colt. Shitdamnmotherfucker. Colt braced for what was next.
“You mean to tell me you’ve been letting this pretty lady run around without your ring on her finger?”
Beside him, Lydia tensed. He hugged her to his side, placing a kiss on the top of her head. “You know, Lydia used to live in New York. She’s, er, particular about things.”
Lydia nodded vigorously. “Very. I flat-out told Colton if I wasn’t there to approve the ring, that he shouldn’t buy it. And this is the first time we’ve been together since he proposed.” She batted her eyelashes up at him. “But we plan on going first thing tomorrow morning.”
Okay, that was taking it a little far, but he went along with it. What else could he do under Hal’s sharp eyes?
“Because as soon as we get married, we can’t wait to settle down on his ranch.”
What in the hell?!?
Colt tightened his grip on Lydia, silently trying to tell her to shut the hell up. “Don’t worry,” he assured Hal. “I have no plans to retire.”
Lydia pursed her lips, eyes going wide. “Oh, dear.” She looked from Colt to Hal and back. “I let the cat out of the bag, didn’t I?” She leaned closer to Hal, and spoke in a loud whisper. “He promised we could start working on babies as soon as we get married.”
Colt’s mind went blank. She was fucking with him. She had to be fucking with him. If it was anyone but Hal Carter, he’d laugh his ass off at her shenanigans, but this? He had half a mind to turn her over his knee as soon as she was checked in.
Hal cleared his throat. “And when is that, exactly?”
They spoke at the same time.
“As soon as possible.”
“We haven’t discussed it yet.” He tapped her nose. “Right, darlin’?”
Hal shifted nervously. “Looks like you’ve got yourself a live wire there, son.” He cleared his throat again, a sign of his discomfort. “On another note, I came over to find out what floor you two are staying on. We’ve moved the sponsor floor to this hotel.”
“Oh?” Colt fought for a semblance of calm. It seemed his plans were being messed with at every turn. “We have a suite on five.”
“Good, good. Us, too. Sponsor floor is on six. Made sense to stay here this year.”
Damn it all to hell. He risked a look down at Lydia, whose face was frozen in a smile. Yeah, she was going to love this. Although he’d be the first to admit he wouldn’t mind sharing a room with her one bit. His cock sprang to attention at the thought of being alone with her for the next two and a half weeks.
Lydia spoke before he could, giving Hal a dazzling smile. “So we’ll see you on the sixth floor in a little while? I can’t wait to meet the rest of Colton’s sponsors.”
No. No, no, no. The Carters were ruining every single one of his plans. He’d already made reservations down on the Riverwalk to treat Lydia to a celebratory dinner tonight. Once the rodeo opened tomorrow, he’d have his game face on. He’d registered for all three rough stock events, which meant he wouldn’t get as many rest days as his fellow competitors.
“You’ll be watching him ride?” Hal asked.
“Of course,” Lydia exclaimed, running her hand across his chest in a very possessive way. “Every night.”
“Then you should join us in our box. Carter Holdings has the best seats in the arena. Right beside the chutes.”
Oh hell to the no. Double, triple no. But before he could make an excuse, she gushed again. “I’d love to, thank you so much.”
Thankfully, before Lydia could put the screws to him any further, the woman behind the counter motioned them over. He extended his hand, “Catch ya, Hal. I’ll see you and Harrison later. Come on, dear.” He pulled Lydia toward the counter and away from Hal. When he reached the woman, he bent his head and spoke low. “Already checked in, name’s Kincaid. I just need another set of keys for my lady.”
“Of course, Mr. Kincaid.”
Colt braced an elbow on the counter and turned to Lydia. “So, my dear. You mind telling me what that load of horsepatooty back there was?”
Lydia rolled her lips together, eyebrows sky high, eyes sparkling. Damn if he didn’t want to kiss her right now. For real, this time. Not for show. “Do you even have to ask?”
“I guess I do.”
Her mouth curved up. “Let’s just call it compensation for my trouble.”
“What trouble?”
She gave him a look that said he should know. Then she winked at him. “I’ll let you figure it out. In the meantime, I guess I’m glad I brought my flannel nightie.”
Oh, hell. He wasn’t used to a woman with a crack shot memory who gave as good as she got. It unsettled him. It aroused the shit out of him. He lowered his voice so only she could hear. “As long as you promise to wear nothing underneath it.” Pink fired across her cheeks. He dipped his head closer. “So I can spank that pretty little ass of yours and turn it as pink as your sweet pussy.”
She squeaked and kept staring straight ahead, cheeks darkening to red. He shook with suppressed laughter. Spending seventeen nights with Lydia was going to be entertaining as hell.