Waiting was hell. Gage sat on the front porch with Pete and cleaned tack, which took up some time. During their conversation, he got around to telling Pete that he’d be spending the night with Emma at the B&B while their dad and Kendra kept Josh. Pete had already figured that one out.

“You know that’s one of the reasons they’re babysitting, so you two can be alone.” Pete reached for a bridle draped over the porch railing.

“I suspected as much. Dad’s in matchmaking mode for sure.”

“How about you? I mean, more than the obvious. There has to be more to it than sex.”

“That’s what I intended to find out when I drove up to Great Falls on…damn, was it only last Thursday?” He hung up the bridle he’d been working on and took another.

“Time crawls when you’re having a crisis.”

Gage laughed. “Did you just make that up?”

“I did, as a matter of fact.”

“Well, I like it. Might steal it.” He rubbed saddle soap into the leather. “I know that technically this is a crisis, but I’ve had some really good times in the past couple of days. I don’t think you’re supposed to have fun during a crisis.”

“Or maybe that’s a sign that you’ve found someone special, someone who knows how to make lemonade out of lemons.”

“Are you calling me a lemon?”

“This isn’t about you, cowboy. It’s about Emma, who finds herself in a difficult situation and manages to enjoy herself, anyway. Just in case you didn’t notice.”

“I did. She’s been all in.”

“Yet she’d never set foot in this town before and the only person she knew here was you. And you were a wild card.”

“True.”

“You know her better than I do, bro. But from what I’ve seen, you’ve stumbled upon a remarkable woman. Dad and Kendra think so, too.”

“So they took Josh so I could seal the deal?”

“Oh, hell, no. Who knows if that’s possible? Besides, I’m sure they couldn’t wait to have that little guy to spoil. If that furthered the romance between you and Emma, bonus. I doubt they expected you to launch into any sealing the deal maneuvers.”

“Good, because I’m miles away from that kind of thinking. Last Thursday I was investigating the possibility that Emma might turn into more than a two-week fling. Then things got real. My brain is nothing but scorched earth at this point.”

Pete laid another bridle on the rail. “I’m guessing the rest of you is scorched for a different reason.”

“Smartass.”

“Just calling it like I see it. Nothing wrong with lusting after the mother of your child. I’d call that a definite positive.”

“Theoretically. We were great together before, but it was all fun and games back then.” He finished another bridle and hung it on the rail. “Neither of us had any responsibilities. It may not be the same.”

“Maybe it’ll be better.”

That started his engines. “I’d better go shower and change.” He stood. “I want to be ready when she texts me.”

Pete laughed. “Something tells me you will be.”

Gage parked in the visitor section in front of The Nesting Place and grabbed the bottle of red wine he’d picked up at the Guzzling Grizzly on his way through town. He’d tucked it into a GG wine bag from the Country Store. Flowers would have been nice, too, but they weren’t available on a Sunday night.

Damn it, he was nervous. Yesterday he’d been over the moon about this opportunity. Earlier today he’d been trading sexual banter with Emma and looking forward to holding her. But like he’d told Pete, the dynamic wouldn’t be the same as it had been nineteen months ago.

The front door of the B&B was still open at this hour and the entry was blissfully empty. He wasn’t up to making small talk with Mrs. Stanislowski.

He’d settled the bill over the phone this morning before Emma had arrived with Josh. They wouldn’t be coming back here next weekend because Kendra had invited them to stay at Wild Creek Ranch.

And yet, how would that work out? It didn’t exactly set the stage for intimate encounters. Staying there would be great for his son, though.

He paused outside Emma’s door, took a deep breath and focused on his purpose for being here. He’d promised to relieve her anxiety about Josh’s first overnight with lots of hot sex. No pressure.

He tapped on the door and after a few seconds she opened it. Her mascara was smeared all to hell and she clutched a wad of tissues in one hand.

“Oh, Emma.” Stepping inside, he set the bottle on the floor, nudged the door closed with his foot and wrapped her in his arms.

She clung to him and buried her face against his chest. “I’m…sorry.” She gulped. “Silly. So silly.”

“Shh, it’s okay. Perfectly natural.” He held her close and rocked her slowly back and forth. Lowering his head, he laid his cheek against her silky hair. She’d left it down. For him.

“I was fine.” Her words were muffled against his chest. “Until I texted you.”

“That made you cry?”

“No. The videos. I had the phone in my hand so I started watching them.”

“Ah. Videos of Josh.”

“Uh-huh.” She took a shaky breath, lifted her head and gazed at him. “And now I look like some deranged chick from a horror movie.”

He grinned. “Kinda.”

“Hey! You’re supposed to say I’m beautiful, no matter what.”

He recited it in a monotone. “You’re beautiful no matter what.”

Her lips twitched. “Not like that. With feeling.”

“You’re bee-you-ta-ful, no matter what!” He lifted his eyebrows. “Better?”

She laughed. “Absolutely perfect. Makes me feel like a freaking goddess.” She wiggled out of his arms. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go repair the—yikes! I got mascara all over your white shirt!”

He glanced down. “So you did.”

“Take it off. Let me work on it right now before it sets.”

Undoing his cuffs, he pulled out his shirttails and started on the row of snaps down the front. “Déjà vu all over again.”

“Not quite.” She stood back with her arms crossed. “This time I don’t have to pretend I’m not looking. I can indulge in a full-out ogle.”

“What’s so great about a guy’s chest, anyway? I never got that.”

“Muscles. Women dig ‘em. Pecs and abs. Yummy.”

“Why?” He stripped off the shirt.

“Probably goes back to a time when a man needed brute strength to defend his family from the saber-toothed tiger. We’re conditioned to be attracted to muscles.”

“Sounds primitive.”

Her eyes darkened and she moistened her lips. “Because it is.”

“To hell with the shirt.” Balling it up, he sent it sailing toward the table by the window. Then he took off his hat and scored a ringer on the bedpost behind her. “What, no argument about the stain on my shirt?”

She shook her head. “I like how this is going.” Her breath came faster, now, rippling the dark green fabric of her top, loose-fitting with thin straps. No bra. The pants were made of the same stuff.

He unfastened his belt and slipped it out of the loops. “And I like what you’re wearing.”

“My PJs.”

“Pretty slinky for PJs.” He let the belt drop and unbuttoned his jeans as he walked toward her. “I don’t remember those.”

“I didn’t wear PJs then.” She swallowed. “I slept naked.”

“I do remember that.” He reached her and cupped her face in both hands. “Want to know what else I remember?”

Her pink lips parted as she sucked in a breath. “Sure.”

“Your eagerness.” He feathered a kiss over her soft mouth. “How you didn’t even want to wait until I took my boots off.” Heart racing, he touched down, tasting mint with the tip of his tongue, then hot desire as he slid deeper.

She moaned and gripped his shoulders, digging in with her fingertips the way she used to.

He cupped the back of her head and slipped a hand under the loose hem of her top. The pleasure of cradling the smooth, plump weight of her breast in his palm made him shiver. Slowly he stroked his thumb over her taut nipple.

Flexing her fingers, she began a firm, sensuous massage of his shoulders, then his pecs. When she pinched his nipples, he gasped and lifted his mouth from hers. “Emma…”

“I’m still eager, Gage.” Her voice was low and sultry as she stroked his quivering abs. Then she moved lower, pulled down his zipper and slid both hands inside the elastic of his briefs.

A red haze of lust enveloped him as she grasped his cock in both hands. He groaned.

“Let’s do it with your boots on,” she murmured. “For old time’s sake.”

“Wonderful plan.” He struggled to breathe. “Turn me loose so I can maneuver.”

“All right.” But she took her time about it, squeezing and fondling him before she finally let him go.

Scooping her up, he transported her to the bed and sat her on the edge. He had those flimsy pants off in two seconds, his jeans and briefs shoved down in another two. “Where are the—”

“Drawer.” She pulled her top over her head and tossed it away.

He yanked the thing open and had to laugh. She had them scattered inside, loose and available. He snatched one up. “Handy.”

“Told you I’m eager.” She scooted a little farther onto the bed.

“Don’t go too far away.” He suited up. “I’m hobbled by these jeans, and…you know what? I should take the time to—”

“No. Come get me. It’s tradition.”

“Can’t buck tradition.” He crawled onto that bed the best he could, making sure his booted feet hung over the side. Easing between her warm thighs, he gazed into her green eyes as he sank his cock to the hilt.

Then he stayed there, not moving, not speaking, absorbed in the intense sensation of being with Emma like this. Again. At last. As if his body had been waiting.

She didn’t move or speak, either, but a lot was going on with her judging from her expression. Aroused…happy…a little scared. Not so different from what was going on with him.

She was beautiful, no matter what. Smeared mascara and all.

Reaching up, she cupped his cheek. Her voice was soft and slightly breathless. “I wondered how it would be.”

“Me, too.”

“It’s still good.”

“Better.”

Her smile reached right into his heart. “Yeah. Better.”