Chapter Fourteen
The sound of ripping panty hose stopped Charlotte dead in her tracks. Balancing on four-inch-high heels, she looked down at her legs. What had only been a tiny snag earlier had turned into a full-blown run.
No, no, no.
She groaned and made her way to the bathroom to take them off. It wasn’t even lunchtime and already her feet were killing her.
Though she’d tried her damnedest, Charlotte had struggled to settle in to her job. Sure, it was a big firm and had everything she’d always dreamed of, but like her studio apartment and all the amenities in the city, it was cold.
This is what she wanted, though…right?
After being in Wyoming, she wasn’t so sure. She missed her boots and the sunshine and the land. She missed Grammy and Gracie.
She missed Tripp.
But she couldn’t think like that, because he didn’t want her. Better to focus on what she did have: a job, a career, the life of an assertive single woman.
Starting now. Charlotte had been summoned to a last-minute meeting with a big client. She needed to land the account and to get a win. Problem was, she didn’t know a thing about the company, so her preparations had basically included throwing absolutely every example she could find into a presentation. All she was told was that this would be a huge account, a real coup for her portfolio. The kind of client that made or broke a career.
Try as she might, she couldn’t find it in her heart to be excited.
Charlotte ran her hands down her black pencil skirt and made sure all the buttons on her white top lined up. She was pressed, professional, and ready to get this account, enthusiasm be damned. She walked into the conference room with her laptop in one hand and—
Tripp sat at the head of the table.
She gasped, her heart bottoming out somewhere in her stilettos. “What are you doing here? Oh my God, is Gracie okay?”
Tripp smiled, as if he liked seeing her dissolve into a panic. “Gracie is perfectly fine.”
Relief hit Charlotte like a speeding truck. She sagged against the conference table. “Thank God.”
Tripp Montgomery, in all his cowboy swagger, rose and greeted her. He stuck his hand in his jeans pocket. His crisp pearl snaps pulled tight over his chest, and his bright white Stetson completed his professional cowboy look.
Her heart fluttered, and she wished it didn’t.
“I’m here to obtain your services,” he said.
She clutched her laptop to her chest. “I don’t have any services to offer you.”
“I think you do,” Tripp said, and slowly walked around the table toward her. “See, I have this business. It’s a pretty big one. And I need a website, marketing, and a sexy woman to run all of it.”
She frowned. “You’re in the cow business.”
“Yes, ma’am, and a large, lucrative business it is. It could be so much bigger with expertise such as yours. So what do you say?”
“I say go find yourself someone else.”
“I want you,” he said, his eyes blazing, and she tried not to get entranced by them. Those three words made her chest squeeze, but she knew better.
“You don’t want me. In fact, you want me far away from you and from Gracie.”
He stepped closer. “I want you. All of you. All the time,” he said. “You are the best woman in every way, for me and for Gracie.”
“Not according to you. Or was that someone else yelling at me from his truck?”
He stepped closer, undeterred. “I was an idiot. I thought you were leaving us. Then I was worried about her lip. But it doesn’t excuse what I said. I’m sorry, darlin’.”
She shook her head, her own insecurities rising. “It doesn’t matter anymore. No matter what, I’m never going to be the kind of woman that looks right with you. I’m never going to be Amber’s mom.”
Tripp frowned. “What?”
Her stomach twisted. “You know, the mom type. I don’t have the look.”
“And thank God for that,” he said with a smile, and moved even closer. So close she could feel his breath tickle her forehead. “I like your look. And your stubborn attitude and your big heart. No other woman would ask about Gracie first thing. You love her. You love me.”
“I love her. You, I’m not so sure,” she said, trying to hide her smile.
But Tripp just laughed. “Well, you think on that. In the meantime, I’ll love you enough for both of us.”
Her eyes lifted and met his. “You love me?”
He cupped her waist. “So damn much. I’ve been a wreck without you.”
The tension that had coiled tight in her chest the second she received the job offer began to unravel, but she held her ground. He was going to have to work a little harder. “A wreck, huh?”
He grinned. “Yep. I’m sure Bo and Cash would be more than happy to tell you about it, if you’d like.” He brought his hand to her cheek, his eyes searching hers. “Charlotte, I want to take you home with me and I want to love the hell out of you until you agree to stay forever. No matter where you go, I’ll chase you. And I’ll never stop.”
She gasped and swayed toward him. So much for holding her ground. Tripp was there, though, solid and stable and so very warm.
“Really?” she asked, so scared to believe it, but wanting to so much. A home. A family. The man she loved and little girl she was crazy about.
“If you’ll have me.”
Yes, please. Her heart fluttered wildly in her chest, but she managed to give him what she hoped was a prim look. “I will, but only because you and Gracie are a package deal.”
He smiled. “I can’t fault you there. I’d take her over me any day.”
“I’ll take both,” Charlotte said, unable to contain her smile.
Tripp cupped her face and kissed her so thoroughly, she had no choice but to believe in him and that warmth he’d planted in her chest the very first day they’d met.
“Let’s go home,” he said against her lips.
She smiled. “I’d love nothing more.”