Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 74968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
“Dogs deserve get-well gifts too,” Adler said archly before setting his coat and hat on the loveseat, same as always. I both loved and hated our little routine.
“Uh-huh.” I strode over to my dining table, pointing at a snow globe. “Don’t suppose you know anything about this. Appeared on my desk in the barn. Funny that.”
Inside the snow globe was a scene with a cowboy by a campfire, horse at the ready, and a sign that read Happy Trails. Probably the only one Adler had been able to find with a horse. And I knew perfectly well it had been him. Anyone else would know I didn’t decorate for the holidays. Heck, I was barely tolerating the tree and decorations all over the bunkhouse this year.
“Nope. No clue.” Adler shrugged, all fake innocence. “Maybe it’s the same Santa who left my hat.”
“Maybe.” I picked up the globe. It had a nice weight to it. I moved it to the center of my coffee table. “Guess I’ll hang on to this. Pretty.”
“Good.” Adler grinned.
I wagged a finger at him. “You’re a terrible liar.”
“I’ll have you know we played poker at the bunkhouse the other night, and I won a few hands.” He made fast work of checking the dogs’ food and water dishes.
I let out a long groan at his confident tone.
“You wouldn’t be the first green worker Motley spotted a few hands of cards only to wax later. Guard your cash.”
“We were mainly playing for chores.” Adler didn’t sound the least bit concerned by my warning.
“Huh.” I huffed as I stalked over to my chair. “That’s a new one.”
“It was my idea.” With the dogs handled and happily munching on their new treat sticks, Adler followed me to my chair.
“Of course it was.” Also, unsurprising was the way Adler pounced on me, landing in my lap. We were both fully clothed, but the memory of other sexier times in this chair hung over us. Wouldn’t take much to ramp me up, and I made a grumpy noise.
“Saw Faith watching the girls ride today.” We needed a change in subject, and I grasped at the least sexy topic I could think of with my brain cells in short supply. “She looked…healthy.”
“I think she is.” Adler scooted around, getting all comfortable. “She hasn’t talked much since her return, but she seems more centered.”
“More centered than Maverick.” I whistled low. I considered Maverick something of a friend as well as my boss, and as both his employee and his friend, I was concerned about the way the wedding prep seemed to have him in a constant tizzy. “Lord. He’s not gonna make New Year’s Eve at this rate.”
“Weddings tend to make everyone a little nuts.” Adler laughed lightly. “He’s not even the worst groomzilla I’ve seen.”
“Reckon you saw plenty working at the hotel.” I could concede that maybe there was less cause for alarm than I thought, but I continued to frown. “Myself? I stay far away from most weddings. Suppose I can’t avoid this one though.”
“Nope. They’d both notice if you skipped.” Adler twisted around to glare at me. “As would I.”
“I’ll make an appearance,” I said mildly. “Might even iron a shirt.”
“Gonna save me a dance?” His tone was flirty, not demanding, but I groaned nonetheless.
“Adler…”
Uncowed, he batted his eyes at me. “Ever since Thanksgiving, you haven’t been pushing me away as much.”
“I should.” Notably, I didn’t shove him off my lap, and my tone was more resigned than mean. “Don’t go getting pie-in-the-sky dreams.”
“I’m not.” Adler was lying. One hat and a whole lot of evenings spent pretending to watch the dogs and Jeopardy, and he was ready to forget all the reasons we couldn’t be public. “One dance. Most people won’t even notice.”
“Most.” I snorted. “Trust me, not much else to talk about in the dead of winter around here. Folks will notice.”
“Are you worried people might think you’re into guys?” Adler peered intently at me.
“Not in the way you think.” I waved a hand. The remote lay on the table next to me, taunting me with an escape from this conversation. “Don’t want gossip. It’s not about my sexuality.”
Adler cocked his head like he wasn’t so sure. “Am I really the first guy you’ve been into?”
“First I’ve let under my skin,” I admitted. And it wasn’t like he didn’t know exactly what he did to me. “Not sure how you got to me, but you did, right from the start.”
“Thank you, but that didn’t answer the question.” Adler straightened his spine, prim set to his jaw.
I exhaled hard. I’d spent a fair bit of time since August thinking about this very question. My attraction to Adler had seemingly come out of left field, but I hadn’t been nearly as shocked as one might expect. Also, I wasn’t dumb enough to think Adler had a magic dick capable of turning straight guys. Likely, I’d always been some flavor of queer.