Chasing Charlie: A Romantic Comedy (The Texas Two-Step Series Book 1) (7 page)

"
A
bout this fiancée business
," said Charlie as Davis switched on the autopilot. "I’m a little nervous about this weekend."

"I’m sure you’ll do fine," said Davis.

"But how should I act around your family and friends?"

"Well, let me think." Now that the autopilot was in control, there was less risk of him becoming distracted enough to do anything stupid. He could turn his attention totally to Charlie.

Why was it that all his male antennae went into high gear whenever she was near? If he was honest with himself, he had to admit it happened even when he just thought about her. When had he become so intrigued by her?

And looking at her expectant face now, as she waited for him to reassure her, made him feel protective. A lock of her hair, resembling a loose corkscrew, had settled over her left eye. He’d seen it do that before and had tucked it behind her ear. This time, though, he didn’t. She just looked so darn cute, just like an elf, as he’d taken to calling her, not at like women he’d been interested in before.

Even in a drafty airplane, he could smell that scent of hers, sort of an old-fashioned type of fragrance—like old lace and spring flowers.

What was he going to do about her? Perhaps instead of avoiding her, he should spend more time with her. If they were together enough, he’d grow tired of her company and he’d seek the solitude he generally craved. "I think it’s best if you stick close by this weekend."

"Stay near you?"

Davis nodded. What else? Something to speed things along. If he kissed her enough, he’d become immune, surely? "While I’ll admit it’s probably my fault for choosing a woman who has no fiancée experience, with someone as intelligent as you, I don’t think you’ll need much by way of instruction."

"That wasn’t quite what I meant." She crinkled her nose, which did strange things to his stomach and made him want to laugh. When she got prissy, some inner part of him delighted in it. Like a challenge he had to act on, he was compelled to break through her attitude.

"Well, I thought you meant you wanted some lessons on the appropriate behavior of an engaged woman."

"You did, did you?" asked Charlie through gritted teeth. "First you get me into this death trap and now this."

"I don’t know what I said that’s got you riled up." He gave her his most disarming grin. The prissier she became, the greater the challenge.

"While I’ll be the first to admit I’ve never been engaged before, I certainly feel I have a good handle on how an engaged woman should behave." Charlie batted her eyelashes at him. "What exactly is it you think I need to learn?"

This was more like it. "Well, as my intended, you have to get used to being kissed. Often. No use getting worked up over it. My family and friends expect me to kiss my fiancée."

Charlie snorted. "I already figured that one out."

"That’s a girl."

He heard a hissing noise from Charlie’s direction, but when he looked at her, she smiled innocently.

"Now," continued Davis, "I’m not one to spoil fun—but I do expect you to be around, to be at hand, should I need you. What I have in mind is a little concern about my welfare."

"Obviously I’d be concerned about your welfare."

"You won’t want to over-do it, but if you’re off chatting with someone else, it just won’t do."

"Okay, we already covered me staying close to you. I don’t see what the problem is, though."

Davis schooled his expression to make sure she didn’t see how amused he was. "The problem would be that you wouldn’t be there to fetch me a soda or laugh at my jokes." That should be almost guaranteed to rile her.

"You want me to fetch you drinks?"

Davis nodded.

"You want me to fawn over you?"

"Fawning might be too much, but I imagine my fiancée would be concerned about whether I was having a good time. And you need to stay far away from the single guys." Pulling her leg was one heck of a lot of fun. Any second now, she’d go ballistic.

"I don’t know how to tell you this, but what you’re wanting is a wet nurse, not a fiancée." She threw up her arms. "Men!"

"Now hold on a second—I didn’t say that."

"Nonsense. You think anyone will believe you care about a woman whose sole purpose in life is to cater to your inflated ego? Do you really think you’d respect that kind of woman? I wouldn’t."

"We’re not talking respect here. We’re talking about the kind of woman who’d steal my heart and make me give up a very peaceful bachelor existence." This was better than stealing candy from a baby. "If my fiancée is off having a good time and I’m nowhere near, how does that make me look?"

"Like you’re in love?"

"Heck, no. It makes me look like a fool, wrapped around some woman’s pinky while she kicks up her heels."

"All I can tell you is I’m not that kind of woman. Since it’s too late for you to switch fiancées, you’ll have to put up with what you’ve got, because there’s no way I’m going to act like the bimbos you seem to find acceptable as marriage material."

"You won’t go along like a good sport?"

"No, I won’t." Her voice was as calm as a tornado’s eye.

"You’ll make a fool out of me."

"No. Love makes everyone act like fools. If you want to be believable, you’ll have to take my word on this one."

Davis couldn’t hold his laughter in another minute. He cracked up.

"You’ve been teasing me, haven’t you?" asked Charlie suspiciously, a smile playing about her lips.

"I’m sorry, but you’re hilarious when you get up on your high horse."

"Hilarious. Ha ha." Charlie swatted his arm. "I was serious. I need to know how to act."

"Okay. Here’s my idea. You don’t fetch me sodas but I expect calf-eyes from you."

"You got it. When we’re standing on the opposite side of the same room, I’ll remember to look at you worshipfully."

"That’s good." He wiggled his eyebrows. "Look at me like I’m your personal gift from heaven. And when we’re near…"

The look he sent her almost made her forget what they were talking about.

She gulped.

This was getting better, closer to his goal. "My mother will expect me to kiss you. A lot."

A flush rose across her neck and face and she wouldn’t meet his gaze.

He patted her hand. "Don’t worry. I’ll help you along."

That was exactly what she feared. For all his conceit, she did feel attracted to him. He was good looking and gifted with charm, and he used it to get his own way. In fact—she shot him another suspicious glance—hadn’t he just had his way now? More kisses? Two could play this game. "I want to add a stipulation."

"What’s that?"

"No more kisses when no one is watching."

"We’ve got to practice."

"I think we’ve practiced just about enough."

He leaned forward, as if he were about to kiss her again. She held up her hand.

"I mean it, Davis." This would be the only way she’d be able to remember the difference between her role and reality. If his intentions were honorable, she’d eat his Stetson. This was the only way to protect herself.

"I’m not making any promises. What if you asked me to kiss you?"

"I won’t."

"Here’s what I’ll agree to. All you have to do is tell me to stop, and I will. Deal?"

"I thought our deal was for me to pretend to be your fiancée? I think I’m more than satisfying those requirements."

"What are you afraid of, Charlie? That you’ll forget to say no?"

"Of course not!" It wasn’t what she wanted but it seemed the best she could get him to agree to. He might be a Romeo, but she knew she could trust him to stop if she told him to. "Okay. You’ve got a deal."

Davis grinned. Something about his self-satisfaction again reminded her of her brothers’ prize bull. Suspecting she’d been outmaneuvered, she narrowed her eyes at him, but he was busy fidgeting with dials and gauges, and talking into his radio.

"We’re about to land."

Sure enough, he was bringing the plane down. As he landed the aircraft, Charlie was surprised that he didn’t head for an airport. Instead, he settled the plane on a small landing strip, then taxied to a stop on the grass.

He killed the engine and helped her disembark. "The house isn’t far."

She looked around. Trees and grass were the only things visible for what appeared to be miles. "You’ve got to be kidding."

"Nope, it’s just behind that hill." Davis pointed to a small incline. "I’ll come back for our bags later."

Charlie looked in that direction. She saw cypresses, but she couldn’t make out a clear path. Shrugging, she followed him across the field and to the trees. Sure enough, as he’d promised, she saw a house just down the slope. Behind the house and to the right about two hundred feet, she saw a pier that led to a gazebo floating on the lake. On the water toward the left rear of the house was a metal boathouse. The view was breathtaking. In the background, she heard the sound of waves lapping against the beach and the drone of a motorboat in the distance.

It was quiet, peaceful, the type of place she imagined when life became too stressful. Closing her eyes for a moment, she allowed the call of the water to wash over her, bathe her in its tranquil harmony. "No wonder your mom wanted to get married here. It’s beautiful."

"Jim said I can use it as much as I’d like while he’s out of the country. Of course, with my job and trying to buy a ranch, I don’t know how often I’ll be able to make it up here."

"How did you come to run Murphy Title when your heart isn’t in it?" Charlie drank in the view as they got closer. The house wasn’t large, but it was quaint, with a huge bow window overlooking the woods and grassy field, and the gravel driveway leading up to it. It was a narrow house, white clapboard with black shutters, and two stories tall. Despite being made by man and not by nature, it seemed to fit into this setting as if it had been planned from the beginning of time.

"When my father died, the company wasn’t in good shape. The real estate market was at an all-time low and there wasn’t much call for warranties or titles. As soon as I finished school, I took it over. I had to look after Mom and make sure she didn’t lose her home. For a while, that was in doubt and I despaired of ever learning the business. It wasn’t easy. Finally my hard work is paying off."

"From what I understand, you’ve done very well."

"I’ve done my best and I think it’s strong enough to do without me now. So I’m scouting around for a ranch to buy."

"Well, I wish you luck. All I’ve ever wanted was to stay as far away from a ranch as possible. If I had the use of this place, I’d never want to leave." She understood wanting something you couldn’t have, but she couldn’t understand why he was so fixated on being a cowboy. "Wouldn’t you like to explore the world?"

Davis shrugged. "Traveling is okay, but most big cities are pretty much like the others. And a hotel is a hotel is a hotel. No, I’ve almost got the opportunity to do something I’ve always wanted. Raise some cattle, maybe even show some. And there’s one other thing I intend to do."

"What’s that?"

"Ride in the rodeo. Like my grandfather."

Warning bells went off in her head. First of all, it was dangerous. Ridiculous cowboy! And second of all, he was too old. He’d kill himself. But that was one thing he certainly had in common with all the other cowboys she’d ever met. They were thrill seekers, risking life and limb, breaking the hearts of their loved ones. All for what? A chance at winning a purse of $5,000 or less?

Idiots. All of them, chasing after some shiny brass buckle to wear on their belts. And Davis was no different. From now on, she wouldn’t forget again. No more kisses unless there was an audience—no hand-holding, either. She’d keep her distance and her heart safe. "You’ll be lucky if you don’t break your neck."

"I’ll be extremely cautious."

"How many times have I heard that before?" Charlie asked under her breath. As they neared the house, she saw a narrow inlet of water off to her left, leading to the lake. "I hope you know what you’re doing."

"I’ve done a lot of studying and spend most of my spare time practicing."

"Uh huh." Men! Exasperating fools. His idea of practicing and hers were most likely worlds apart.

Just then, Davis surprised her again by pulling her into his arms. He ran his thumb over her bottom lip and gazed fully into her eyes.

"Who’s watching?"

"I saw someone standing near the house. It could be my mother. Just follow my lead, okay?"

Charlie nodded. Telling herself he was a cowboy didn’t seem to do the trick. Her heart pounded as he lowered his head toward hers. He might have had to study ranching, but he sure didn’t need instruction when it came to kissing. And thoughts like that were what tended to get her in trouble.

She shook herself free. Blinking in the brilliant sunlight, she focused on the house. Sure enough, he was trying to trick her again. No one was in sight. "Your mother?"

"Looks like I was mistaken."

"You’re darn right you were mistaken." Very deliberately, she gave him a shove, neatly toppling him, bottom first, into the inlet of water.

A
fter Davis had sloshed
through the house and shown Charlie where her bedroom was, he dripped his way into the kitchen. There he found Jim on the phone.

Jim waved to him but continued talking to the person on the line. "Yeah, we’ll expect you then. Looking forward to it." After hanging up the receiver, he turned to Davis. "You and Charlie all settled?"

"Yes, I put her in the room at the end of the hall. I hope that’s right?"

"That’s where Ellen planned." Jim’s forehead creased as his gaze centered on the puddle at Davis’s feet. "Did you have an accident?"

"Just took a little dip," replied Davis. No need to give the man any more ammunition than he had already.