Sweet and Wild (22 page)

“I was distracted by a gorgeous, sexy
water nymph. Anyway, I was in the area. Sort of.”

Quinn cocked her head and gave him a
narrow look. “In the area, huh? That’s the best you could come up with?”

“Did my best.”

“You did pretty awesome actually.” She
threw him another wicked smile. She felt like doing more, touching him more,
but she kept her distance. “So, can I cook you and Marisol dinner tonight?”

Craig dismounted too and walked Thunder
next to her and Piper. “Nope. Busy tonight.”

Disappointment tugged at her, but she
tried not to let it get her down. She couldn’t expect him to be available at
any moment. Still, she was eager to help Marisol get comfortable with her
presence in her life. See? She told herself cheerfully. It’s not all about
Craig.

“Darn. Thought we’d talk about the
overnighter. All three of us. I wouldn’t leave Marisol out.”

“Can’t do it Quinn.” His tone was firm.
There would be no changing his mind.

Then it began to dig at her. What was he
doing? She gave him a sideways glance and swore she saw the touch of a smile on
his face. And a twinkle in his eyes. Hard to tell under the hat he wore. She
refused to ask. If he wanted to tell her what his plans were, he would. She
refused to be that kind of girlfriend, the one who’d demand to know his
whereabouts every second of his day. That was one sure fire way to turn a man
off and chase him away forever.

“Well, another night then,” she said,
horrified by the cool note in her voice.

“You don’t want to know what I’m doing
tonight?”

Quinn put a hand on Piper’s shoulder and
continued to walk the mare. She had to take the horse’s saddle off and she
headed toward the barn, not answering Craig’s question right away. “Hmm?”

Now he was smiling. Clever man knew
exactly what she was doing.

“I said, don’t you want to know what I’m
doing tonight?”

“Paying bills? Taking Marisol to the
movies? I don’t know.”

“Got a hot date.”

Jerk.
She kept the sentiment safely in
her mind. No, she didn’t think he was a jerk. Because that grin on his face
told her he was teasing. Fine, she’d tease right back.

“Cool. Who you going out with? Nicole
Ball? I like her. Good choice.”

“Stop, darlin’.”

“Hmm?”

Craig pulled Thunder to a halt and took
Quinn’s arm, stopping her as well.

“You’re playing with me and you do it
very well.”

“Sorry?” She tilted her head to one side
and raised her eyebrows.

Craig dipped his head and claimed her
mouth in a slow but thorough kiss, nipping her bottom lip before pulling back.

“You and me.”

Now he was getting somewhere. She wanted
to melt back into his arms, but she had to remember where they were, that they
had horses that needed to be walked out, and she still wasn’t sure what he was
getting at.

“You and me,” she repeated slowly.

“Are you always this difficult when a
man is trying to ask you out on a date?”

She laughed. It had been so long since
she’d been asked on a date she’d forgotten. “Always,” she lied. “Is that why
you came over here? To ask me out on a date?”

“Hot date. No, it isn’t. Didn’t get that
idea until you made that bet with me. Dinner at Louie’s.”

Quinn nearly choked. “What, tonight?”

“Say the word and I’ll give my mom a
call. She’d be happy to keep Marisol. She’s been wanting to since we came back.
A little grandma granddaughter bonding.”

“But, I…I don’t have anything to wear
for Louie’s. Seriously, I was thinking further down the road. Like, much
further.”

Craig shook his head. “Tonight. I’m sure
you have one item in your closet suitable for fine dining. You finish up down
here, take a long, hot bubble bath with that stuff girls like to soak in and
I’ll pick you up at five. You can do it, I know you can.”

With an easy grace, he swung back into
the saddle and grinned down at her.

After a gentlemanly tip of his hat, he
wheeled Thunder around and headed out of the ranch yard, back in the direction
of the Shady H.

What a whirlwind he was, but such a fun
ride. Unexpected.

Trying to pack the rest of the day into
just a few hours was a challenge. Doc showed up on time to check out one of her
mares who was weeks away from giving birth, and gave the new colt, Aces Wild, a
clean bill of health. Before he left, he bestowed his opinion of Fire, telling
her she was in for a fight with that one, but when and if she got him mellow
enough to stand still for five minutes on a lead line to give him a call. The
horse needed his shots and God only knew what else.

Luckily, Scott agreed to stay a bit
longer to help her and Tom feed the stock. By four p.m. she headed to the
house, cursing the fact she’d never find anything to wear and put herself in it
in less than an hour.

As she stared at the contents of her
closet, she confirmed that thought. Jeans, tee shirts, baseball shirts, and
plaid blouses made up the majority of her wardrobe. There was a deep red top
and a pair of black slacks, but they weren’t dressy enough for Louie’s. “Not
even close,” she muttered. Maybe Craig would settle for dinner somewhere less
fancy.

Then the plastic bag in the dark
recesses of the closet caught her attention. She hesitated before reaching for
it.

It was the dress she wore for a friend’s
wedding a year ago. Okay, so this definitely fell into the realm of dressy.
Quinn pulled it out of the dress bag and laid it out on the bed. Was it too
fancy? At least it wasn’t one of those satiny fuchsia numbers with lots of
frills and rhinestones. Her friend had better taste than that. The outfit was a
simple black dress, cocktail length with a scoop neck and spaghetti straps. A
matching short-sleeved jacket would cover her shoulders, but maybe with the
right necklace and earrings it would be fine for Louie’s.

Well, she didn’t have a choice. It was
either this or the black slacks and red shirt. Man, she really needed a
shopping trip to pad her wardrobe with a little more than work clothes.

Given the lack of time to get ready,
Quinn had to forgo the suggested bubble bath for a quick shower. Time was
ticking and Craig would arrive in half an hour. Generally, her routine was
shower, brush and braid her hair, but today she took the extra time and pulled
her old hair dryer out of a box in the bathroom closet. How in the world did
women do this on a daily basis, she wondered as she applied a touch of makeup
to her face. Thank God the horses didn’t care what color eye shadow she wore or
whether her shoes matched her purse. This was way too much work.

Then she thought of why she did it. An
honest to God, out in public date with the man of her dreams—and Louie’s
cooking. She might just wear a purple taffeta bridesmaid’s gown covered with
pearls and faux diamonds.

Luckily, it wouldn’t come to that.

Craig knocked on her door promptly at five
p.m. Quinn opened the door to him and took a step back. She’d never seen him in
a suit. She had always admired him in jeans and a tee shirt, but this Craig
looked as if he’d stepped out of the pages of
Gentleman’s Quarterly.

“You take my breath away.” It was almost
as if he was a different man dressed in a dark suit with a maroon and navy
striped tie. He had shaved and his dark hair was combed neatly back from his
face. One rogue lock, however, fell against his tanned forehead.

Then he smiled and the Craig she’d
fallen head over heels for emerged with those endearing and sexy dimples etched
into each cheek.

“I’m supposed to say that,” he replied
and leaned down for a fast kiss.

She wished his lips would’ve lingered a
bit longer. The quick taste was too much of a tease for her senses. “Hmm. I
would’ve thought the comment would be, ‘Who would’ve thought there was a girl
in there.’”

“Darling, I haven’t had any doubts.
Ready to go?”

The drive to Rapid City generally took forever,
but time sped by with Craig behind the wheel. If she worried they’d run out of
things to say to each other by the time they drove into the city limits, her
concerns were unfounded. In fact, she thought that maybe she talked too much.
Finally, a man she could have a two-hour conversation with without running out
of subject matter.

Their banter ran the gamut, including
Europe, training techniques for difficult horses, Jacob, Long Knife Creek Ranch,
and Craig’s career as a travel writer.

That aspect about him fascinated her.
She admitted freely and proudly that she owned all his books. Pride from
knowing him personally had commanded her and many other Falstadites, to buy
them all. That he’d become so successful at it made it hard to put the writer
and rancher into the same man.

Conversation paused when they pulled
into Louie’s parking lot. For a late weekday evening the lot contained a lot of
cars. Quinn was afraid they weren’t going to be able to get a table, but as
soon as they walked through the door, Craig motioned to the maitre d’, a
distinguished gentleman with a smooth Italian accent. He smiled broadly for
Craig, making Quinn wonder if the two knew each other.

Louie’s first class all the way. The
overhead lighting was dim, each white-clothed table bathed in candlelight,
twinkling against the highly polished silverware and glasses. There was no lack
of greenery, placed strategically so each table was awarded at least some
privacy. Several smaller rooms and alcoves branched off the larger main dining
area, and they were led to a private table overlooking the garden.

“I’m impressed,” she said as the maitre
d’ helped her with her chair. “What’s your secret?”

“Name recognition I guess. I don’t take
advantage of it as a rule, but sometimes it’s worth it to bend the rules.”

“Thank you for including me in your
momentary lapse.”

A waiter, dressed completely in black,
brought a bottle of wine to their table. He listed off the specials from
memory, describing in detail every aspect of each dish. His voice was smooth
and accented. After Craig and Quinn ordered, he left them to their wine.

“Louie brings his staff over from
Italy,” Craig told her.

“Quite the change of scenery for them.”

“He’s got the reputation that draws them
and keeps them here.”

“Yeah for his reputation. I thank God he
doesn’t take it off to a big city far far away.”

Over the most gorgeous plate of
Fettuccini Alfredo she’d ever seen, Quinn turned the conversation back to
horses, more specifically, Fire. “I want to concentrate my efforts on him.
Before you say anything, hear me out.”

Craig’s brows furrowed and he put down
his fork. He didn’t exactly glare at her, but she saw the disapproving glow in
his blue eyes. Granted it was concern for her safety that came first and
foremost, but she knew, despite whatever he had to say, she would train that
horse.

“I have a friend I want to bring in.
Usually he charges an arm and a leg, but since we’re friends he’ll cut me a
deal. He’s a whiz. I’ve never seen a horse not react to him. It’ll be my
investment, but I know it will pay off.”

“He’ll be working with the beast by
himself?”

Quinn glanced down at her plate for a
moment. She could lie and tell him what he wanted to hear, but she respected
him too much to do that, and respected herself enough not to give herself
credit for knowing what to do. “No, I’ll be working with him. But primarily
it’ll be Austin. Don’t look at me that way. Fire has to get to know me and this
is the only way, if I work with him on a daily basis. I have Austin for two
weeks, starting after the overnighter. He promised me two weeks is all he
needs.”

Craig didn’t respond right away and
Quinn wondered about his silence. He didn’t look directly at her face and she
followed the path of his gaze. It settled on her bandaged thumb. “Oh, come on,
Craig. This was a fluke. Scott and I got the halter off the horse today and
didn’t have any problem. I’m not a beginner. Have some faith.” She nudged him
under the table with her toe.

His gaze went back to her face. Concern
showed in his blue eyes and the frown on his lips. Then his features relaxed a
bit and a small smile appeared. “I’m going to worry about you. From now on, I’m
going to worry about everything you do, including galloping bareback over the
prairie. I guess I’ll have to get used to it.”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll make a deal. If
Austin can’t get the job done then we can reassess my ‘ownership’ of Fire. But
I think this guy can do it if anyone can. Regular horse whisperer.”

“I may have to come over and watch.”

“That would be distracting.” She smiled
at him and tapped him with her toe again. God, was she playing footsie? She
pulled her foot away, suddenly feeling heat rush into her cheeks.

They spent the rest of the incredible
dinner discussing more trivial things and ended with a shared serving of tiramisu
and coffee. At half past nine they walked out of Louie’s, completely satisfied.
In the parking lot, under the trees adorned with tiny, shimmering lights, Craig
swung her into his arms, lowered his head to hers and took her in an
overpowering, mind-melting kiss that left her weak kneed and steamy.