Brendon (Alluring Indulgence #8)(29)
Author: Nicole Edwards

“What’s the name? Of the ranch?” Brendon inquired, curiosity brimming in his blue-gray eyes.

“Dead Heat Ranch,” she informed them. “My mother’s brother, Jerry, has five girls and they all work there.”

“I’ve heard of it. Could it be a coincidence that Travis has mentioned schedulin’ a family reunion down there?”

It was Cheyenne’s turn to look guilty. She’d actually been the one to make the suggestion to Travis when she’d heard him talking to Kylie and Gage about an upcoming family reunion. She figured the ranch would be just the place for those rough-and-tumble cowboys and their families. “I still keep in touch with my cousin Faith. We didn’t exactly grow up together, but we did spend a coupla summers hangin’ out. I made the suggestion. Anything past that is Travis’s doing.”

“Well, if and when that comes to fruition, I’m bringin’ you along, just so you have to experience the pain with me.”

Cheyenne didn’t bother to tell Brendon that she’d actually welcome the invite. It was enough that he’d said it.

The waiter brought their food to the table and they spent the next few minutes eating in silence. Cheyenne couldn’t help but admire him while they ate, doing her best not to ogle him too much. The fact that he was consistently stealing a look at her only served to make the silence that much more intriguing.

Now she was curious as to how the rest of the day would play out.

BRENDON WALKED CLOSE to Cheyenne as they entered the sports and outdoors store an hour later. He’d been serious when he told her he intended to replace that girly-looking cap with something a little more … redneck. Oh, she could keep the girly look, he didn’t have a problem with that, but he definitely wanted to get her something that would help her to fit in a little better.

Their arms brushed against one another and Brendon glanced down, tempted to take her hand in his, but his nerves got the best of him and he didn’t. He allowed his pinkie to brush the back of her hand. Strange feeling that. Definitely foreign, considering he’d yet to do something like this before. Technically, it could’ve been considered two friends going out to grab a bite to eat, but this felt oddly like a date. Or what he’d expect a date to feel like. Most people didn’t believe him, but in all his thirty-one years, he’d never been on an official date. Not like this. Not one-on-one. If and when the occasion arose, he had always ensured he had Braydon along with him to keep things interesting.

“What’d you have in mind?” Cheyenne questioned when they reached the hat section of the store, grabbing one off the rack and showing it to him. It was a plain pink camo cap that held little appeal.

He shook his head and began searching. She was on the right track, but when he looked at Cheyenne, he saw something a little bolder, more daring. Sexier. He snatched one up that was regular outdoor camo, but with a pink Browning symbol in the center and pink trim around the bill. “I’m thinkin’ this,” he informed her.

Cheyenne took the hat from his hand, the brush of her hand against his sending an instant chill from his fingers to his dick. He had no idea what it was about her, but just her touch was enough to set him off.

“It’s all right, I guess,” she said, sounding not at all thrilled, but the tone belied the grin on her face.

“What about this one?” he asked, handing her another.

She took that one from him as well, looking it over.

Ten minutes later, Cheyenne was holding seven hats in her hand, her gaze darting back and forth between each and every one. They’d probably looked at fifteen or so, and what was left were her favorites, or so she had told him.

“Okay, fine,” he said, pulling one last cap from the rack. “What about this?”

Brendon turned the hat around so she could see the saying on the front.

“ ‘I’m the pink in his world of camo,’ ” Cheyenne read.

He waited to see what she’d say, but her reaction said it all. Her green eyes widened and sparkled as she met his gaze.

Neither of them said anything for a long moment as the meaning settled in. Yes, he was telling her exactly what she thought he was, but Brendon didn’t know how to admit it. This was hard for him, but he’d come to terms with the fact that he liked this woman. More than he’d ever liked any woman. So, maybe that was a redneck way of telling her what he felt, but she understood him. And that in itself was something.

“I like it,” she finally whispered, her eyes locked with his.

“Good.” Taking the other hats from her hands, he set them back on the rack, although he kept two additional ones that he liked as well.