Sneak Peek! Eloise and Shane’s Story…

“And you keep ignoring it. You haven’t said you will or won’t at this point. So let me ask you one thing. What’s stopping you?”

She let out a laugh, but it sounded far more pathetic than she wanted it to. “Why wouldn’t I want to go out with you? Well, let’s see. You’re my boss. You dated my sister. You set your guard dog on your cousin. Need I go on?”

Where she thought he might show a degree of clarity from her words, he demonstrated quite the opposite. “All of those reasons aren’t good enough.”

She stiffened. “What?” Another strangled laugh escaped her throat. “And who’s the judge of that? You? Because from where I’m standing, they’re absolutely acceptable reasons.”

Shane shook his head and took a step toward her. His head dipped a little closer to hers. She could smell his cologne and almost feel his body heat. Their little shared moment had grown ten times more intimate as he lowered his voice huskily. “Not one of them is the reason that matters most.”

“And what’s that?” Her whisper was barely audible. Though there was nothing behind her and she had every capability of escaping if she truly wanted to, she found that she didn’t. Eloise stood her ground for no other reason than the fact that he had intrigued her.

“You want to know what it would be like—to partake in something forbidden. There’s a part of you that would relish the idea of receiving a kiss during a stolen moment. You might be intrigued with Marc, but there’s an undeniable pull between us.”

Eloise couldn’t move. It was as if her feet had stopped working. It was getting harder to breathe, and she couldn’t focus on anything except how hot her skin felt. Her head buzzed and her heart pounded.

Finally, she found the strength to utter, “And you want the same?”

He stared at her for what felt like a full minute. Then he took a step back. “No.”

Just like that the air in her lungs—whatever had remained—whooshed out like she’d been punched in the gut. She wanted to be angry with him for taking her on this rollercoaster of emotions, for toying with her, but she couldn’t. Eloise could only be angry with herself for allowing it to happen.

He turned his back, and she balled her hands into fists, making sure her voice would remain steady and professional.

“I would far prefer to court you in the light of day. I’d want you to care for me above anyone else—to think of only me and be grateful you had me. Dating someone under cover of darkness does not appeal to me.” He glanced at her over his shoulder.

Chills rocketed through her body as another bout of whiplash accosted her. She blinked rapidly and her hands relaxed as she tried to wrap her head around what he’d just said.

Shane lifted his shoulders, then dropped them. “I can’t expect you to feel the same way I do at this moment. I get it. I do. I’ve likely lost my shot at having anything with you—”

“Fine,” she blurted.

Slowly he turned to face her.

She took a deep breath, then released it through pursed lips. “Fine, you can take me on a date. But I’m not going to agree to be your girlfriend. I’m still going to see Marc.” She watched him carefully, expecting him to show some degree of disappointment, and she was right. It was small—shown only in the way his cheek twitched. She’d noticed that twitch when he’d come to her house earlier.

Man, that moment had seemed so long ago. Everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours weighed on her as if she had experienced them over the course of a week. She felt utterly exhausted and yet surprisingly enthused over what might come next.

Shane shoved his hands into his pockets. “You’re going to be late for your shift.”

She glanced at the clock, then met his gaze once more. They hadn’t decided on when their date would take place nor what they would be doing. She hated leaving things open-ended like this.

Eloise shifted, clutching her hands together in front of her before dropping her gaze to the floor. “Marc said he was going to be busy tomorrow with his sister and finalizing a few things regarding the ranch they purchased. I suppose we could go on our date then—if that works for you.”

Shane pressed his lips together, and his brows pinched. “I have a business meeting in Texas. I’m not sure I’d be back in time…”

She hated how the disappointment swirled in her stomach, sending waves of nausea upward. Not even fifteen minutes earlier she was going to insist that he leave her and Marc alone. And now? There was that part of her that wanted to know what it was like to be taken on a date by Shane Owens.

He closed the distance between them. “Unless you’d like to come with me.”

Her eyes widened.

“You’d likely want to bring a book or something to do while I have my meeting, but when we’re done, we could get some dinner before we fly back home.”

Was that hope she detected in his voice? She couldn’t deny that the thought of him wanting to spend time with her so badly was incredibly attractive. She wasn’t necessarily impressed with his money or his position in the community.

In fact, that was a con on her list. Both Shane and Marc had money. She’d seen the way it could ruin people. In her experience when priority was placed on the monetary, then relationships lacked the thing that made them strong.

So far Marc and Shane had both kept their wealth out of the conversation—a fact that she had appreciated. This trip to Texas was the closest she was going to get to Shane flaunting his money on a date—but it wasn’t really the trip that was the date.

Shane wanted to spend time with her so much that he was willing to invite her along.

It was flattering.

Eloise nodded. “Sure. I’ll go with you.”