Chapter 2
Devon
I parked my truck in front of Glam Anywhere and glanced at my watch.
It was just after five, but I wanted to check on my pregnant sister-in-law because Tanner was going to be a little later than usual coming home today. He had a meeting that was running late with one of his companies, and he was still in the offices of Remington in Billings.
I didn’t see Hannah’s vehicle, and in a town this small, it wasn’t like she had to find a parking spot far away from her office.
I could turn around and go home, figuring she had already left for the day.
However, I did see Reese’s car, so I got my ass out of my truck.
Oh hell, who was I kidding?
I wasn’t here to just check on Hannah.
Tanner hadn’t asked me to stop by her office. He was going to call his wife as soon as the meeting ended to let her know he was headed home.
I just liked to tell myself that I was passing by to see how Hannah was doing.
In all honesty, I wanted to see if Hannah had mentioned my offer to teach Reese to ride this weekend.
I’d been completely unsuccessful in my quest to figure out who Reese Martin was and what she was really doing here in Crystal Fork.
I was hopeful that I could get more information out of her in a more relaxed setting.
What twenty-eight-year-old single woman moved to a town as small and isolated as Crystal Fork?
She was a beautiful, auburn-haired female with gorgeous, emerald-green eyes. Yet she was supposedly unattached?
There weren’t many guys who wouldn’t take a second and third look at Reese.
I’d probably find her attractive myself if I’d seen her walking down the street somewhere and if she wasn’t a complete pain in my ass.
I grudgingly admitted that she also seemed intelligent and had a decent sense of humor when I wasn’t throwing questions at her.
Strangely, it wasn’t just facts that made me think something wasn’t right with Reese.
For some reason, my gut had told me that since the beginning, and I’d never been able to shake those instincts.
I’d learned to listen to my intuition over the years in business. It had saved my ass a number of times.
And I couldn’t ignore it when it came to Reese.
My gut was screaming at me that she wasn’t being honest, and I was extremely fond of my sister-in-law.
On paper, the woman looked perfect.
She had a business degree and had never had any trouble with the law.
Not even a damn speeding or parking ticket.
Tanner thought I was being paranoid because he was really fond of Reese, and Hannah adored her.
However, I wasn’t buying the image that was reflected in the bio I’d put together from her resume and public records.
Her body language and her adamant refusal to talk about herself told me everything I needed to know.
I was sure she got annoyed by all of my questions, but I didn’t think that was why she avoided them.
It was something else that made her hesitant, and there was a glint of fear in those gorgeous green eyes of hers at times.
Reese Martin was a mystery I was determined to solve, and that determination was becoming an obsession.
She didn’t have a criminal history, but whatever was up with Reese, I wanted to know exactly what she was hiding.
She was getting close to the people I cared about. Even my mother adored her, and I didn’t want to see anyone hurt if this woman had secrets.
I might not always show it, but my family was everything to me.
When I entered Hannah’s office, Reese was in the reception area.
She had her jacket on and was straightening up her desk like she was ready to leave.
The fact that she looked at me like she was definitely unhappy to see me was a hit to my ego, but I blew that off.
Reese always looked at me like I was a nasty bug that needed to be removed from the office immediately.
“I’m closing,” she said flatly as she put a file away. “Hannah’s not here. She went home a few minutes ago.”
I ignored her not-so-subtle hint to leave.
Instead, I plopped my ass into a chair in front of her desk and got right to the point. “Did she mentioned that I offered to teach you to ride on Saturday?”
“Yes,” she said in a clipped tone.
“And?” I prompted.
Her gaze finally met mine as she asked, “Why? We don’t like each other and we’re not exactly friends. We’re not even friendly acquaintances.”
I had to admit, the woman had spunk, and she spoke her mind.
I shrugged. “Why not? I have a bunch of horses that need the exercise. And I wouldn’t say that I dislike you. I don’t really know you well enough to make that kind of decision.”
Yeah, that was a dig about her lack of openness, and she knew it.
She glared at me as she answered, “How much do you need to know about a stranger?”
“We’ll always be strangers if we don’t get to know each other.”
“Are you telling me that you’d answer every question I asked you?” she asked in a more curious tone.
“I probably would,” I said noncommittally. It depended on what she wanted to know. “Most of my past is common knowledge. I grew up here, and there aren’t a lot of secrets in a small town.”
“I’m just not like that, and I’m not used to it,” she said in a genuine tone. “I lived in a busier place. Most people weren’t interested in my life.”
I had no doubt that her statement was honest. I hadn’t exactly spilled every detail of my life to strangers when I’d lived in New York.
“I’m interested,” I grumbled.
“Let’s just be honest with each other about your motives for offering to teach me to ride,” she said as she sat back down in her chair. “You want to pry more information out of me and seeing me outside of work provides you with a better atmosphere to do just that.”
Shit! She was on to me.
I hadn’t expected that.
Apparently, she was much more observant than I’d thought.
“Has it ever occurred to you that I just want to spend some time with you because you’re a beautiful, intelligent woman?” I asked before I could stop myself.
That was not my real motive, but she was beautiful, and she was intelligent.
“Seriously?” she said with a snort. “I’m not your type.”
I raised a brow. “What do you think is my type exactly?”
“I’ve heard that you don’t really date. You mostly do hookups with women your age or older who don’t want entanglements.”
Living in a small town had its downsides, and people who gossiped was one of them. Reese had obviously heard about my preferences when it came to women.
I was going to have to convince her that I might want to change my ways. If she thought I was attracted to her, she might relax about me asking her so many questions. It would be better if she thought I was just interested in her because I liked her.
I couldn’t say that I didn’t realize that she was gorgeous but seriously pursuing her would never happen.
I didn’t do serious relationships.
Especially not with a woman who was a decade younger than me.
“So you’re the kind of woman who wants a husband and kids someday?” I asked cautiously.
She shrugged. “If I eventually meet the right man.”
“Maybe I’ve just never met the right woman,” I said nonchalantly.
To my chagrin, Reese rolled her eyes as she answered, “I doubt you’ve been looking for the right woman.”
She was right, but I wasn’t going to admit that to her.
I needed her to believe that I had some interest in her and wasn’t just asking annoying questions because I was suspicious of her in some way.
It wasn’t like she was going to be hurt if she realized that I wasn’t smitten with her.
Reese definitely had no serious interest in me.
She’d made that perfectly clear.
I ignored her last comment and asked, “So are you going to learn to ride or not?”
She sighed unhappily. “I told Hannah I would. She thinks you’re offering out of the goodness of your heart, and I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. She wants to do something nice for me, and she can’t teach me to ride when she’s pregnant.”
I grinned, genuinely amused because she sounded so forlorn about the whole idea.
I was a billionaire, fairly young to be so wealthy, and I wasn’t horrible to look at. Most women pursued me .
I found it interesting that Reese would rather avoid me at all costs.
Still, I wasn’t dissuaded.
I could be a charming guy when I wanted to be.
I’d just have to work a little harder to make Reese relax and actually enjoy my company.
She glanced at the clock. “I really need to close up. It’s getting late.”
I stood, finally taking her very obvious hint to get my ass out of the office.
“Hot date?” I teased.
She nodded. “A hot date with my wok in the kitchen. I love to cook. I’m trying out a new stir-fry dish I saw on a cooking show. After that, I’m going to binge watch some episodes of Antiques Roadshow. I missed a lot of episodes last season.”
Okay, we were making progress. She’d actually shared a little information about herself.
Yeah, it was everyday information, but it was…something.
“I hate to cook,” I admitted truthfully. “Can I come try out your new dish later?”
She laughed. “Do you want to watch Antiques Roadshow, too?” she joked.
She obviously thought I was joking.
“I saw all of last season’s episodes, but I’ll try not to spoil the surprises,” I said hopefully.
I really wanted to finagle my way into her apartment. It might tell me more about her.
Plus, I really did hate to cook, but I loved to eat.
“No, you did not,” she answered. “I don’t see you as the kind of guy who watches collectibles and antiques shows.”
“I’ve been collecting coins since I was a kid, but I also like to acquire rare items related to music. Rare musical instruments and vinyl records,” I informed her. “I also collect art pieces that appeal to me. Mom is a huge fan of Antiques Roadshow, and she got me hooked years ago.”
She sent me a skeptical look, like she couldn’t figure out if I was for real.
“You’re serious,” she said as she looked me in the eyes. “I didn’t see that coming.”
I sent her one of my most charming smiles. “I like to surprise people. What time should I show up? Take pity on me, Reese. If you don’t, I’ll have to eat something frozen that I can toss in the microwave.”
She frowned. “You know that stuff isn’t healthy for you, especially if you eat it often. It’s packed with sodium, saturated fats, and unhealthy additives.”
She actually sounded concerned about my health, which caught me off-guard.
It was also kind of sweet, which was a word I never would have associated with Reese until this very moment.
I winked at her. “So are you going to save me from those terribly unhealthy things for one night?”
To be honest, I knew that my days of eating cardboard food for dinner should be ending. I was getting close to forty, but it never seemed to make sense to cook healthy food for myself. I usually didn’t have the time, either. It was just easier to toss something into the microwave when I got home from my office in Billings.
I could only drop into my mom’s place for dinner when I was getting home early, which wasn’t that often. She’d been a rancher’s wife for decades, so she went to bed early and was up at the crack of dawn.
Reese looked torn, like she was running her options over and over in her head.
It was kind of cute that she wanted to save me from myself, yet didn’t want to spend time in my company.
“Seven-thirty,” she finally said, sounding resigned.
So her empathy was stronger than her dislike of me?
That was intriguing.
And a little unsettling.
It told me that Reese was inherently a kind woman who put other’s needs before her own.
If that was true, how dangerous could she possibly be to my family and the people I cared about?
“Wine?” I asked.
“I love it,” she confessed. “But I don’t drink it often. I usually prefer to eat my daily calories instead of drinking them.’
Apparently, she paid attention to what she ate and drank for health reasons, which I found a little surprising for a woman in her twenties who didn’t appear to have a weight issue.
Reese was probably average height for a female.
She wasn’t model thin, but she had her curves in all the right places.
“I’ll bring a good German Reisling that I have in my wine cellar. I collect wines, too.”
Her eyes lit up. “Then I’ll make this one of those rare nights that I have a glass. I’m sure it’s good wine.”
“It’s the best,” I assured her as I walked toward the door.
“Do I want to know how expensive that wine is?” she called out before I left.
“Nope,” I verified with a smirk. “Just consider it a thank you gift for feeding me.”
I exited before she could change her mind about dinner.
As I got into my truck, I shook my head at the interesting turn of events that had just happened.
I was a cynical asshole, but Reese Martin had just surprised me.
In my world, that didn’t happen very often, and strangely, it was kind of a pleasant surprise.