Chapter Seven
Seven
Ryan stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He’d worked damn hard today on the ranch, but no amount of manual labor could remove last night from his head.
Several times throughout the day he’d wanted to text Morgan, but he didn’t want to appear clingy.
The last thing he’d ever want anyone to believe was that he was desperate.
He wasn’t. But he did have every intention of getting what he wanted.
There was no way he’d ever let a chance at having a family pass him by for a second time.
He had a legacy to protect and an estate he wanted to leave to his namesake.
Maybe that made him sound old-fashioned like Morgan claimed, but he didn’t care.
He wanted his child close and Morgan with him.
Love didn’t have to enter the equation. Not all marriages were based on such fairy-tale ideals.
He wasn’t looking for love and he knew she wasn’t, either, so why couldn’t they make this work?
He’d gone to her shop with every intention of talking her into marrying him, and they’d ended up naked again. Clearly they needed a chaperone because they couldn’t even have a conversation without getting intimate these days.
Ryan padded through to his adjoining walk-in closet. One side was completely bare and he had no idea why he even used this bedroom. The massive closet seemed a bit over-the-top when it only housed a few boots, hats, tees and jeans.
The doorbell echoed up to the second floor and he stilled. He wasn’t expecting anybody and he’d sent his chef home. Maybe a stable hand needed something, but they usually called or texted.
He could look at his cameras, but he’d answer the door regardless. Ryan hurriedly pulled on a pair of jeans and fastened them as he headed out of his room and down the steps leading to the foyer. He crossed the cool tile floor and reached the double doors as the doorbell chimed once again.
Ryan opened one side and Morgan jolted back, her hand going to her chest.
“Sorry. I didn’t know if you heard the first bell.”
Ryan rested his forearm on the edge of the door and leaned in as he took in her pretty little polished outfit.
She’d put her hair up on top of her head and had minimal makeup, yet she looked like the sexiest woman ever.
Perhaps that was because he knew exactly how she looked beneath those wide-legged pants and fitted sweater.
“I just got out of the shower.”
Her gaze traveled down his bare torso, then back up, and she attempted to square her shoulders and compose herself. Too late. That familiar hunger had already flashed in her eyes and revealed her true thoughts. Apparently they weren’t done with that aspect of their relationship...good to know.
“Sorry about that.” She cleared her throat and went on. “I thought I could swing by on my way home and drop off the watch.”
“Watch?”
She pulled a watch with a leather band from her pocket and handed it over.
“You had it?” he asked, taking the piece. “I thought I lost it in the barn or out in the field.”
Morgan pursed her lips. “I didn’t exactly find it. Sylvia Stewart found it. On the floor of my shop. I’m sure the entire town now knows that you were in my boutique and since you’re not married, everyone will think you were there to see me.”
“I was there to see you,” he defended himself, dropping his arm to his side. He took a step forward and pulled in a deep breath. “And I don’t care what Sylvia or her gossip monger friends think. We’re allowed to see each other or anything else we feel like doing.”
Morgan offered a soft smile. “That may be, but I do have a reputation as a woman and as a small business owner.”
“I understand that,” he told her, taking another step forward. “Your reputation isn’t tarnished simply because I lost my watch in your shop. What did you tell her?”
“A portion of the truth,” she stated with a shrug. “That you stopped by to help me do the heavy lifting because she had noticed that I rearranged, so it was an easy way to skirt around the rest of the story.”
The rest of the story. That made it sound like there was an ending to what they had going on, but Ryan knew they’d just gotten started. There wouldn’t be an ending, not as long as they were parents together.
Which only reminded him of another thing.
“Why don’t you come inside and we can talk.”
Morgan stared for a minute, then let out a burst of sweet laughter. “You’re kidding, right? You’re half-dressed and if I come inside, we both know what will happen.”
“You’re damn good for my ego.”
“Oh, please.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Your ego doesn’t need inflating any more. I’m just stating a fact.”
Yeah, he knew that, but he also knew they had to have some serious conversations.
“We need to talk,” he informed her. “And it’s dinnertime so stop stalling.”
Her eyes darted away and he knew he had her.
“Come in, we’ll eat in the kitchen, I’ll even put a shirt on if the sight of my mere naked chest is too much for you.”
“Wow. You really are full of yourself.” She threw up her hands and motioned for him to go inside. “I’ll come in, but we are just talking...and not about this marriage nonsense. We can discuss the baby.”
Considering the baby went hand-in-hand with the “marriage nonsense,” he would have to be careful how he wove those conversations together.
As much as he wanted her physically, that would have to wait. There had to be more to them than sex and he would have to prove to both of them that they could be more than just bedmates.
Morgan took a seat on the leather stool tucked beneath the large island in Ryan’s kitchen. As promised, he’d put a shirt on and now stood at the stove preparing...she really didn’t know what.
“I didn’t know you could cook.”
He flashed that sexy grin over his shoulder and she silently cursed the nerves that danced in her belly.
That was just hunger pains. Had to be. She wouldn’t still get all giddy over a smile after all they’d done—would she?
“I can cook,” he informed her. “You can’t live on a ranch and not know how to prepare food. There are too many mouths to feed. But I do also have a chef that comes in four days a week. He is phenomenal and you’ll weep when you try his homemade stew.”
Her stomach growled at the thought of anything homemade. It wasn’t often she had time to do much cooking or go out to a nice restaurant. Even though she’d grown up in a home with a chef, she was typically out late or working and never sat down with the rest of the family.
“Nelson also baked homemade rosemary bread this morning, so it’s fresh,” Ryan added. “Perfect timing.”
“I didn’t mean to actually come for dinner. I’m returning your watch.”
“You could have called and I would have picked it up at the shop.” He reached over and pulled out two large bowls. “But I assume you wanted to see the ranch again and I had invited you today anyway. Remember?”
Oh, she remembered.
Morgan rested her elbows on the granite and didn’t reply.
While the Yellow Rose Ranch was certainly impressive, she’d grown up on a ranch herself.
With her siblings and their staff, there were definitely those mouths to feed like Ryan had mentioned.
But she’d never learned to cook well or for a crowd.
There were always people in and out of her home, but their live-in chef had taken care of all of those needs.
Morgan didn’t hang too much with the ranch hands and once she was old enough to make her own decisions, she distanced herself from that lifestyle.
Vic never understood. Neither did Chelsea, Layla, or the rest of the family.
Morgan had always had a different vision than working on a ranch.
She understood the legacy and the importance of it, but at the same time, that didn’t mean she had to follow in the footsteps of her family simply because it was expected of her.
And she’d keep making her own decisions now, too.
Ryan’s log-and-stone three-story house with porches all around was something to behold. It sat right in the center of Yellow Rose as if he wanted to see all of his land from anywhere inside. The man might be a working rancher, but he was still a billionaire and certainly lived like one.
She’d been around this lifestyle her entire life and wanted nothing to do with living on a ranch. But now her world would be tied to his forever.
Perhaps she could have just called and he would have come by her store to pick up his watch. Ryan had been right in saying they needed to talk, but she honestly had no clue where to start.
“Can I do something to help?”
“Just relax.” He busied himself getting drinks and setting everything on the island. “Were you busy at the store today?”
Morgan reached for her tea and stared across the counter. Ryan stared back, legit waiting on her reply and she couldn’t help but snort.
“Is that what we’re doing now?” she asked. “Pretending this is a relationship?”
Ryan took a seat across from her and reached for his fork.
“I’m not pretending anything. Just asking a question.
I was busy riding more fence lines today and we have one mare that’s about to deliver any day so we’ve been keeping an eye on her.
One ranch hand didn’t show up for work and decided halfway through the day to text that he wasn’t coming back. ”
Morgan listened to him discuss his day and knew he worked hard. Her entire family were ranchers and the amount of work that went into running a successful operation could be exhausting.
There was something to be said about a hardworking man.
They were loyal and very likely trustworthy.
But she didn’t know him well enough to fully trust. How could she?
Before they’d fallen into bed together, all they managed to do was snipe at each other.
How could she even consider a marriage of any kind if they didn’t have a foundation of trust?