Chapter 12
12
Mateo
S ophia was dead meat.
Mateo didn’t know what his sister had been thinking! Was she trying to sabotage him? Or was she trying to set him up with someone? Because he’d clearly told her he wasn’t interested in Annie. Heck, when Sophia had set them up on that first date, he’d only gone along with it because of scenarios like this one. Sophia was incorrigible.
If she was so worried about their family settling down, then she needed to be the one to find someone to fall in love with first. She’d probably seen one too many Keagans fall in love over the past few years.
His jaw ached from all the clenching he’d done since last night. He was on the verge of a mental breakdown with how frustrated he’d become. No matter what he did, Nikki seemed to fill his mind. She took it over and made him want to get closer to her with each passing day.
It wasn’t even just her.
The kid was amazing. Each and every one of Paxton’s riding lessons had proven just how much the boy deserved to be in a place like this one. If Mateo had his way, he would make sure neither Paxton nor Nikki left the ranch. He’d ensure that Nikki had a job she loved and a place to call her own. And he’d help teach the boy to ride and how to care for the animals.
Mateo caught himself up short. What was he thinking? From the sounds of his own thoughts, it sure appeared as though he wanted something more from Nikki than he’d allowed himself to admit.
“Everything okay, boss?”
He jumped, realizing that he hadn’t moved for the last several minutes as he’d let his thoughts send him into a spiral.
Nikki was worth fighting for. That’s what this came down to.
He nodded to the wrangler, who adjusted his hold of the ropes he had draped on his shoulder. “I’m fine. Thanks.”
The cowboy nodded and headed into the barn behind Mateo. All around them, his men were hard at work. Daniel ran a tight ship, and Mateo couldn’t have asked for a better man for the job. Honestly, it should have been harder to merge the business he’d had with the one he dreamed of having.
It was moments like this one when his heart seemed to get cocky. If he could have his dream future with this ranch, then why couldn’t he get the girl, too?
It had been difficult, to say the least, opening up about Caroline—and yet, at the same time, it had been excruciating not discussing what she’d done to him. The cathartic result had made that conversation worth it.
And then he’d nearly kissed her.
Mateo groaned, earning himself more than a few strange looks from the men surrounding him. He waved them off and stalked toward the house. He needed to get out of eyesight of these cowboys. The last thing he wanted was for any of the men who worked for him to think he was going crazy.
But as he passed the mess hall he’d built for the people who worked for him, his steps slowed. Last night, he’d brought Nikki home—Sophia, too. His sister’s presence had prevented him from talking to Nikki about that near kiss. He would rather choke on his own spit than admit in front of his sister that he was developing feelings for Nikki.
And yet…
He stared at the building, knowing that Nikki was likely inside and getting ready for dinner. He’d avoided her for breakfast and again at lunch. What was the point when, no matter what he did, they were always interrupted?
A sigh burst from his lips, and he continued toward the house. Eventually, he’d figure everything out. Right now, he needed to ignore his growing attraction unless she showed him any indication that she was as interested in him.
* * *
A few days later and Mateo was cursing his terrible resolve. He stared at the kitchen door from the cafeteria, his brow furrowed. Yesterday, he’d gotten so close to asking Nikki if he could have a private conversation about the night they’d gone dancing. But he’d chickened out just before Daniel materialized, asking Mateo to come check on something.
Now, as he was drilling a hole into the door that separated himself from the woman he felt inexplicably drawn to, he wondered what on earth he was going to say. They still had a professional relationship he needed to uphold.
And at the same time, they had a past friendship that he wanted to believe trumped what was going on now. He’d never been in a situation like this one before. Was he willing to cross that line? Would anyone even care?
Life was short. What if this was the only chance he had at gaining the upper hand of fate? How many times had he told his sister and his friends that he’d ignored fate once and had regretted it every day?
Nikki had been that fate. He’d had feelings for her when he’d been engaged to Caroline, but he’d brushed them aside—buried them so deep that they couldn’t be found. And when Caroline had broken his heart, he’d refused to dig them up.
It wouldn’t have been an honorable thing to do along that time and he wasn’t that kind of guy. But now? Things were different.
He swallowed hard.
Lunch had just ended. She was in there cleaning up. Could he intrude and finally say something?
All he wanted was a chance. That’s what he kept telling himself. He wanted a chance to tell her that he liked her, and he wanted to spend more time with her like they had at the club.
Taking a deep breath, he rolled back his shoulders and pushed himself through the swinging door into her domain.
She glanced up at him right away, her smile fading when her eyes met his.
Shoot.
They were alone—which was something he’d been grateful for until she looked at him like he was the last person she wanted to see. This might have very well been a bad idea.
As quickly as she’d frowned, her smile returned. She tilted her head and gave him an inquisitive look. “What can I do for you, Mr. Palmer?”
He bristled at the formality of it all. Ignoring the way it felt to be spoken to like he was nothing more than her superior, he shifted closer and plastered his brightest smile onto his face. Leaning his hip against the stainless-steel countertop, he cocked his head and waited for her to meet his eyes again.
When she did, she stilled—giving him the reaction he’d wanted from the beginning.
“I’ll bet you can’t guess what I’m thinking.”
She’d grabbed a dish from the sink before her and was in the process of drying it when he’d spoken. “No, I don’t suppose I can.”
“Come on, Nikki. Humor me,” he said. “Tell me what you think is on my mind.”
The hand holding a dish towel was placed on her popped hip, and she scrutinized him. “What is this about?”
He sighed, moving closer, and he lowered his voice. “I was thinking about how nice it felt when you were in my arms.”
It was quiet, but he didn’t miss the way she sucked in a breath. Her eyes rounded as she remained pinned beneath his stare. Good. He’d thrown her off balance. Maybe now she’d finally accept that he wasn’t just being playful.
Because he wasn’t.
He couldn’t tear his focus from her. Every flutter of her eyelashes, every sharp intake of air into her lungs—it gave her away.
And he couldn’t deny the thrill it gave him to know that he affected her in a similar way that she did him. It gave him the confidence he needed to take the next step—to inquire of her about what he wanted to know most.
“Nikki,” he whispered, “haven’t you ever wondered what it would have been like if things had been different ten years ago?”
“Sir?”
Inwardly, he groaned. “Don’t call me that. Don’t call me Mr. Palmer.”
“What did you want me to call you?” she said, her voice trembling. They were so near, all he’d have to do was close the inch between them and he’d be able to brush his lips against hers.
“By my name.”
She blinked again.
“You think you can do that?”
“Are you sure that’s… appropriate?”
“You’ve called me Mateo before. Why would now be any different? Unless, of course, you’re just trying to put distance between us.”
Nikki swallowed audibly. “Wouldn’t that be for the best?”
“According to whom?” he rasped. “Because I can assure you, it’s not in my best interest.”
“It’s… not?”
Here it was. The moment he’d been waiting for—the moment where he could tell her exactly how he felt and where he wanted things to go from here. There were worse things than to fall for someone who worked for him—like losing the first chance at love he’d had in over a decade.
He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by the loud holler of someone entering the cafeteria. “Ms. Reynolds!”
She jumped back from him as her wide eyes flew to the door just before it swung open, revealing a panicked-looking young cowboy. He glanced from Nikki to Mateo and back. “It’s Paxton.”
Immediately, the room was in an uproar. Nikki charged for the door. “Where is he?”
“He’s hurt. He fell from the ladder in the barn.”
Nikki was out of the room in a flash of brunette hair. Mateo raced after her, his heart thundering harder than it had when he’d been about to confess his feelings to her.