When Colt turned and saw the look she was sending his way, he stopped what he was doing, which left him standing there with one sleeve of the shirt on and one not, and with his bare chest on display for anyone who happened to stroll into the store.
After a few tense seconds, Colt broke out into a grin, looked down at her luscious pink lips, and took a step toward her. That startled her enough to make eye contact with him. Perfect.
“Enjoying the view, Princess?” he asked with an exaggerated drawl.
“Just trying to figure out if you’re as arrogant as you act. I guess you are.”
Colt might have been offended, but that look in her eyes was pure fire. He’d seen it before, so he wasn’t fooled — not at all. She wanted him, and if he put in the slightest bit of effort, he had no doubt that she’d be his. Colt just had to choose whether he wanted to make that happen or not.
He decided right then and there that he was going to find out.
A plan in place, Colt slid the shirt the rest of the way on and buttoned it up, then turned to find the mirror. “Nice color. Pull the tag, Peggy. I’ll wear this one home.”
“You’re going to need to buy a few more things before you’re forgiven for your previous display, Colt Westbrook!” But Peggy was already thawing as she moved toward Brielle. There was nothing Peggy liked more than to outfit a pretty lady — and Brielle was certainly that.
Colt couldn’t wait to see what the newcomer looked like in some cowgirl wear. Shopping wasn’t one of his favorite pastimes, but playing hooky from his ranch for an afternoon was probably worth it in this case.
“Come on, honey,” Peggy said, taking Brielle’s arm. “Let’s find you some real clothes. I don’t know where you did your shopping before now, but those clothes, and especially those shoes, will land you with nothing but a broken ankle on top of a bad sunburn.” Now that Peggy wasn’t distracted by Colt, she went back into merchant mode.
Brielle turned toward Colt with a look of panic in her eyes, but he just tipped his hat and smiled. He’d been the enemy just a few seconds earlier, but now the woman was looking to him to save her.
This was one mission he didn’t want to rescue her from. He wanted to see her all dressed up and ready to ranch. Not that he had any faith that the clothes would suddenly change her, make her an instant cowgirl. But in the space of a few minutes, he was thinking that city girls might not be so bad after all.
No. He had no business thinking that. Sure, he might want to play with the city girl, but at the end of the day he wanted her long gone from his neck of the woods — far away, with only memories left from her stay in Montana.
She was on his land, dammit, and he would get it back. No matter what it took, he was going to have her on the first plane out of Sterling that he possibly could. Still, the two of them might just have to play a little bit before that one-way flight.
Taking his time about it, he found her and Peggy at a rack of Wrangler jeans. “I think these will be a perfect fit,” Peggy was saying as she pulled out a pair that looked as if they would be show Brielle’s fine ass to perfection.
He joined the conversation enthusiastically. “I agree.”
“Colt may act like an ass,” Peggy said, echoing one word of his thoughts, “but he does have good taste when it comes to clothing. You should listen to him.” Her sugary-sweet sales voice had Colt in yet another of his patented grins.
Brielle’s enthusiasm didn’t match Colt’s.
She was soon being pushed from one rack of clothes to the next, and her arms were laden with things she knew she’d never wear again after she left this benighted place. She didn’t want to even think about the money she was about to spend on clothes that she would have scoffed at before today. Heck, she was still scoffing today.
When she finally made it to the changing room and slipped into a pair of the jeans and a button-down shirt, she felt itchy and uncomfortable. She was used to silk and cashmere, not cotton and polyester. She’d never get used to this new life. But if she wanted to earn the respect of the men working for her, she needed to fit in to their world a little better.
Even if it would kill her budget. She hoped her father would mellow out before too much longer, and maybe, just maybe, let her have access to her trust fund again. Maybe she’d better quit ignoring his calls if she hoped for that to happen. This shopping trip wouldn’t make the slightest dent in the money she had sitting in her frozen bank account.
Just the thought of her old platinum credit card made her want to cry. There was a time she hadn’t had to think about the cost of anything. Now, a fifty-dollar pair of jeans was making her break out in a sweat.
One thing she was learning from all of this was that she should be a lot more grateful for what she’d had. Not everyone lived the way she used to live, and not everyone was just handed everything. But that was probably one of the lessons her father wanted to teach her and her brothers.
Slipping into the boots that Colt had picked out for her, she looked at her reflection in the full-length mirror and grimaced to see herself in such an outfit. No way could she pull this off. She just wasn’t made to be a ranch girl. She was made to live in the city in a nice safe condo where someone else did the yard work. That was just who she was. The sooner everyone in her life accepted that, the sooner she could get back to the real world. Her real world.
“Come out, Brielle,” Colt said. “I know it can’t take that long to change, not even for a princess.”
She glared at the curtain separating her from Colt, but she had no doubt he would barge in on her if she didn’t comply. The sad thing was that the thought of him sharing the small dressing room with her wasn’t as horrifying as it should have been, not after that burning kiss. She feared she’d be replaying that several nights in a row in her dreams.
“I’m coming. Keep your pants on.” She pulled the curtain back and stepped out. “I don’t see how you people can deal with these clothes. My toes feel as if they’re being crushed.” She twirled around as a joke. This wasn’t a fashion show she’d ever thought she’d participate in — that was for damn sure.
Colt stepped up behind her when her twirl left her back facing him. His hands slid around the curve of her h*ps and his thumbs settled in her front pockets as he turned their bodies so he could look into her light green eyes through the full-length mirror.