My Billionaire Cowboy: A BWWM Western Romance (2 page)

She would have to put in a lot of work convincing him to wear what
she suggested. It was obvious that he had a strong personality. He
seemed a bit stubborn and stuck in his ways, but that would not be
unlike every other socialite she had worked with. Her clients were
quirky and she had a knack for dealing effectively with them so that
would not be an issue.

Kate wondered if Bruce knew that she knew he was staring at her when
she worked on his computer profile. His eyes traveled the length of
her body when he spoke to her. She wondered what was going on in his
mind when they spoke about his ranch and how he wanted to make a good
impression at his event. From the look in his eyes, she could tell he
was not thinking about the subject at hand. She knew what it looked
like when a man admired her.

It had not been that long since she was the object of interest for
someone. Men eyed her all of the time. She was a natural beauty. Long
straight jet black hair, mahogany complexion, curvy hips, and an
impeccable sense of style. Kate loved life and at twenty-seven, she
felt like she had the world at her palms.

"Hey there, I'm back," Linda called out from the front
door.

"Oh great. Just in time."

She finalized the rest of Bruce's profile and turned to Linda.

"Wait, what is going on here?"

Kate looked around. "What are you talking about?"

"Who was here? You look, you're blushing."

Kate felt her cheeks heating, and all of a sudden she felt nervous.

"Oh my goodness. I'm not some high school girl. Of course I'm
not blushing." She self- consciously wiped her cheek as if she
could have wiped away the rosiness of her cheeks.

"Sure. Okay. Whatever you say. Anyway, who is he? Is he one of
those millionaire playboys who cruise Beverly Hills in his
Lamborghini spending his family's money all day on posh models?"

"Not at all. Actually, he is just the opposite."

Linda stopped flipping through the sales receipts and turned to Kate.
"Tell me more, Kate. Now you have me intrigued."

Kate was giddy with excitement, but she did not want to let that on
to Linda. She did not really believe it herself.

She tried to play it off. "His name is Bruce. He's definitely
not a millionaire. He's just this simple man that runs a ranch
somewhere outside of the city. I don't even think he comes into L.A.
that much. Well at least his clothes say that he doesn't get to L.A.
that much." Kate shrugged.

"That's it? That's all you have to say about him?" Linda
drummed her cotton candy pink nails on the desk, waiting for an
answer.

The door chimed.

"Welcome to Grey's Fashion Boutique. How can we help you?"

Kate could not believe her eyes. Linda was greeting none other than
Bruce. Her heart threatened to jump right out of her chest. When she
opened her mouth to speak, she could barely get the words out of her
mouth.

"Yes, well. I-. Here." Bruce passed her a steaming hot cup
of coffee.

"Thank you. You really did not have to do this."

Bruce nodded. "I saw that you were finished yours and I thought
it would be a great gesture for the start of our relationship. Well,
working relationship."

Kate sipped the hot liquid. "Wow, and you got exactly what I
liked?"

Bruce shrugged. "I read your preference from the side of the
cup. I really can't take all of the credit."

Everyone laughed and it set them all at ease.

"Bruce, this is my co-worker and pretty much partner, Linda.
Linda, this is Bruce, one of our new clients. We are going to dress
him for a gala he has to attend in a few weeks."

Linda came over and shook Bruce's hand while Kate sipped on her
coffee.

"Nice to meet you, Bruce. Please know that you are in good hands
with us here at Grey's. We love what we do and Kate is one of the
best in the city."

There was Bruce, giving her that look again. The look that said he
wanted her, wanted something she was not sure she was willing to
give. It was about more than the coffee he had just brought her.

"Well, I just wanted to bring coffee as a sort of peace offering
to you. I know I was a bit of a bear earlier and I want you to know
that you have carte blanche when working with me. I am yours to
dress."

When he spoke, he held his arms spread open, voice booming. In that
moment, he was attractive, the openness he displayed was a bit
endearing.

"Do we have an appointment for the fitting?" Linda asked
Kate.

"We do. I already have that set. Bruce was there anything else
you needed from the team?"

Bruce clasped his hands together. "I think we are set. Enjoy the
coffee."

The door chimed when he exited.

Linda turned to her, giggling like a giddy school girl. "So that
is him?"

Kate tried to busy herself so she would not display the embarrassment
she was feeling.

"You say 'Him' like it's a thing or something, Linda."

"It is a thing. I've never had a client come back with coffee."

Kate rolled her eyes. "It was simply coffee. Nothing more.
Nothing less."

"Hmm. He purposely checked to see what kind you liked. What man
really takes note of detail like that?"

"I don't know. But it's really not that serious. Really. He's
just a client."

Linda tapped her pen on the desk. "Alright. I will let it go,
but believe me when I say that man wants you."

"Back to work, you!"

Kate did not want to think about Bruce or the possibility that he had
any interest in her at all. She did not want it to get in the middle
of her job with him. There was a reputation she wanted to uphold and
she did not want anything or anyone getting between her and her
career.

*****

Linda was insane. There was no way that Bruce was interested in her.
He was obviously a country boy and he was not anything like any man
she had ever met before. He looked like the type that was one with
nature, liked animals. She was the exact opposite. The most nature
she needed was the warm California sunshine and she was not into pets
and animals, which if he owned a ranch, he would have to be
interested in.

There was no way he was attracted to her. She knew she was younger
than him and living in L.A. where she was immersed in the fashion
world was a complete contrast to a middle aged man who lived outside
of the city on a cattle ranch.

But there was a spark. There was a little something there when they
were in each other's presence. It could not be explained. What was
it? Her mother often talked about love at first sight.

To Kate, that kind of concept was impossible. How could you meet
someone and immediately fall in love with someone you did not know?
That would be a bit too unpredictable. Love seemed like the type of
thing that a couple should work on over time. Like a plant, something
that needed to be nurtured or cultivated and that needed a bit of
help along the way when it started to wilt. Love did not seem like
the kind of thing that cataclysmically just happened, leaving two
people basking in its glory.

She believed in the power of attraction but she did not believe that
two people would meet and immediately hit it off to the point that
they marry, love, and live happily ever after. That was made
specifically for the storybooks of fairy tales. What grown adult
would live life looking for something like that?

Kate threw herself back on to her pillow. This was way too much to
focus on at the moment. She had a burgeoning career as a fashion
stylist and no time to wonder if some man had an attraction to her.
No time to wonder if he liked her today or if he could deal with her
tomorrow.

Her career on the other hand was something she could better control.
Dream up an idea, set a goal, achieve that goal. Very simple. No
worries about feelings or anything like that. Sure, in fashion there
were opinions and feelings on style, but those were subjective. What
one person hated, another person loved, but all styles were treasured
and respected because it was fashion.

Kate could navigate fashion all day. But navigating love and
relationships was not her thing. She stumbled and fumbled so much
over the years, finding love seemed foreign. So she just plain gave
up on it.

Stop thinking about this, Kate,
she said to herself. She
picked up one of her favorite fashion magazines to change her mind.
Kate still loved the feel of flipping through the magazine so she
always kept a stack of them on file so she could search for
inspiration.

Between the pages of those fashion magazines was where she felt most
comfortable. And staying in her comfort zone right now seemed like
the perfect place to be.

The
GPS was leading her directly to an address downtown, not far from the
boutique. Kate was on her way to the fitting for Bruce and the last
place she would have thought they would meet would be at a condo high
rise. She had no idea what to expect with Bruce. He seemed to be a
gentle soul, but him returning to the boutique with coffee, that he
so expertly inspected to get her the right flavor, threw her off.

As she arrived at her destination, she pulled into the underground
parking garage and found a spot. She was right on time.

Bruce's directions told her that he was on the eighth floor. She took
the elevator to her destination and when the doors opened into an
expansive hallway, she was amazed. The red carpet spread across the
floor, gold sconces with soft lighting led the way down the corridor.

8B was halfway down the hall on the right. She took a deep breath as
she knocked on the door. She had been to a million fittings before,
so Kate was not sure why she was suddenly nervous.

"Hello, Kate. It's good to see you."

When he opened the door, the butterflies in her stomach swirled even
more.

"Hi, Bruce." She nervously pushed her hair back behind her
ear.

His big smile warmed her heart.

"Come on in."

Kate looked around, impressed with her surroundings. "Is this
your place?"

"Yes."

"It's lovely."

"For a country boy like myself?" Bruce said, one eye brow
raised.

Kate laughed. "No. That was not the end of my sentence. I was
going to say how much I liked the décor. I love the
sculptures. You have great taste."

"Thank you. Can I get you something to drink?" He closed
the door behind her.

"Water would be perfect."

"Nothing a little heavier?"

Kate thought for a moment. Maybe a little something edgier would tame
the butterflies in her stomach.

"No. Really, water is fine." She wanted to have her wits
about her when dealing with Bruce.

She took a look around while Bruce returned with the drinks.

"A water for you. A little Jack and Coke for me." He raised
his glass in a toast and then took a sip.

"Well now, where do we start?" he asked.

Kate pulled her tape measure out of her bag.

"If I could get a place to set up, that would be wonderful. I
have your suit and your shoes. And if you have a floor length mirror,
that would be great so you can see the entire look."

"Right this way."

She followed him into an enormous room. The master suite was roomy
and decorated with a masculine touch.

"I have a floor length mirror in my changing room. We can do the
fitting there."

Kate let him lead the way. What he called his changing room was
actually his closet. The space was big enough to be its own retail
store. Rows of shoes lined the shelves and all of his shirts were
hanging in order by color.

She found a place to hang the suit and set everything out for him to
dress.

"I'll step out for a moment while you get dressed."

She stepped to the side while he dressed. When he came back in, he
stood there in a navy blue tailored suit with a silver gray shirt and
matching tie.

"What do you think?"

Kate turned to see him standing there looking as handsome as ever in
the suit. It was as if he was a whole other person. In the suit, he
looked nothing like the cowboy that walked in to the boutique.
Besides the ponytail, in the suit, he looked dashing and suave.

"I think you look terrific. Let me see here."

She began to make a fuss over him, pulling the tape measure here and
there to make sure the measurements were correct. She added a few
pins to the shoulders of the jacket and fixed the hem of the pants.

"How does the suit feel?"

"It feels great. I think you did a wonderful job finding just
what I wanted. Like I said, I'm not that in to all of this fashion
and styling. But you've done well getting me what I need."

Kate pinned the last pin. "By the looks of your closet, I can't
tell that you are not into fashion. It looks like you have everything
you need right here. We probably could have gotten a killer suit from
your own private collection."

Bruce laughed as he admired himself in the mirror. "I could see
how you could feel that way. But really, I needed something that was
a step up from the business suits I own."

"And why is it that you own business suits when you work on a
ranch?"

The moment the words escaped her lips, Kate felt that she had over
stepped her boundaries.

"I'm so sorry. I spoke out of turn. I really did not mean to get
into your business like that."

"Not a problem. I could see how things could be a bit confusing.
You wait right here. I'm going to change and when I come back, I will
tell you the answer to that question."

Kate shook her head and tried to take her foot out of her mouth. She
was so embarrassed. She shoved her materials into her bag and prepped
the dress bag to pack Bruce's suit.

"I'm so sorry," she said again as he emerged from the
dressing area.

"Really, don't be." He placed a reassuring hand on her
shoulder. "When we met, I told you that I was a cowboy living on
a ranch. Now, here you are at my city apartment helping to fit me for
a suit for a gala. I could see how that could appear, well, appear a
bit like I did not tell you the truth."