Unbridled (17 page)

They were brought directly to a secluded table by the window, covered with a pristine white tablecloth and with a bottle of Chianti waiting. The waiter held out her chair while she sat and Alex wondered if she’d stumbled into an alternate universe, because the high-class treatment did not happen in ranching country.

The smiling waiter, a swarthy, short man with blindingly white teeth, handed her a menu. “What would you like to drink,
signorina
?”

“Do you have Michelob Light?”

He looked as if she’d stepped on his foot. “Our beer selection is very limited, I’m afraid.”

Oh, that wasn’t good. Obviously this restaurant was completely displaced out here in God’s country. “What do you have?”

“We have a complete wine selection.” The waiter gestured to the small menu on the table.

“I don’t drink wine. It gives me a headache and makes my nose run.” She also didn’t need to be drinking any more bourbon. That was a path she shouldn’t go down for quite some time. “How about a diet soda, then?”

“But of course. And for you, sir?” He turned to James.

“A bottle of that Merlot I had the last time, if you have it. Full-bodied and naughty.” James winked at her and she wanted to stab him with her fork.

“Of course, Signor Howard. I will be right back with it.” The waiter picked up the bottle of Chianti and hurried off as if his ass were on fire but he could only walk from the flames.

“No wine?”

“Nope, never could drink it.” She picked up a breadstick from the container on the table and started munching on it.

“Ah, that’s too bad. I have developed a taste for it. I find that it cleanses my palate and makes food more enjoyable.” He broke off a piece of her breadstick and popped it in his mouth. Alex felt completely off-kilter by the man.

“Did you want a breadstick?” she asked lamely.

He smiled. “No, I just wanted to taste yours.”

Was he a sleazy seducer or simply a man who went after what he wanted? She couldn’t get a bead on him and it bugged her.

“Why did you ask me to dinner, Mr. Howard?”

“Please call me James. We are neighbors and hopefully more; no need for formalities.” He tapped his fingers on the tablecloth and she was again reminded of just how pristine those nails were.

“Alrighty, then please call me Alex.” She sipped at the ice water that had been waiting for them on the table. It was a real crystal glass, another strange thing for Wyoming cattle country.

“I will. Alex.” Another grin. “I have to admit, I didn’t know what to expect. You have Grant’s eyes and his chin, but the rest of you, the simply gorgeous rest of you, well, that’s obviously not Grant.” He laughed at his own funny.

“I’ve been told I favor my mother.”

A sad face. “I understand she died ten years ago. My condolences.”

She managed to nod at him. “It was a long time ago.” A lie, or a small fib, but she didn’t really want to share her private thoughts with the man. “Now, let’s get back to my original question: Why did you ask me to dinner?”

He seemed to contemplate his fingernails for several moments before he met her gaze. “I want to buy Finley’s ranch, which I told you before. When I met you this morning, well, I was intrigued.”

That sure as hell wasn’t an answer. “Let’s cut the seductive bullshit, James, okay? I know you want the ranch, and right now a pile of money for it sounds right dandy. I seriously doubt you’ve asked Claire on a date and I don’t think you swing the other way, which means Connor hasn’t been sitting here either.”

Alex waited for her words to sink in and she saw the expression on his face change from suave to surprised to respectful. “You are very different than I expected.”

“Well, since I had no idea what to expect, it’s all a surprise.” Alex was tired of playing word games. “Did you hope to seduce me into selling to you?”

In the dim light, she swore she saw him blush.

“The thought had crossed my mind, but you are a strong, independent and exceedingly intelligent woman. I don’t think that would work.”

“Nope.”

He sighed and laced his hands together. “I’ll be honest with you.”

“Sounds peachy.”

James managed a wry grin. “I’ve wanted to buy Finley’s since before I bought my ranch. Grant wouldn’t sell, wouldn’t even consider it even when his business was new and floundering. I became more interested with each passing year, and now that he’s gone, I find the brick wall named Connor Matthews in my way.”

Alex silently agreed her nemesis was like an unmovable object. “And so you want me to ease the path so you can buy the ranch. Is that about it?”

“To be truthful, I do want to buy the ranch, but I find myself distracted by the new player on the field.” He sounded hesitant, even embarrassed, to be admitting it to her. Gone was the suave seducer and in his place, a man intrigued by a younger woman.

She didn’t know how she felt about that.

“I don’t want to pressure you into anything, Alex. I just wanted you to know what I was thinking, how I felt.”

Alex was saved by the timely arrival of the waiter with their drinks. As she sipped at the soda, she watched James as he checked the wine. She’d been witness to David testing many wines over the years, and James had the same kind of style. He swirled it in the bottom of the glass, then stuck his nose in and sniffed. When he took a sip and swished it around his mouth, Alex thought he looked like a chipmunk, but didn’t think it prudent to mention that.

He swallowed the small bit of wine and made a strange noise with his tongue as he tasted the red vino. The man obviously really enjoyed it. She had the fleeting thought he might display the same patience and attention to detail in bed.

Alex firmly pushed that thought away. She didn’t need to be thinking about the man’s sexual tendencies when he was literally old enough to be her father. Aside from that, there was no chemistry between them, no spark, no fire, just a mild curiosity.

“What would you like to order for dinner,
signorina
?” The waiter stood poised by the table, no tablet in hand, just an expectant look on his face.

Alex glanced at the menu, realizing she hadn’t decided yet. She loved white sauce more than red, something about the creamy quality that appealed to her.

“Do you have fettuccine Alfredo with chicken?”

“Yes, the chicken is blackened and tender. A delightful choice. And for you, Signor Howard?”

James didn’t glance at the menu. “Mussels with clam sauce and angel-hair pasta. Fresh bread, olive oil dipping sauce.”

“Of course.” The waiter disappeared in a flash, leaving them alone again.

“Back to the ranch question,” Alex began. “What exactly would you be willing to pay for it?”

James’s brows went up. “A woman who knows what’s important.”

“I’m just being honest. I figured you’d appreciate honesty.” She was torn between knowing that when her year was up, she could grab the money and run, leaving Wyoming behind, or find her place in God’s country again.

“I’d have to determine market value and speak to my attorneys. It would be a fair price, I assure you.” James took a sip of wine. “I wouldn’t cheat my neighbors, after all.”

Oh, Alex highly doubted that was the truth. No doubt James would get every possible angle he could to cheat anyone he could. She wasn’t going to judge him for that; he was a businessman after all.

The rest of the meal passed with small talk about the economy, the latest gossip on Hollywood, and the pros and cons of muscle cars. Alex found herself relaxing with him, actually enjoying the dinner and the company. James was charming, no surprise, but he was also funny and had a great deal of intelligence.

Alex liked him and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that. The man had obviously earned Connor’s ire for a reason. She wasn’t stupid enough not to realize James had one thought in mind, or perhaps two—to get the Finley ranch and get into her pants.

The first might be possible, the second unlikely.

The waiter brought deliciously decadent tiramisu for dessert and espresso strong enough to make her tingle as it went down her throat. She was full, relaxed and felt the best she had since arriving in Wyoming.

“Are you ready to go?” James rose and held out his hand.

“You might have to roll me to the car.” She laughed as she rose, her too-full belly sloshing happily.

“I’m glad you enjoyed your dinner. It’s my favorite restaurant.” He tucked her hand in the crook of his arm and they walked out into the night air.

The cold hit her and she shivered, her body temperature low from all the digestion happening. The light jacket she’d brought wasn’t even remotely adequate for the freezing cold. She shuddered, and when he put his arm around her, she was absurdly grateful for his body heat.

Until he leaned over to kiss her temple. “I’ll warm you up, Alex.” The tenor of his voice had changed, now a low, seductive pitch she didn’t want to hear.

She stepped away even if she was shivering hard enough to make her teeth clack together. “I’m not in the market for that, James.”

He reached for her, but she moved out of his reach. “Oh, c’mon, Alex, we’re both adults with needs.”

Alex shook her head. “Not even on a good day is that something I’d say yes to. Either you back off now or there won’t be any further talk of selling.”

The silence between them was thicker than the espresso. It was obvious James wasn’t used to anyone telling him no, much less threatening him. But Alex wasn’t just anyone, and she didn’t take kindly to men trying to push her around, physically or verbally.

“You’re quite a woman, Alex Finley.” His voice had a resigned tone, which meant he was backing away. So there was a limit to how far he would go.

“Drive me home, James. I need to sleep off this dinner.”

He unlocked the door and helped her inside; then they were on their way back to the ranch. Alex leaned her head on the window and asked herself what she was doing. There was no need to pussy-foot around with a man like James Howard. She’d either decide to sell her half of the ranch or she’d decide to stay.

A simple yet amazingly hard decision.

Connor looked at the clock for the umpteenth time and cursed under his breath. It was nearly eleven o’clock and Alex wasn’t back yet. He’d heard from several people that she’d driven off in a black Lexus—James’s car. And this was, of course, after Connor had told her not to go.

The woman had been there only a few weeks and she’d already tied him into knots. Now she was on a date with James Howard, consorting with the man who had done his best to snatch Finley’s Ranch. She played with fire like a damn magician. Well, he didn’t want to get burned. It was time he confronted her about all of this and let her know what he wanted.

Her half of Finley’s.

He swallowed hard and realized his interactions so far with Alex had all been about sex or fighting. All passionate energy that left him drained, physically and emotionally. She lit a fire within him and he felt completely out of control.

Did he want to buy her out? Yes, he did. Did he want her to leave Finley’s? No, he didn’t. That left him in a conundrum of what to do. He couldn’t have her dating James Howard, though.

His ire arose anew at the thought of her with that low-down bastard. Connor had never told anyone that he suspected Howard had something to do with accidents around the ranch. There were broken fences, tack that wore out long before it should, a few missing horses and even a fire at one of the cabins. Then Grant was killed and the accidents stopped.

It all seemed too coincidental to Connor, and he kept a close eye on all the happenings at the ranch. His tight management prevented anything else, but there was no way he’d relax his guard. Particularly since Howard seemed to have set his sights on the next generation of Finley’s to get his hands on the property.

Connor had asked Grant once why James hadn’t simply asked to pay for a tributary from the river if it was the water he wanted. Grant had told him, “That man doesn’t want anything handed to him. If he doesn’t take it, hunt it or steal it, then it ain’t worth spit.”

He remembered the conversation clearly because it was on the day Grant had died. Connor had never forgotten what his mentor told him. It had been a warning of sorts, one that Connor took very seriously.

He stood at the window of the cabin and looked out at the moonlit path. A solitary figure walked toward the fence. His body clenched at the realization it was Alex. She had a sweet swing to her hips and her hair bounced when she walked.

It was dark in the cabin but he wanted it that way. The moment she stepped up on the porch, he walked toward the door. She flicked on the porch light as his hand reached for the knob. Connor’s temper returned in full force when he smelled perfume.

As she walked in the cabin, he yanked open the door. He didn’t expect the foot to the stomach or the uppercut to the jaw. Connor landed hard on his ass and he did his best to suck in a breath. The light nearly blinded him, and he managed to hold up one hand in surrender.