Her Billionaire Rancher Boss Page 14

  Benedict’s crazy about you.

  She wrapped her arms around his waist, grabbed two fistfuls of shirt, and looked up at him. Willing him to say what she wanted to hear.

  “About dropping the strong, silent bit around you…,” he began. His swallow was loud in the silence. “I’m in love with you. I have been for years.”

  “For years? But you never… Not even once.”

  He loved her. He had for years. She was going to need a moment to process that.

  Talk about going behind her back…

  “When did this happen?” Because she’d never guessed, not once.

  “Oh, it probably started when you walked into my office that first time, holding your resume, looking so brave.” His smile was so warm, so… loving, her heart squeezed.

  She blinked hard. “You never said anything. Never even hinted.” Her voice was thick with all she was holding in.

  “You were raising Javier,” he said, “and I didn’t want to complicate your life. Once he graduated, I planned to make my move.”

  Okay, maybe she was going to need more than a moment to process it. Because she was still muddled. He loved her.

  And she loved him? Right?

  “And when I announced I was leaving?” she asked, stalling for some time to think.

  “Yeah.” His grin was so adorable. “I had to accelerate things then.”

  It was the grin that did it. That and the fact he’d admitted he was wrong, even though he’d hated it.

  She did love him. Loved his resolve, his concern for his family, the way he gave back to their community… and she loved the way he cared for her. Even when he was being all strong and silent about it.

  Really, would she have been tempted to change her plans for anything less than love?

  Because she loved him, knew that he loved her, she said next: “I’m still leaving. I want to finish my certification. I need that for myself.”

  “If you need it, I want you to have it.”

  The tears almost started up again.

  “We might not see each other very often,” she said.

  “I can visit each weekend.”

  “And if I’m really far away?”

  “We do have a private jet.”

  Of course they did. “What about your carbon footprint?” She grinned at him.

  He laughed, then sobered. “Do you think you could come back someday?”

  He couldn’t leave Cabrillo. She knew better than to ask that. But he wouldn’t demand that she stayed. He wanted her to make the choice.

  He didn’t know that she already had.

  “Yeah, I’ll be coming back. Because, you see, I’m in love with you too.”

  He’d looked like that before, as if he’d just been granted his heart’s desire, when he’d first seen her undressed. But this time it was lighter, brighter, more open. Almost painful in its intensity.

  He planted a kiss on the corner of her mouth, and it felt so right to have him do it. Then his mouth claimed hers, and she forgot about everything as she kissed him back.

  Man, she was going to get to do this all the time now. And in public.

  Well, maybe not in public, because they were going to be tearing off clothes in a second.

  After a time, they pulled apart. “I don’t think that was very businesslike,” she panted.

  “Fuck businesslike,” he growled. “Although you’re probably right. I should just take you home to bed.”

  She set a hand in the middle of his chest. “Can’t. I have to go home to feed Javier.”

  He groaned. “Can I invite myself to dinner at least?”

  “Of course, but keep your hands to yourself. We don’t want to corrupt my little brother.”

  He snorted at that, but she could tell he was amused. God, but she loved to tickle his sense of humor.

  “Only three more months, huh?” he asked.

  “Yep. But don’t think you’ll have me at your beck and call after. I’ll be very busy with school work,” she reminded him primly.

  “But after, you’re coming back as a brand-new accountant. Which is good, because we can always use accountants. And I bet your employer will be real understanding when you need to go part-time once you start having babies.” His smile tipped into a smirk, all self-satisfied male.

  “Babies?” She raised an eyebrow. “Before you’ve asked me to marry you?”

  He groaned. “Jumped the gun on that.”

  She patted his chest. “No, I like your plan. I finish my certification, come back to Cabrillo, we get married, and then work on some kids a few years later. One problem though—I don’t know that my employer is going to be as forgiving as you assume.”

  He frowned. Well, he’d better get used to her not falling in line with all of his plans.

  “Because I’ll be working at the casino,” she explained. “They need plenty of accountants there too. I wouldn’t want to tempt you into harassing an employee, even if she is your wife.”

  She could be with him, yet still have her own career. Her own accomplishments. She wasn’t his charity case.

  “Fine,” he grumbled. “You’re right, so I won’t argue.”

  “Ha. I’m going to file that one away since I don’t think I’ll be hearing it often.”

  He pinched her butt. “Quit giving me sass. And what’s for dinner?”

  “I know I’ll be hearing that one a lot.”

  He grinned like a schoolboy, all happy mischief. “I’ll do all the cooking if you ask me to.” He sobered, went solemn. “I’ll do anything you ask me to.”

  She kissed him, soft and sweet. “Just love me.”

  “I already do.”

  EPILOGUE

  Pilar tapped out an e-mail, hit Send, and looked around her desk. Two more months and this wouldn’t be hers anymore, since she’d be off to San Diego.

  Her in San Diego and Javier starting school soon—the Lopez family was doing pretty all right these days. Javier had even convinced her to drive him down to the valley so he could buy some books for school—a full two months early.

  So maybe the vocational school thing was going to work out after all.

  She glanced at her replacement sitting at the next desk over, a rather frightened-looking twentysomething kid named Jason. Fresh out of college, still wide-eyed and innocent.

  “Did you finish the TPS reports?” she asked.

  “Yeah.” He fiddled with a pen. “Do you need to check them?”

  She gave him a look. “Do I need to check them?”

  “No?” He blinked. “No.” Firmer. “I went through the checklist. They’re correct.”

  “Good.” He’d settle down in a bit she could tell, but until then, Benedict was going to have a time with him. She only hoped her soon-to-be-former boss didn’t scare the poor kid away in the meantime.

  Benedict came out of his office just then, looking like six feet of sexy cowboy deliciousness. God, she’d miss him during the week. Thank goodness she’d be having fun finishing her certification.

  And he’d already promised to visit every weekend. Then they’d be having fun together. And be away from the knowing looks of his family. His siblings were more than happy for them, but Liliana just couldn’t stop laughing knowingly every time she saw them together. Pilar could understand now why Benedict told his sister to get lost whenever she came upon him and Pilar together.

  “Ready for lunch?” he asked. What he meant was Ready to get off company property so we can make out in my truck?

  Yes. Yes, she was.

  She grabbed her purse. “You’ll be okay, Jason?”

  “Yeah,” he said unsteadily. “Any calls, I forward them to you, right?”

  “Nope. You can handle it.” She patted his shoulder when he went pale. “You’re ready.” She turned to Benedict. “Let’s go.”

  When they hit the hallway—and were out of Jason’s sight—Benedict grabbed her and kissed her. “Been waiting to do that all day,” he grumbled.

&n
bsp; “No, you haven’t,” she reminded him. “Have you already forgotten this morning? And now I have to go fix my lipstick.”

  “I’m just gonna mess it up again.”

  “I know, but I want to walk out of here not looking like I’m doing a walk of shame. Give me a second.”

  They really needed to invent a Benedict-proof lip stain, she thought as she walked toward the bathroom. She was running through her stockpile way too fast.

  Maybe she should have him buy stock in the cosmetics company—not that he needed any more money.

  When she walked into the bathroom, she found Liliana staring into the mirror above the sink. Tears were rolling down her cheeks.

  “Oh sweetie, what’s wrong?” She pulled Liliana in for a hug, patting at her shoulder. Pilar had never seen Benedict’s sister even close to crying.

  “Everything,” the other woman wailed.

  Oh dear. It wasn’t at all like Liliana to say something like that. Pilar patted her shoulder some more. “What’s wrong? Is there anything I can do?”

  “Yes.” Liliana sniffled and squared her shoulders. “You can help me figure out how to tell Benedict that I’m pregnant.”

  Thanks for reading Her Billionaire Rancher Boss—I hoped you enjoyed it! If you’re so inclined, please leave a review. Reviews help other readers find books!

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  Her Billionaire Rancher Boss is the first in the A Cowboy of Her Own series. To find out what happens with Liliana and her surprise baby in Her Bull Rider’s Baby, turn the page!

  A Cowboy of Her Own, Book Two

  Can one wild night in Vegas become a lifetime of domestic bliss?

  Up-and-coming bull rider Adriano Silva has been careful to avoid entanglements. The money’s great, the fame fun, and the ladies enticing, but once he’s won a championship, he’s heading home to Brazil. Then a one-night stand with a woman he can’t forget leads to something he never expected…

  Liliana Merrill is too busy fighting her way to the top of the rodeo stock operations world to settle down, not even after a sexy bull rider gives her the ride of her life in Vegas. But one pregnancy test later, she discovers that what happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay there…

  Adriano and Lil readjust their plans and find that their temporary chemistry is very permanent. He’s determined to show Lil he’s got what it takes to tame her—if she doesn’t tame him first…

  Available Now! Turn the page for a sneak peek.

  HER BULL RIDER’S BABY

  Adriano Silva rooted in the bag for his phone. It buzzed in his hand, the screen flashing a number he didn’t recognize.

  Not Brazil. Not about his mother then, thank God.

  But who?

  “Hello?”

  A beat of silence in which his heart slowed.

  “Hey, Adriano?”

  His heart picked up again—he knew that voice. “Yes, it’s me.”

  He stepped out into the hallway, keeping his head bent so that no one could see his expression.

  “It’s Liliana.” Hesitant. Almost afraid. “Liliana Merrill.”

  He released a breath. Liliana. It really was her.

  The one woman who’d tempted him to forget the plan and fall hard.

  He’d wanted so badly to call her since Vegas. Never had a woman haunted his fantasies like she did. But what would he tell her? Come meet me? He had no apartment, no place of his own. He lived in hotel rooms. And it had been clear from the beginning—their fling was just that. Quick and hot and meant to end when they left Vegas.

  But there had been many a night alone in his hotel room that he’d wished for her in his arms. Or in the shower. Or bent over a desk.

  He shook those fantasies loose. “Hey, Liliana.” He kept his voice low, level.

  Maybe she was in town. Maybe that’s why she was calling.

  Another fantasy tried to slip back in, but he pushed it away.

  “Um, how have you been?” Her voice was too cheery, edging toward unnaturalness.

  He frowned. With the hesitancy and the unnaturalness, something was wrong. She wasn’t calling because she was in town. So what was it? “Okay. How have you been?”

  “Fine,” she said too quickly. “Actually… you remember Vegas? The National Finals Rodeo?”

  How could he forget? The intensity of those days with her was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. “Yes.” His voice lowered. “I do.”

  A short, small inhale from her, buzzing across the line. So she remembered too. “Well…” There was a scuffling in the background, as if someone was in the room with her. “Look, there’s no great way to say this.” Defiant and strong, a definite turn from her earlier tone. “I’m pregnant.”

  The world fell away, the hallway, the noise from the crowd, the smell of dirt and cattle, the harsh fluorescent lights—all gone. Just him and that truth.

  He was going to be a father.

  He’d never known his father. Not truly. Adriano and his siblings had grown up in Mato Grosso do Sul on the ranch where his mother was a housekeeper. His father had worked in the state capital of Campo Grande, coming home only a few weeks a year. He’d died when Adriano was eight, leaving Adriano as the man of the family.

  Adriano remembered strong arms, a wide smile. Occasional letters or pictures sent to them. That was all. Nothing more.

  He’d never known his father as a son should. And he’d always felt the loss.

  That wouldn’t be his child’s fate.

  But I must go back home. He sagged against the wall, cold and rough against his back. This more than upended his plan—it blew it to bits.

  The baby had to come with him. Lil was independent, headstrong. Perhaps she didn’t want the child?

  “You’re keeping the pregnancy.” He’d meant it to be more of a question, but he wanted her to say yes so badly it came out closer to a statement.

  “Yes.” With that word, she locked the both of them into… something.

  “I’ll be on the next flight,” he said. Just as defiant and strong as she’d been. He could come up with a new plan on the flight. One that still had him returning to Brazil next year—only with his child as well.

  “Whoa, wait.” Her panic trilled across the line. “I didn’t want you to… Where are you?”

  “Texas.” What did it matter where he was? Even if he were in Antarctica, he’d still come. This was his child.

  She released a long slow breath, as if he’d said something crazy. “You don’t need to come all that way. Maybe we can discuss some of this over the phone. Like how involved you want to be in the baby’s life and such.”

  The placating tone set his nerves on edge. And her bit about how involved he wanted to be made his teeth grind together. “Do you really want to discuss the future of our child over the phone?”

  She made a noise of exasperation, one that rasped along his ear. “No, but the baby isn’t due for another six months. I don’t need you here right this second. There’s nothing to do.”

  He’d liked her independence in Vegas—he’d never had to worry that she’d form an attachment to him or what they’d shared. In a lover, he’d appreciated such independence.

  But in the mother of his future child, he liked it less. “Don’t argue.”

  She actually gasped. He didn’t care—they’d start as he meant to go on.

  “Look, if you want to do this in person, let’s meet at your place,” she said.

  “I don’t have a place. Not here in the States.” Another wrinkle to consider. What was to be done with the baby during his last year here? Something else to consider on the flight over.

  “Oh,” she said. In that one syllable, he could hear her disapproval. “I guess we could meet here.”

  She’d been eager enough to meet him in Vegas, but her invitation to her home territory was decidedly
reluctant. Perhaps having a Pardo—part Black, part Native, part Portuguese, a pinch of everything that made up Brazil—with nothing permanent in his life as the father of her child wasn’t something she wanted advertised. But if she was keeping the baby, he wouldn’t be shoved into the shadows.

  “I’ll be there tomorrow,” he said, anger making his jaw tight. “And we’ll figure things out.”

  Silence on the line. He waited it out. She could offer all the excuses she wanted to—he’d still catch the next flight. Nothing was coming between him and this child.

  “Do you need me to get you at the airport?” Grudging, but it was still a victory.

  He smiled but kept it from his voice. “No, I’ll rent a car.”

  “How will you know how to get here?”

  “Your family owns a very large ranch in a very small town,” he said, dry as the Texas town he was stuck in. “I’ll find it.”

  He ended the call before she could say anything else.

  He let his hand fall to his side, still clutching the phone. The coldness of the wall at his back had begun to seep through his skin, tightening his muscles, but he stayed in place. The discomfort was real. Real enough to anchor him just now.

  A father. He was going to be a father.

  That seemed completely unreal.

  Other riders on the circuit had children. Most of them had left behind wives and kids in Brazil, but Miguel Barros’s kids lived here, on his ranch in Texas. They hardly spoke Portuguese, and Brazil was simply a place their father dragged them to a few weeks a year, during summer break.

  They didn’t appreciate the green of the Cerrado—a green that didn’t exist here——vibrant, jewel bright. The grasslands with the gray, short-horned cattle making their way across them, wider than a man’s imagination. Or the glittering emerald waterways of the Pantanal, the sunsets painting them orange and red. And the animals—macaws, monkeys, even the powerful jaguar—no, nothing like that here.