Hot Westmoreland Nights - Brenda Jackson [14]
“Out on a date?” Chloe asked excitedly.
“I wish. He dropped by my dad’s paint store and I was working behind the counter and Derringer asked me to hand him a can of paint thinner.”
Chloe couldn’t help the grin that curved her lips. Evidently that little incident had made Lou’s day. Just being around Ramsey Westmoreland put a spark in her day. Now where had that thought come from? Chloe wondered.
“Now that I know how you feel about Derringer Westmoreland, I will tell Ramsey the truth as soon as reasonably possible. I still want to make him feel indebted to me first for a while and then I’ll level with him and come clean.”
Lucia nodded. “I know how much having Ramsey on the cover of your magazine as well as doing that article on him means to you.”
Chloe met Lucia’s gaze and smiled. “Yes, I don’t want you to worry about it because I believe in the end we’ll both get what we want.”
Ramsey looked up from the breeding charts he had spread over his desk and considered going into the kitchen to eat that last bit of peach cobbler that had been left from lunch. It had been so delicious his mouth was beginning to water just thinking about it.
And his mouth was beginning to water just thinking about something else as well. More specifically, someone else. Chloe Burton. Talk about looking yummy. He threw his pencil down and leaned back in his chair. At that moment he couldn’t help but think about snug-fitting jeans that covered a curvaceous backside and a blouse that fit perfectly over a tempting pair of breasts. He was getting aroused at the memory.
Damn.
Deciding he needed a beer more so than any peach cobbler, he got up to make his way to the kitchen. Moments later he was leaning against the counter and tipping the bottle to his lips and taking a much-needed drink. Lowering the bottle he then glanced around the room and for the first time noticed just how large and quiet his home was. Usually he welcomed the silence, but for some reason it bothered him tonight.
He studied the ceramic floor as he thought about his great-grandfather, Raphael Westmoreland, who had owned over eighteen hundred acres of land on the outskirts of Denver’s city limits. When each Westmoreland reached the age of twenty-five they were given a one-hundred-acre tract of land. It was why he, his siblings and cousins all lived in close proximity to each other. As the oldest cousin, in addition to receiving his one hundred acres, Dillon had also inherited Shady Tree Ranch, the Westmoreland family home. The huge two-story dwelling sat on three hundred acres and hosted the majority of the family functions. Since Dillon had married Pamela it seemed the Westmorelands had reason to celebrate a lot. Everyone adored Dillon’s wife, found her totally different from his first wife, and had welcomed Pamela and her three sisters into the family with open arms.
He lifted his head when he heard a knock at his door and glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was close to eleven, but that didn’t mean a damn thing to any of his siblings or cousins. They felt they had a right to come calling at any time. He shook his head as he made it to the door, thinking it was probably his sister Megan. She was twenty-four years old and an anesthesiologist at the hospital in town.
Without bothering to ask who it was, he slung his front door open to find Chloe Burton standing on his porch and tightly gripping a piece of luggage. He was so surprised to see her that he could only stand and stare.
He could tell by the way she was nibbling on her lower lip that she was nervous, but that wasn’t what held his attention, although the action caused a tightening in his gut. What had him transfixed was her outfit. She had almost ruined a saucy minidress by wearing leggings. He would have loved to see her bare legs and almost sighed in disappointment. But then he had to admit she still looked gorgeous and sexy as hell. Good enough to eat after first lapping her all over. He swallowed knowing at that