Hot Westmoreland Nights - Brenda Jackson [32]
“Thanks for dinner.” He then turned and kept walking toward the kitchen.
Hours later with his jaw clamped together tight, Ramsey walked the floor in his bedroom. This would be another night where he would not be getting any sleep and there was no excuse for it, and he needed his rest. The next two weeks of shearing would be both mind- and body-consuming if today was an example of what was to come.
At least his men had been excited about breakfast and lunch and had kept a steady conversation about both most of the day. Chloe’s choice of food was a big hit and at quitting time today the men had been speculating on what they would be getting tomorrow for breakfast. Chloe was a definite asset to his ranch.
Ramsey moved over to the window to look out, not liking what he was thinking. She had done it again, he thought in disgust. The dinner she’d prepared for him had been the best he’d ever eaten, so much in fact that he’d been tempted to lick the plate. He had sat in the kitchen alone, not bothering to eat at the table, but had taken a stool at the breakfast bar instead.
Consuming his meal in silence he had been well aware of the moment she had come into the kitchen to wash out her wine glass. Mumbling a good-night, she had quickly left to head up the stairs. He had watched her go. Neither of them had mentioned anything about the kiss they’d shared earlier that day, and that was fine with him because his brothers and cousin had said enough. Not surprisingly, word of the kiss had reached Dillon and Callum. At least none of his sisters knew about it. Had they been privy to such information, they would have called by now, or even worse, just showed up to introduce themselves.
Hold up. Time out. He wasn’t ready for something like that to happen, especially if his sisters assumed the wrong thing like Zane, Derringer and Jason had. But knowing Megan, Gemma and Bailey like he did, there was no doubt in his mind that they would have taken things further by trying to intentionally stir interest even if there wasn’t any there.
At least he could safely say from his conversation with Chloe earlier that she was not a woman on the run as Callum had speculated. Other than what she’d told him about her ex-boyfriend, he still hadn’t gotten her to talk a lot about herself, although she was trying to get all in his business about good old Raphael.
He shook his head. Other than knowing she was a damn good cook, she’d had an idiot of an ex-boyfriend, and that she had a friend who was getting married, he didn’t know a lot about her. But then maybe the less he knew the better. She was doing a good job at what she had been hired to do.
Although he was losing sleep in the process.
But then, his inability to sleep and walking the floors at night was not her problem. He had to be the one who garnered more control. He had to stop the flow of sexual tension between them. But how? Imagining her with a sack over her head whenever he saw her wouldn’t work because he would still be able to see her body. And there was no way he could look at all those curves without a degree of lust filling his head.
Sighing deeply, he made his way back to the bed. It was close to one in the morning and if he had to lie in bed, stare at the ceiling and count sheep to get to sleep, then so be it. Hell, sheep were his life anyway.
Chloe sat up in bed and clicked on her cell phone to answer it. She smiled when she saw the call was from her dad. “Okay, Pop, it’s close to one in the morning here, which means it’s later than that on the east coast, so this better be good.”
Senator Burton’s hearty laugh came in through the phone. “It is. I have Stephanie here with me. I asked her to marry me and she accepted and we just wanted our kids to know.”
Tears she couldn’t hold back came into Chloe’s eyes. Her father sounded happy and if anyone deserved happiness it was him. She swiped at her tears and said, “I’m happy for you and Stephanie, Dad. Congratulations. Have the two of you told Brian and Danita yet?”
Brian and Danita were Stephanie’s son and daughter. Brian