For Love's Sake Only Read Free Page B

by being one of the only black faces in the crowd, she would have sat down and taken a few pictures. None of her girls back home would ever believe where she was.
    Not that she was into the club scene back in LA, but still, here she was more like a fish out of water. And it didn’t help that she was a tad overdressed for the evening. Where most of the women were in tight jeans and tiny shirts that barely covered their bosom, Charlotte was in a short black dress. It wasn’t fancy, but it wasn’t jeans. She’d wanted to look nice for the evening, and instead she just looked out of place.
    But being different was something Charlotte was used to. Because of her profession, she was used to being the only African American, and sometimes the only woman, in the boardroom. Looks and comments were things she overlooked on a daily basis, so she knew she could overlook it for tonight. Especially if it meant she got to see her cowboy again.
    And that was the way she’d begun to think of Ty, as her cowboy. Although they’d only talked for a little while, Charlotte found herself intrigued by the imposing man. There was 14 Lena Matthews
    just something about the way he looked at her from beneath the brim of his sexy tan Stetson, that made her knees wobble and her pulse dance.
    She’d thought about him all afternoon long. Normally, when it came to business, Charlotte was able to tune everything out and focus on the project at hand. It was how she had gotten so far in her career by the age of thirty-two, further than men who were more than double her age. But today, Ty had taken her mind off her game.
    Even Nathan noticed her distraction, which was a bit odd, seeing how he was having attention issues of his own. For two lifelong workaholics, they were both having a hard time thinking about work. Must be something in the dusty air.
    “If you say one word, I’ll fire you on the spot.” Confused, Charlotte twisted around in her chair to see what had Nathan riled, and almost dropped dead on the spot. Her normally conservative boss was dressed like a country music singer.
    “Oh, my God!” Eyes widening in shock, Charlotte couldn’t have closed her mouth if her life depended on it.
    “I’m not joking, Charlotte,” he growled, pulling out a chair at the table and dropping into it.
    “Who’s laughing?” Charlotte wasn’t amused. She was amazed. He looked damn good.
    Either her taste in men was changing, or there was something in the Southern California air that made men in cowboy boots and Stetsons suddenly look unbelievably great. Charlotte finally understood what the fuss was all about when it came to cowboys.
    Nathan shot her a quick look, as if to judge her sincerity, and what he saw must have appeased him. “This doesn’t get out.”
    His discomfort was amusing and endearing, all at the same time. “I’m not going to breathe a word, but damn, you could have given a girl warning. An ass that great deserves a heads-up.”
    Spurs & Mistletoe: For Love’s Sake Only
    15
    “You’re enjoying this a bit too much.”
    “As if you wouldn’t if the situation were reversed,” she teased, nudging him gently with her shoulder. “In the seven years I’ve known you I haven’t been able to get you to change suit colors, and in one week, Calamity Jane has you wearing her brand.”
    “Her form of persuasion was a mite more tempting.”
    “It’s like that, is it?” Damn, it was in the air. Charlotte was going to have to start taking shallow breaths if she was going to get out of Santa Estrella with her heart in one piece.
    Nathan didn’t answer her, which was answer enough. The intense look on his face spoke volumes, as did the way he perked up when Loren walked into his view.
    He turned to Charlotte as he rose. “I’ll be ...”
    “It’s all right, Nathan. I can take care of myself, you know.” With a nod, he was gone, and Charlotte was more amused than she’d been in eons.
    Nathan was a goner. Charlotte only wondered how