Red Lines Read Free Page B

smiled.
    Haven couldn’t fathom a more awkward introduction. She was practically half-undressed from the waist up, and Evan’s mouth had been torching her skin when the woman walked in. She could still feel heat radiating from her neck.
    “Nice to meet you too.” Haven smiled weakly, still clasping her shirt.
    “Should I prepare one of the guest suites?” Marta asked.
    Evan chuckled. “No, no, I think I can take care of her accommodations.”
    If the woman was fazed by his directness, she didn’t show it. Haven hoped that wasn’t a sign that Evan regularly hosted women in his room. She’d have to stop thinking like that.
    “Certainly. Let me know if you need anything this evening.” Marta walked out of the kitchen.
    Evan turned toward her. “Sorry about that. I guess I should have thought about the employees. It's just hard to keep my hands off you.” He squeezed her inner thigh, pressing with his thumb.
    “How many more are there?”
    “In the house? Just two more, but they don’t live here. Out on the land, I have twenty.”
    “Twenty?”
    “Yep. Security, maintenance, landscapers, ranch hands for the cattle and horses. It’s kind of a long list. Then there are the others who work for me directly or for the foundation that I meet with regularly. None of them live here.”
    Haven tried to process the information. There was basically an Evan Carlson army at his disposal.
    “What did they do while you were gone all summer?”
    He shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not sure. I kept them on payroll, so I sure as hell hope they kept working.”
    “But Marta lives here?”
    “Yes. You could say she’s like the mother hen of the place. She watches out for me. Sometimes a little too closely, but I’d rather her be dedicated to her job than not give a damn.” He grabbed her hand. “Come on. I want you to see the shower.”
    At least there wouldn’t be any more interruptions tonight, but Haven wasn’t sure she could get used to the fact that her bachelor didn’t actually live alone. Would they ever be alone? Were Marta and Lenny always at the ranch? Tonight probably wasn’t the best time to ask more questions, but she knew this was just the beginning of trying to understand the brand and the world that was Evan Carlson.

S URE , E VAN knew it would be different and she would probably have questions, but he didn’t expect that look on her face. He didn’t know how to describe it. Her blue eyes looked more bewildered than confident. Her smile didn’t look natural. Every time he glanced at her, she was fidgeting with her hair or biting her bottom lip. She was uncomfortable, and he knew it was because of him.
    He hoped a hot shower would change all of that. He wanted her introduction to the ranch to be perfect. Lenny and Marta had God-awful timing.
    With each step they took up the winding staircase, the more conscious he was of the spaciousness of the ranch. They had passed the great room, a sitting room, his office, his official man cave, a sports room, and a reading room, not to mention the wing that housed Marta’s private apartment. There were a helluva lot of rooms.
    After spending three months inside the confines of Silver Belle and most of his time around the campfire on the beach, the ranch felt slightly unfamiliar. In some ways, it hadn’t changed. The leather scent from the couches, the stacks of mail on his desk, the friendly exchanges with the staff. But, Evan couldn’t shake the foreignness. Did he really need fifteen flat panel screens? Was it that important to have speakers in every room wired to his phone’s playlist?
    When he bought the place from a Texas oil tycoon, he was searching for privacy, comfort, and a way to establish his star status. The ranch did all of that, but with Haven trailing him to his master suite, it seemed too opulent, too rich, too much.
    He liked nice things, and he didn’t want to apologize for that. He had more money than he knew what to do with, but for the