Tycoon's Tryst (Culpepper Cowboys Book 10) Read Free

muddling her thoughts into mush. “My rental broke down.”
    Of all the stupid things to say.
    “Slowly or all at once?”
    “All at once,” she answered. Just like she’d fallen for him.
    No, wait, that was ridiculous.
    “Have you tried jumping the battery?”
    She blinked at him. “It’s not a battery thing. It stopped as I was driving. I barely had time to coast into this space.”
    She expected him to make some sort of speech with all the things that could be wrong with the car, talking to her like she didn’t know how to stick a key in the ignition—like her half-sister Beverly—when the probability was that she knew more about cars than he did.
    Instead, he said, “If it were me, I would call the rental place and demand they send a replacement and give your money back.”
    Her brows flew up. “I rented it in Salt Lake City.”
    “So? They should still send a replacement.”
    Gorgeous and take-charge. She liked this “Sly” more and more with every second.
    “I’d call, but my phone’s battery died too,” she went on.
    “Do you have a charger?”
    Other than the electricity that zinged between them? He still had his arm around her.
    “In my bag,” she answered.
    “So if you rented this car in Salt Lake and you have bags in the car, I guess you’re staying at the hotel?”
    “Right on your first guess.” She smiled in spite of everything.
    “Come on.” He let her go at last, and it was almost like a soundtrack of disappointed moans played in the background of her mind. “I’ll walk you over to the hotel.”
    “Really?” She blinked.
    He laughed, sending even more warn tendrils of deliciousness swimming through her. “Of course. I’ll carry your bag. You gonna be all right walking with one heel?” He nodded down to her feet.
    Rachel jumped into action, walking awkwardly around to the trunk of the car. “I’ve got a pair of flip-flops in the bag.”
    She popped open the trunk—at least that worked—and unzipped the front pocket of her business suitcase, pulling out the flip-flops. She dropped them to the ground, then took off her heels, throwing them in the trunk. As Sly lifted out her suitcase, she slipped into the flip-flops, then closed the trunk. The two of them started down the lazy street toward the tall, new-looking hotel.
    “It’s not much of a walk,” Sly said.
    “Too bad,” Rachel mumbled.
    She had the feeling he’d heard her when a charming grin broke out on his face. A blush burned hot on her cheeks.
    “Nothing in Culpepper is too far from anything else,” he went on.
    “You live here?” He didn’t look like he fit in.
    “I do.” He laughed as though he knew what she’d been thinking. “I just moved back a few months ago after living elsewhere for a decade. I grew up here.”
    “Must be nice,” she said, then clarified, “to be able to move back home after seeing the world.”
    “Yeah.” He smiled, drawing her in even more. It would also be nice to have a handsome face and pair of strong arms like that to come home to every night. Yummy.
    “I made some money out there in the world,” he went on, “and now I have plans for improvements to the town.”
    “Improvements?”
    “Bringing in new businesses and the like. That’s what I do,” he added. “I flip towns.”
    “Flip towns?” Something about the statement tickled a nerve, and not a particularly good one.
    “I consult with town governments and councils and help them see where they can maximize their profits and improve their offerings.”
    “Sounds exciting.” And it sounded like he was better at what he did than she could ever hope to be about her own business. Korpanty Enterprises was too close to falling apart for her comfort, and if this bozo who was suing her—suing her!—succeeded in his nefarious plan, she’d be utterly destroyed.
    “It’s been interesting,” Sly said. “I’m happy to be able to give back to my community.”
    “That’s nice and noble of you.” She smiled.