Chapter 39 Just everything

Chapter 39 Just everything
“Why would I do that?”
“Because it’s probably too hokey for a sophisticated man like you,” she said. “Are you sure you’re not projecting? I like it.”
She studied him to see if he was mocking her, but his expression was serious. “You really like it?” she asked skeptically.
“I said I did, didn’t I? I’m not an art snob, Cara.” He regarded her pointedly. “Are you?”
She flushed at the accusation. “I always loved it because of what it meant to Francesca, but it’s not exactly great art.”
“It doesn’t need to be. There’s a simplicity to it that I find appealing. It gives the restaurant a personal touch, a certain charm.” He met her gaze evenly. “Now I imagine your restaurant has Venetian-glass chandeliers, oil paintings you picked up in Florence, dark wood, fresh flowers and green linen tablecloths.”
He was closer to the truth than Cara cared to admit. Bobby had believed that to charge the outrageous prices he intended to charge, the atmosphere had to be elegant.
“Have you been to Café Tuscany?” she asked. “Nope.”
“Then you shouldn’t be making judgments.”
“Which must mean I got it exactly right,” he said, grinning. “You did not.”
“Which part was wrong?”
“The tablecloths are dark red,” she murmured.
His grin spread. “What was that? I don’t think I heard you.”
“Oh, get over yourself,” she said, this time very clearly. “I have to go.”

“I haven’t even had my espresso yet,” he chided her.
“Then, by all means, stay and enjoy it. I’m sure Tony will be glad to keep you company.”
Casting one last wistful look toward the kitchen, Rafe rose to his feet. “Unfortunately, it’s not his company I’m after. Where you go, I go, so lead on, Cara.”
She scowled at him. “You’re serious, aren’t you? You’re going to tail me like you would some common criminal?”
“Oh, I doubt there’s anything common about you,” he said, but he didn’t deny his intentions. “You could save me some trouble and just invite me along.”
“The very last thing I want to do is save you from putting yourself out. If you want to follow me, then I suggest you get into that fancy car of yours and rev the engine, because I don’t slow down to wait for anybody.”
He regarded her with a resigned expression. “Suit yourself. Do your worst, Cara. I promise I’ll keep up. And just in case you have any ideas about exceeding the speed limit to lose me, remember I have my cell phone with me and I’ll use it to call the sheriff.”
“The sheriff is a friend of mine,” she countered.
“Which won’t matter when I suggest to him that you skipped out on a court- ordered deposition.”
“I did not skip out,” she said, her voice rising. “I postponed it. You know that.”
“Do I?” he asked innocently. “I imagine by the time we get it all sorted out, you’ll be late for whatever it is you’re so anxious to get to.”
Cara held on to her temper by a very slender thread. “I am not anxious to get anywhere except away from you,” she said, gritting her teeth. “Oh, never mind. My car’s down the block. You might as well come with me. I’m going to a rodeo. It might be interesting to see how you take to all that hot air and dust.”
“If you want to see me sweat, I can think of far more interesting ways to go about it,” Rafe taunted.
Cara felt her skin burn. Wasn’t it bad enough that the man was out to torment her over the mess Bobby had created? Now he apparently intended to drive her crazy with sexual innuendoes that stirred her imaCaration in ways destined to leave her hot and bothered and thoroughly frustrated.
“Don’t even go there,” she warned him tightly. “You’re probably breaking at least a dozen different rules of ethics just by hinting at such a thing.”
“At least that many,” he agreed, as if it were of no importance. His gaze locked with hers. “But something tells me it might be worth it.”
Judging from the way her heart was thundering in her chest, Cara was very

much afraid he could be right about that.

It had only been twenty-four hours since his arrival, and already Rafe was having a really hard time remembering why he had come to Winding River. For a man known for his razor-sharp mind and powers of concentration, it was a disconcerting experience. He’d certainly never had any trouble in the past when it came to focusing on the best interests of his clients.
Now, however, he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off the woman sitting beside him in the stands at the rodeo arena. That was truly saying something, given the level of activity going on in the center of the ring and the cheers sounding all around him. His mind was drifting in all sorts of wicked directions, just as it had the night before.
Okay, he told himself, all that proved was that he was a healthy, virile male who’d been without intimate female companionship for way too long. Whose mind wouldn’t wander just a bit around a woman like Cara? Pleased with the assessment of his state of mind as being perfectly normal, he gave himself permission to study her even more intently.
Cara’s dark-eyed gaze was fixed on the current bronc rider with total absorption. Her cheeks were bright. Her hair, which was caught up in a red and white bandanna, had surprising auburn highlights in it. At the moment, as some man she apparently knew tried to stay on the back of a particularly wild horse, she appeared to be holding her breath. When time ran out and he was still solidly in the saddle, her cheer almost deafened Rafe. Eyes shining, she faced him.
“Did you see that? He did it. That’s the toughest horse in the competition and Randy stayed with him. Amazing.”