“Suit yourself.” She lifted her shoulders in a shrug of indifference.
“Ah, now therein lies the problem.” He lightly shook one finger at her as he pushed away from the dresser. With a negligent ease, he eliminated much of the space between them. “No one suits me as well as you do.” His fingertips lightly touched the underside of her jaw as if to tilt her face toward him.
“I believe you,” Laura said, conscious of all the raw stirrings within. “But it doesn’t change anything. I’m still going to marry Boone.”
“So you said before.” His hand drifted down to her throat, touching it without quite touching it, even as his mouth moved inexorably closer to hers.
As Laura debated whether to allow Sebastian to kiss her, the decision was removed from her hands by Tara’s summoning voice. “Laura!”
“Nice try,” she said to Sebastian and stepped away, laughter dancing in her eyes as she moved to the door. Exiting the bedroom, she crossed to the top of the stairs. “Did you call me, Tara?”
“I’d like a quick word with you before I leave.” She stood by the bottom newel post, looking up. “Would you mind walking me to the door?”
“Not at all,” Laura replied, conscious of Sebastian coming out of the bedroom behind her. Then, “Thanks for carrying my luggage up,” she said to Sebastian, tossing the words over her shoulder, and ran lightly down the stairs to join Tara.
The instant her foot left the last step, she struck out for the foyer, ignoring the sharp probe of Tara’s gaze. Laura knew exactly what Tara wanted to discuss, and it wasn’t the wedding.
Tara didn’t waste any time getting to the point. “You need to send that man on his way, Laura. The sooner the better.” Her voice was hard with demand, and there was an angry snap in her dark eyes.
“Why? He’s no threat.” Laura smiled with confidence. “I know his game.”
“Perhaps you do,” Tara conceded coolly. “But I warn you, Boone is the jealous type. He’ll be furious if he finds out he’s here.”
Laura bristled inwardly. “Then he’ll have to get over it, won’t he?”
“That is not a wise attitude to take.”
“Maybe not,” Laura agreed, albeit reluctantly. “At the same time, I don’t see why you’re making such a big fuss about Sebastian being here. He won’t be staying long—not now that he knows he is completely out of the running.” She flashed the engagement ring as a reminder to Tara. “What choice does he have, other than to charm his way into some other woman’s bank account?”
“True. But he is a charmer,” Tara added almost as a warning.
“Don’t worry,” Laura assured her. “I may make a fool of him, but he will never make a fool of me.” As far as she was concerned, that closed the subject. “Don’t forget to call me as soon as you have the names of some wedding coordinators.”
“I’ll get on that as soon as I get home,” Tara promised.
Chapter Thirteen
The yellow sun sat high in the summer sky, throwing its brightness over the big land. Coffee cup in hand, Laura wandered onto the front veranda, careful to stay within the shade of its roof and avoid the full glare of the sun. Her gaze traveled over the ranch yard, seeking out each and every area of activity, but at this late hour of the morning, there was little to be found.
Almost belatedly she became aware of a figure in her side vision. Laura turned and smiled when she saw her grandfather sitting in one of the wooden rockers, eyes closed and chin buried in his chest.
She walked over to the rocker and pressed a light kiss on top of his gray head. “Good morning, Gramps.”
He came awake with a start, blinked, and hurriedly rubbed a hand across his mouth as if to rid it of any inadvertent drools. He threw a quick identifying look at her. “It’s you,” he said, then glanced at the coffee cup in her hand. “You just getting up?”
“More or less,” Laura admitted and again let her attention wander to the ranch yard. “Where is everybody?”
“Your mother’s at the ranch office, and Laredo said he was going to South Camp this morning. Trey went to doctor a couple of steers in the home pasture.” There was a trace of sly humor in the sideways glance he sent her. “Or was it the Englishman you were wondering about?”
“As if you didn’t know.”
“He rode along with Trey. I don’t imagine he would have if you had gotten up at a decent hour.”
“You know I’ve never been a morning person, Gramps.” Laura raised the cup to her mouth and breathed in the coffee’s fragrant aroma before taking a sip of it. At the same time, she kept a covert watch in the direction of the home pasture, so named for its nearness to The Homestead. “How long have they been gone?”
“A couple hours, maybe more. You can bet Trey will be back in time for lunch.”
“In that case, I’ll miss them,” Laura said with a touch of regret.