Honeymoon With the Rancher

“And so the painting on the first day? That wasn’t my job, either?”

She had him there. She knew exactly why he’d had her painting the first day. She’d come in with her fancy shoes and the chip on her shoulder and he’d wanted to teach her a lesson. “I was testing you, all right? Pushing you. Which, by the way, I have already apologized for. I thought we’d moved past this.”

She lifted a finger and shook it. “And yet today what did you do? Came back issuing edicts on what I should and should not do. I have my own mind, Tomas Mendoza. So you can take your imperatives and…and…”

“Stuff them?”

A smile made its way to her mouth, though she tried not to show it. Her lips twitched as she admitted, “Those weren’t quite the words I was thinking of.”

“You shook your finger at me just the way Maria does. There may be hope for you yet.”

“Why do we always fight?”

“We don’t…always.”

He shouldn’t have said it. Her mouth opened and closed a few times and he knew they were both thinking about the other thing they seemed to do with disturbing regularity—kiss.

She put her hand in the pocket of her coveralls. “You were busy doing other things today,” she said finally. “Your work and Carlos’s and Maria’s. And getting pools filled and taking me to town. So pardon me for trying to help.”

He sighed, so heavily it felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. And bit by bit the anger fuelling him drained away.

“It was meant as a gift, Tomas. Nothing more. A chance for me to help you. Don’t you think I’ve noticed how hard you work?”

“And I thank you for the gift, Sophia, I do. But I feel guilty about it just the same.”

“Why?”

“Because…” He came forward and took the paint can and brush from her hands. “Because finishing the shed was my job, n

ot yours. You were right. This is your vacation, it’s not slave labour. And I would have had it done if…”

“If?”

“If I hadn’t been enjoying myself with you.”

The boutique wasn’t restocked and he’d left the second coat of paint to spend the day in town with Sophia instead. He’d managed to get the pool filled, but with the work crew not coming until the weekend to work on the spa building… He should have had it all done. He knew how Maria felt about the damage, how nervous the fire had made her. That should have been his priority. Not kissing and making wishes on bridges and…

And every other thing that had been on his mind today. Moving on for real, not just in his head.

“Can we stop yelling now?” she asked.

“Yelling is safer,” Tomas said, going to the sink and running water for the brush.

“Safer than what?”

His hands paused under the water and Sophia’s mouth formed a knowing O.

He gave up and put the brush to soak, turning off the water.

“I do appreciate the work on the shed, more than you know,” Tomas offered. “And so will Carlos and Maria. Maria especially. The fire hit her hard, Sophia. It frightened her. She wanted things back the way they were, and I wanted most of the work to be done because of that. The estancia is starting to look even better than it did before. But I feel awful that I made you think you needed to do this.”

“You didn’t make me do anything. I was sitting by the pool, bored, wondering what you were doing, and I took the idea to do it.” She lifted her gaze to his, a challenge but with that bit of shyness that hit him in the gut every single time. “I wanted to do it. For you.”

For him? The notion took the starch out of his argument, leaving him floundering. Oh God, the last thing he needed was Sophia getting serious romantic notions about him. They couldn’t get in too deep. And yet he couldn’t find it in himself to push her away, or be sorry. There was something in her gaze now, something he hadn’t seen before, and it changed the air between them. It was like the loosening of a screw, the untying of a knot, and taking off the pressure made him feel more trapped, rather than less.

He’d thought last night was the closest he’d ever be to her, and that was the safest course. But he’d been wrong. Right now they were connected in a way he’d never felt before, and he didn’t even know why.

“Maria and Carlos will arrive soon,” he said finally. To explore what was going on between them would be a mistake. Sure, maybe Sophia had brought him out of his well-guarded shell, and maybe he was having fun. Was it so wrong to enjoy a few precious days? She’d be gone soon enough and he’d still be here at Vista del Cielo.