This Love (Cowboys & Angels 6)

Me hands went to me hips. “Excuse me. I’m not naïve!”

“Uh-huh. You going to stand here and argue with me, or go see the boy?”

“It’s not a visit, Da. It’s simply to return the wallet he dropped last night. That’s all.”

His hands came up in a defensive position.

Reaching for Cord’s wallet, I huffed and headed down the stairs.

“Don’t let the blimey bastard put his hands on ya!”

Rushing down the steps, I tried to regain the confidence I’d had earlier. The plan was to march in and give him back his wallet and then leave. That was it.

Less than two minutes later, I was walking into the bar. It wouldn’t open for a few hours, and I was surprised to find the door unlocked. A young girl about my age glanced up.

“What can I do for ya?” she asked. Her accent was thick, and I knew she had to be from this area.

“Is Cord around?” I asked.

Her eyes took me in.

“He expecting you?”

“Yes. My name is Maebh O’Sullivan.”

Did she just snarl at me?

Picking up a phone, she glanced over her shoulder. “Boss, there’s a Maebh O’Sullivan here to see you.”

The smug look on her face fell, and she turned away. I took a few steps closer to hear what she was going to say.

“Send her back? To your office?”

I stepped away and tried to calm my racing heart.

His office? Oh hell, I’m in trouble.

She hung up and cleared her throat.

“He would like for you to go back to his office.”

I swallowed hard. I was about to hand her the wallet and tell her to give it to him, but what if for some strange reason, she didn’t? I didn’t know this girl.

“Do you know where his office is?” she asked, clearly annoyed. She scoffed at my silence. “He won’t bite, honey. Unless you ask him to. He seems like the type who’d be into that.”

My eyes widened, and my cheeks flushed.

“Right,” she said, laughing. “Follow me.”

I followed her even though my head told me to run in the other direction, away from Cord Parker.

She pointed to the last door on the right. “That’s his office. Just knock before you go in.”

Why was I feeling like a little girl being sent to the principal’s office? I was nervous as hell.

“Thank you,” I replied with a smile.

She turned and headed back down the hall.

With a deep breath, I knocked on the door and held the air in me lungs.

“Come in.”

Whoosh.

It all came out in one hitch as his voice filled me ears.

When the door opened, I found Cord behind a large, dark wooden desk. Me mind instantly went dark, and I pictured him on top of the desk, me underneath him.

Ugh. This is a bad idea. A very bad idea.

“Cord?” I whispered, my voice sounding weaker than I wanted it to.

When he looked up, my breath caught.

Why is this man so lash?

He smiled and stood while me insides did all sorts of weird things. Me stomach flopped around, while me heartbeat went crazy, me mouth went dry, and the room spun a bit.

“Come on in.”

His voice practically purred.

Get in, give him his wallet, and retreat. I stepped into the office and held up his wallet.

“I went on a shopping spree this morning,” I said, wiggling my eyebrows.

Cord laughed, and I nearly turned to Jell-O.

I forced me feet to walk over to his desk where I handed him his brown leather wallet.

“Thank you for bringing it back to me. It must have fallen out when I sat down.”

“No worries. It gave me something to look forward to.”

His eyes widened some.

“Not that I was looking forward to seeing you or anything. I meant it was keeping me mind off the grand-grand opening tonight. That’s what I meant.”

His eyes turned dark for a moment, making me stomach flip, but then the look was gone, and he gazed at me blankly.

I couldn’t help it—I glanced at his desk. I felt a little sick thinking he’d had sex with other women on it. It turned me stomach and hurt me chest in a way that scared me. I shouldn’t care what Cord Parker had done in this room, but I did. And I was jealous. Insanely jealous of all the women he’d had.

Me hand went to me stomach in an attempt to settle the sick feeling. When I took a step back, me eyes lifted to his. He frowned and that made me step back even more. It was like he knew what I was thinking because he narrowed his gaze.

“You’re the first woman I’ve had in this office besides my sisters or an employee.

Was that his way of telling me he’d never shagged a woman in here? Why would he care what I thought?

I scoffed. “I find that hard to believe. I’ve seen you take women back here.”