“The name’s Layton, not cowboy. ”
She glared at me as she put her hand on Cricket.
“Let me help you up,” I said.
She slammed her purse and laptop carrier into my chest. “Just hold these, will you? I know how to get on a damn horse. ”
I smiled as she climbed up onto my girl. She certainly did know what she was doing. She moved behind the saddle and reached down for her things. I smiled as I handed them to her.
“What? No tip of your hat? No, ‘Well done, city girl’?” She arched her eyebrow.
“Do you need me to tell you that you did a good job?”
She turned her head and sighed.
I climbed onto Cricket and said, “Hold on. ”
We rode along in silence for a bit before she finally started to talk.
“So, you’ve always lived here?”
“Yes, ma’am, my whole life. ”
She let out a sigh, and I smiled, knowing I was agitating the shit out of her by calling her ma’am.
“Family? Are you married?”
“Nope. ”
“Nope to not married? Or nope to no family?”
I turned around to look at her. Her eyes caused me to catch my breath. I’d never seen such beautiful green eyes. I’d always been one for blue eyes, but this girl’s eyes just did something to me.
“Both. ”
I felt her tense up and grab on to me tighter.
“Oh. Do you mind if I ask where your family is?”
“Are you going to see Mrs. Pierceson regarding business? Or is it personal?”
She let out a gruff small laugh. “I’ll take that as, it’s none of my business. I’m meeting her for business. I’m starting an event-planning company here. She’s my first client. ”
“Really?”
“Really. She’s throwing a sixtieth birthday party for her husband. I met her in the coffee shop in town, and we got to talking. She’s very nice, and once she found out I was new to town, she couldn’t wait to help me out by being my first client. ”
“Well, she’s pretty well-known in Llano, so if you do a good job, you’ll most likely get more work out of it. One thing we like to do in the country is throw a damn good party. ”
“Oh shit. That just makes me more nervous. Damn it. Why’d you have to tell me that?”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “Just be yourself, CG, and you’ll do fine. ”
“CG? What in the hell does that stand for?”
I let out a laugh. “City girl!”
“Oh my God. No. You did not just give me a nickname, and to top it off, a lame nickname at that!”