Page 14 of Charm Me
She turned back to me and smiled—all traces of sadness gone. “What was it like growing up with nine other siblings.”
“Noisy.” She laughed and it made me smile.
“Seriously, I want to know.” She shifted in her seat and leaned against the arm rest like she was getting ready for a great story. “I always wanted siblings. Tell me about them. Please.”
I held my eyes on her before I turned away. Her genuine interest in my family was an unusual request for me. The women I met either already knew my family and all our secrets—not that we had a lot of them—or they never asked. But Zoe looked more interested in learning about my family right now than anything else. Was this what it was like to meet a real woman? Someone who was truly interested in me as a person and family man and not just the wealthy CEO or offspring to Clint Strong.
My dad was somewhat of a living legend and hero back home. Watercrest Falls wasn’t much of a town before my dad took over the ranch. Not only did he turn the family ranch into a profitable business, he put in a lot of effort to help revitalize and grow the town. Dad may have been blind to Jerry’s theft, but he was still a sharp businessman.
My chest tingled, and I fought back the urge to reach for her and pull her onto my lap. This woman did odd things to me. Things that made me want to reveal everything to her. This was new territory for me, especially considering I didn’t fully understand what these things she did to me meant.
I shifted my stare back to her and the expectant look in her eyes made it even harder not to wrap my arms around her and bury my tongue in her mouth. But I resisted and told her what she wanted to know. “Well, let’s see. I’m the middle child. I have three older brothers, Clint, Jr. after Dad, Travis, and Brandon. They all live in Montana not far from Watercrest Falls and run their own farms with their wives and children.”
“Is that why you took over the ranch?” she asked.
“Yeah, plus I was always more suited for a cattle ranch. They all run small horse ranches and were never interested in raisin’ cattle. Unlike them, cattle is in my blood.”
“Well, at least they still run farms. That’s got to make your dad happy.”
“It does. He was always fine with the fact that they didn’t want to run the ranch. He’s fine with the path all his children have taken. Well, all except Abby.” I tensed the moment I mentioned Abigail. I hadn’t intended on bringing up the issues with her, it just came out. Zoe didn’t ask and her expression remained unchanged, so I let it go and hoped she would too. “Abby’s the closest in age to me. She’s only a year older than me. We were inseparable growin’ up. After me there’s Gracie, Noah, Mary Beth—she’s the pastry chef that introduced me to puits d’amour—and the twins, Violet and Lily.”
“Twins!” Her smile grew. “Please tell me they’re identical.”
“Oh yeah, they’ve caused their fair of trouble growin’ up. Mom can always tell them apart, but Dad struggles with it and they love messin’ with him. They’ll switch up and pretend to be the other on Dad every chance they get. Dad plays into their jokes deliberately and lets them have their fun. He acts like it upsets him, but he loves it. They’re trouble.”
“Sounds like so much fun.” Her eyes widened in delight.
I loved the way her face lit up and I had no doubt from the sparkle in her eyes that she was her own kind of trouble not unlike my sisters. If nothing else, I hoped to get to see more of that side of her this week. “It has its moments, I suppose.”
“Do all your siblings still live close to home?”
The tension in my body tightened. To answer that honestly would inevitably lead to a conversation about Abigail. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to tell Zoe about her, I just wasn’t sure I was ready to talk about her after our brief meeting this morning. “All but Abby and Mary Beth. Abby lives in Manhattan and Mary Beth is currently in France studyin’ under some famous pastry chef, but she plans on comin’ home when she’s done.”
“So how does a small-town ranch girl turn French pastry chef? There’s gotta be a story there.”
“Mom loves to bake, and Mary Beth took to it like a fish in water. She started bakin’ when she was four, I think. We have a small bakery slash coffee shop in Watercrest Falls and she started workin’ there as soon as she was old enough. Learned everything she could from Rachel, the owner, and spent all her spare time watchin’ bakin’ shows. She dreams big and never let anything stop her from spreadin’ her wings.”
“It must be exciting to be in a place like France to learn a skill she loves. I’ve always wanted to visit places like that, but I’ve never made the time.”
“Why not? If you want to travel you should do it.”
“I know, but every time I think about it, I end up back home. Turns out I love the simple farm life more and if I’m taking a vacation, I’d rather spend it there with my parents.”
Damn. Those were words I’d never expected to hear from this well acclimated city girl. I already liked what I saw in this woman, but I was starting to see Zoe in an entirely different light—one I liked even more. “I know what you mean. We visited Mary Beth a few months back and I felt like a fish out of water. I got a lot of strange looks walkin’ around in my boots and hat. There weren’t a lot cowboys in Paris. It was nice, but I’m most comfortable on the ranch.”
That made her laugh. “I can see that about you.”
I raked my eye down her body and had to admit, I liked her better dressed like this. She looked incredible in her business suits and dresses but seeing her in tight jeans and the off-the-shoulder sweater was even sexier. She didn’t wear a lot of jewelry, simple earrings and the same silver heart locket around her neck. It fit her relaxed appearance well. She was striking.
“Do you like the city?” I asked.
“It’s okay. I don’t hate it, but I prefer the quiet life back home. One day, once I’ve made a name for myself in this business, I’ll move to a quiet country home somewhere and work remotely. I don’t have to be in the office to do my job. It gives me options.”
My heart stopped for a beat and then threatened to hop right out of my chest. I hardly knew this woman but the sudden realization that there could be more between us than these few days overwhelmed me. Her life was in the city and mine was in Montana. I’d assumed she preferred the city life and would never consider a quiet life on a ranch. But now a sliver of hope rooted in my mind that just maybe, Zoe could be mine.
The sudden urge to kiss her again had me squirming in my seat. As if reading my mind, she sucked in a breath and dropped her eyes to her hands. The air between us thickened again and I curled my fingers into a fist to keep myself from reaching for her. She said this attraction between us couldn’t lead anywhere but everything within me cried out to touch her. I promised her I’d try to restrain myself, but this was much harder than I expected it to be.
She exhaled a long slow breath and shook her head. Was she also struggling to push aside her own internal battle to touch me? Fuck, I hope so.
“So tell me about Abby, why is your dad unhappy with her?”
I let out a low growl. I should have known she would circle back to Abigail. At least it took my mind off kissing her for a few moments. “She’s a writer, and lives in Manhattan. Her books are very successful, but she’s cut herself off from the family and we’ve no idea why. We’ve lost her in a sense, and we don’t know how to get her back.”
She studied me for a minute and then shook her head. “You don’t want to talk about her, do you?”
“No, not really.” There was still too much I didn’t understand about Abigail’s decisions and the pain was too raw. I missed my sister and wanted her back in my life. Even if she wasn’t the same fun-loving girl I grew up with anymore. I didn’t care. I just wanted her back. We all did.
The pilot announced we were ready to land and we’d be on the ground in about ten minutes. Zoe looked out the window, and we sat in comfortable silence for the remainder of our flight.