Page 26 of Forbidden Cowboy

Anna, ecstatic at the prospect, had begged her father to let her go, and that was how we found ourselves bidding her goodbye under the care of Eric Rinaldi, while Anna showed Alia the doll she had gotten earlier and both of them chattered nonstop.

“I guess our dinner plans are off then,” I laughed uncertainly, looking at Wyatt.

There was no reason for us to go anywhere anymore, so I figured, after having completed his own workandshown us around a small part of the city, he was probably exhausted and wanted to just retire with some room service and bad television.

“Actually, I had something else in mind.” He smiled at me. “How would you feel about visitingArchibald’s?”

“Don’t you have to book like six months in advance to get a table?”

“Most people do, yes,” he said. “But they know I’m in town, and told me I could show up at any point during my stay. While it’s important for me to woo them and have them re-sign their contract, it’s also important to me that I see how the meat I’ve supplied is being used, and they know that.”

“O-okay,” I said. “I’ve never been to a place that fancy, though.”

“If you don’t have anything to wear, we can—”

“I do,” I cut him off before he could suggest spending another penny on clothes for me. “I’m just not sure if I’ll be able to keep up with all the etiquette they might expect.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Wyatt said, and there was something in his smile. “One look at you, and they probably wouldn’t care if you climbed the tables at the bar.”

I blushed furiously and excused myself. When I got back to my room, Wyatt confirmed with me over text that I could be ready in an hour, and then I got to work.

I pulled the sea-green dress out of my suitcase, ridiculously grateful he had insisted on buying it at that point in time, and set it on my bed. It was such a beautiful piece of clothing, and I had to do my best to look good in it. Maybe I also wanted to see Wyatt’s reaction. Maybe.

I spent the next hour showering, shaving, and making up my face and hair until I was sure I could do no better. I slipped into the dress, and tugged somewhat self-consciously at the edges of it. I added a pair of black pumps I had packed to go with it, and didn’t dare look in the mirror, afraid I would chicken out and leave Wyatt to go to dinner alone.

A knock at my door, and I strode over, trying to wear the same level of confidence I had when I was telling the women on the Larks team to work harder, knowing full well any of them could best me in a fight if they wanted to.

I opened the door, and my breath caught in my throat. If I thought Wyatt looked good in business clothes, then dressed for dinner, he looked divine. He was wearing what was clearly a very well-tailored charcoal grey suit, and the color of his green shirt underneath almost matched my dress exactly. Like he had known. Of course, he must have if I’d already said I had something to wear, and the only clothes I had were ones he had bought for me.

“You look beautiful,” he said, and I blushed.

“You too,” I said, and immediately regretted it, wanting to hit my head against a wall for saying that.

You too?God, it sounded so dumb when I repeated it back in my head.

“Shall we go?”

I nodded, and Wyatt extended his arm for me.

* * *

We were seated quickly and without fanfare atArchibald’s, and each had a glass of red wine in front of us minutes later. I didn’t have the heart to tell Wyatt that I wasn’t a big fan of any wine, so I decided to just sip the drink slowly throughout dinner.

I was shocked when I loved it. It wasn’t bitter at all, but had a deep sweet flavor, like they had used cocoa beans to create it rather than grapes.

“This is delicious,” I said, staring at the glass of dark liquid in my hands.

“You sound surprised,” Wyatt said. “What did you expect?”

“I-I don’t usually like wine very much,” I confessed, “especially red.”

“Sierra,” Wyatt said seriously, and leaned closer to me over the table. “Tell me if there’s something you don’t like. I am very happy that this worked out in our favor, but never,everbe afraid to say no if there’s something you aren’t going to enjoy.”

I flushed and looked down into the glass I was still holding.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

“There is no need to apologize,” he assured me. “I just don’t want you to do things simply for the reason of trying to make me happy.”