“Would you rather go somewhere and talk?” she asked, in a soft voice.
He must not have turned his face away in time. Her gentle touch on his arm was almost enough to make him lose control and blubber like a baby. His hands shook as he held on by a thread. He couldn’t bring himself to look at her, but he knew her expression was full of pity. Somehow, he had to distract her.
Bending awkwardly, he turned the key with his left hand, and the engine revved to life. “Let’s talk on the way to dinner. We’ll talk about how beautiful you are tonight.”
She took the bait. “Maybe we should talk about how I smeared nail polish, and I now I have a bright orange toe.”
“Yep, that neon toe was the first thing I saw when you opened the door.”
“It was?”
A glance showed her horrified expression.
“I’m teasing, Jess. I wouldn’t have noticed if you’d painted your entire foot. I was too busy looking at your legs.”
She laughed, light and musical, and he felt like he’d won a prize.
“I want to put in a request,” he said. “You’d make me very happy if you’d wear shorts every day, instead of blue jeans.”
“I may have to report that to my grandfather,” she replied, with a chuckle. “What you just said could be construed as sexual harassment.”
“That suggestion was made purely with your health in mind. Uncovering those shapely legs would make you less likely to have a heat stroke in the Texas sun. Nothing sexual in that.”
“You were thinking of my health, huh? What if I suggested you walk around the ranch without a shirt, for the same reason?”
“I’d say, be careful what you ask for.”
His eyes were on the road, but he felt her skeptical glower.
“You wouldn’t dare,” she said.
“How about a bet? I’ll go shirtless if you wear shorts all day.”
“It’s not a fair trade. You’ll just do paperwork and stay inside. My job is mostly outside, working with the horses.”
“No, I’ll walk around outside. I’ll even show up at breakfast without a shirt, though I doubt your grandmother will let me in her kitchen if I’m indecent.”
“The whole day? Inside and out?”
He nodded, wondering how he would pull it off. “Seven a.m. to five p.m.”
“You’ve got a deal,” she said, her huge grin showing off perfect white teeth.
She stuck out her hand, and he shook it, wincing at the sharp pain in his shoulder. Without the sling, he’d momentarily forgotten the injury.
“There should be some kind of penalty if you don’t make it the whole day,” she added.
“How about if one of us doesn’t make it the whole day, we have to buy the ice cream for a week?”
“No, that’s too easy.” She tapped a fingernail on her front tooth. “How about this? You have to tell me something you’ve never told anyone… anything I want to know.”
With that threat looming, Cord would be willing to walk around in his underwear. There was no way he’d lose. “Okay, but the same applies to you. And your shorts have to be actual shorts—above your knees—not those short pants that only show your ankles.”
“Agreed.” She chuckled, shaking her head.
“What are you laughing at?”
“I’m pretty sure this whole conversation violated that agreement we signed.”