His smile…good God, his smile. I swore my panties had combusted the moment he’d flashed that smile. Fucker had to have a dimple, too. Ugh.
I opened my eyes and looked at the back of his head. He had on a black cowboy hat, but his brown hair was peeking out. My eyes moved down to the tattoos covering his arm. I saw the name Mike and a date, but I couldn’t make out the numbers.
That would be another reason Courtney was going to be pissed. She loved guys with tats. I could take it or leave it.
He turned his head and said something, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“I’m sorry. What was that?”
“My house is right up the way a bit. It’s just another couple of minutes. ”
“Perfect! I can still make my appointment and not be too terribly late. ”
When we came up over a hill, the house in front of me literally took my breath away.
“Holy shit. Is that your house?” I stared at the most amazing house I’d ever seen.
“Yes, ma’am, it is. My brother and I built it. ”
“It’s…it’s breathtaking. ” I shook my head.
This house looked almost exactly like the dream home I had planned in my head. It was a two-story house made of stone and wood. Most of it was a sandstone rock, and the chimneys on the ends made it look like a log cabin. It even had a silver tin roof. The porch pretty much wrapped around the whole house. On the second floor, I noticed a huge balcony that had to belong to the master bedroom. There was a three-car garage, and behind the house was an even bigger barn.
As Layton headed to the barn, I saw a young man running toward us.
“Mr. Layton! My dad said you might need some help this summer. I couldn’t wait to ask you. I’ll do anything, sir, anything you want. You want me to take Cricket and get her cooled off and fed, sir? I’ll take care of her for you. ”
I had to let out a laugh. Whoever this little boy was, he certainly looked up to Layton. After bringing Cricket to a stop, Layton leaned back and asked for me to sit tight. He jumped down, took my purse and laptop bag, and then handed them to the little boy. Then, Layton turned and reached for me. As much as I wanted to tell him that I was very capable of getting off a horse by myself, I also longed for his touch, which
really surprised me. So, I let him help me down. The moment he touched me, I felt a surge go through my whole body.
What in the hell was that?
He slowly slid my body down while looking in my eyes the whole time. I couldn’t catch my breath. The way he was staring at me gave me goose bumps.
“Um…thank you, um…Layton. ” I looked everywhere but at him.
When I did look back at him, he smiled that drop-dead gorgeous smile of his.
Good Lord. I could have dropped to my knees on the spot.
Then, he smirked.
Fucker. He knows he’s having an effect on me. That bastard! He’s doing it on purpose.
“Ryan, why don’t you take Cricket to the barn and get her settled? I’ll talk to your dad about you helping Mitch and me out this summer. I’m going to take Miss…”
I looked at the little boy, who was smiling from ear to ear, and I let out a giggle. “Reynolds. ”
“Reynolds. I’m going to take Miss Reynolds up to the house, so she can call a tow truck. Then, I’ll be driving her to Mrs. Pierceson’s place. ” Layton took my purse and laptop bag from Ryan and handed it back to me.
“Okay, Mr. Layton. I’ll take real good care of her. The horse, I mean. ”
Layton snapped his head over and looked at Ryan. He threw his head back and laughed. “Ryan, you’re gonna be a heartbreaker. ”
Ryan took the reins and headed down to the barn. Layton gestured toward the house. We walked side by side as we approached the back door. The closer we got, the bigger the house got.
“Jesus…this house is huge. It’s just you living here?”