Long, Tall Texans--Luke by Diana Palmer

Author:Diana Palmer [Palmer, Diana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781488032202
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2017-08-31T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIVE

Belinda stuck to her guns about being independent, but if she expected Luke to try to change her mind, she was disappointed. He came by frequently to talk to the boys, and he was making inroads into teaching Kells cowboying. He brought the youth over to see Belinda, and he was as open and friendly as he had been at the beginning. But he wasn’t approachable.

“I guess you’re packing already,” he remarked a few days before her vacation ended as he stood leaning back against one of the support posts on the cabin’s front porch. “Eager to get going?”

“Not terribly,” she said carefully. “It’s been educational and a lot of fun. But I’ve got work to catch up. Vacations can’t last forever.”

“They wouldn’t be much fun if they did,” he remarked. His blue eyes slid over her slender body in jeans and a knit shirt. “How old are you?” he asked abruptly.

She blinked, surprised. “I’m twenty-seven,” she said.

His eyes narrowed. “The older you get, the harder it’s going to be to give up your independence. You’ll draw into a shell and never come back out.”

She glared at him. “It’s my shell.”

“Pity to waste your youth on a job, no matter how important it is,” he commented. “Plenty of women juggle marriage and a career and even children. It isn’t impossible, especially with a partner who’s willing to compromise.”

“I don’t want to compromise,” she said stubbornly. Her green eyes flashed. “I told you, I’m happy as I am.”

“Got a cat?”

She frowned. “What do I need with a cat?”

“For companionship,” he emphasized. “You can’t go on living completely alone. You’ll get lonesome.”

“I hate cats!”

“Liar.”

She sighed angrily. “Okay, I don’t hate cats, but I haven’t got time to take care of a pet.”

“You could get one of those Japanese electronic things that you have to feed and clean up after,” he suggested.

“I don’t want an electronic pet.”

“I’ve got one on my computer,” he drawled playfully. “It barks and growls and romps across the screen. Some of them even evolve.”

“Wonderful. Just what I need. A dog to guard my computer.”

“They’re cute.”

She hated the way her eyes kept going to his long legs and slim hips and broad chest. He was sexy and she was going overboard about him. She couldn’t backslide now, when she was so close to getting away from him in time!

“Next thing you know, they’ll have a life-size electronic pet that you have to feed and water and clean up after. What’s wrong with the real thing?”

“Beats me, darlin’,” he murmured softly, and chuckled when she flushed at the endearment. “You’re the one who doesn’t want to get married.”

“Why should I need an electronic pet just because I don’t want to get married?”

He smiled slowly. “You’d have something to lavish affection on. Something to keep you company. Something to cuddle.”

“I’d like to see you cuddle an electronic blob!”

He shifted suddenly away from the post and stopped just a few inches away from her, his hands on his slim hips as he searched her flushed face.

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