The Billionaire Husband Test by Elle James

Author:Elle James
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781626950115
Publisher: Elle James

Chapter 7

Five minutes of semi-silence, laced with the thrum of muted music radiating through the walls of the saloon, and with Ruth's occasional rise to consciousness and incoherent slurs slid by like molasses in the winter.

The entire time Emma alternated between anger at Cooper's appearance and a strange joy she found more disturbing than she could have imagined.

Pete pulled up in a rusty pickup and settled his sister in the front seat. "Thanks, Emma."

Emma sighed. "She'd do the same for me."

Pete shook his head. "I don't think I've ever seen you that drunk. Ever." He hugged Emma. "Thanks for keeping Ruth off the road."

When the truck pulled away, Emma chose anger over joy and faced Cooper, hands jammed on her hips. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Cooper grinned. "Nice to see you, too."

Guilt forced Emma to soften her voice. "Sorry. I wasn't expecting to see you tonight."

"I know."

"So, why are you here? Don't you live in Dallas?"

"I have a place not far from here. Felt like having a beer, so I dropped in."

"Just happened to drop in?" Her eyes narrowed as she stared at Cooper. She didn't believe him. Had he come to see her? Butterflies stirred the beer in her gut. "Funny, I've never seen you at the Ugly Stick."

"Probably because most of my business keeps me busy and running to Dallas. I haven't taken much time to go out lately. Something I vow to change."

Emma rummaged in her pockets for the keys. "Well, I hope you enjoy it. I'm headed home."

"Look, since you're here, do you think you could spare a single dance?"

Her heart fluttered, heat pooled low in her belly, and her breath came in tight, shallow pants. "No." She hadn't danced with a man since Marcus left for the war. "No."

"It's been a long time since I've done a two-step. If I'm to give Leslie's program another shot, I could use a few lessons." He smiled, an eyebrow lifted. "I promise not to step on your toes too often."

The reference to Leslie did the trick. "You do realize you're using emotional blackmail, don't you?"

Cooper's grin broadened. "Yes, ma'am. Whatever it takes. I have two left feet and I couldn't possibly jump back into the dating scene without a little help."

Emma hesitated. Her mind told her to run as fast as she could, but her body leaned toward Cooper. An errant thought pushing its way into her subconscious. What would it be like to be held by the tall dark cowboy? To have his arms close around her and guide her to the rhythm of the music? A long time had passed since she'd had a man's arms around her...arms that didn’t belong to one of her brothers.

"Just one dance. That's all I'm asking. Then we can both go our separate ways." He lifted her hand, his fingers closing around hers, sending electric shocks skittering along her nerve endings. "Please."

She snatched away her hand. Emma's head told her this was a bad idea. But when she opened her mouth.

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