Читать книгу Twins For The Rancher - Trish Milburn - Страница 12

Chapter Four

For one horrifying moment, Lauren thought it was Phil who’d grabbed her. Even when she looked up into the face of Tim Wainwright, it still took several moments for her heart to start its descent back to its proper place in her chest from her throat.

“Glad to see you came out to enjoy the nightlife,” Tim said.

“Can’t say I expected to be accosted as a result.”

Tim’s eyebrows lifted. “Accosted? I merely meant to claim the first dance before a line formed.”

She rolled her eyes. “No need to butter me up. I’m not closer to making a decision about vendors than I was a few days ago.”

“Did I say anything about beef?”

She hesitated a moment as he spun her expertly between two couples to avoid a collision that could result in a pile of cowboy hats and boots. Even Tim was dressed in jeans, boots and Stetson tonight. If she wasn’t a born-and-bred Texan, she might actually buy that he was a real cowboy.

“No,” she finally said.

“I’m off the clock and just wanted to dance with a pretty woman.”

She doubted he was ever really off the clock, but what could one dance hurt? It wasn’t as if it was a date, or would lead to one.

“Just a bit of friendly advice—perhaps ask for the dance next time rather than assume.” Sure, she wanted to make friends here, but his action had rubbed her the wrong way.

He nodded. “Duly noted. I’m sorry.”

She simply offered a polite smile in return, not the “It’s okay” he possibly expected. Once upon a time she might have uttered it without thinking, but that was before the events of the past year and a half.

“So, how are you liking Blue Falls so far?” he asked.

Thankful to have a neutral topic to discuss, she said, “I really like it. The people are nice, and it has a great feel to the business district. Not to mention it’s pretty.”

“Glad to hear it.”

Lauren began to relax and even allowed Tim to lead her around the dance floor for a second song. Occasionally, she spotted someone she’d met over the course of the past few days. Thank goodness Verona Charles didn’t seem to be in attendance. She didn’t need the woman getting any ideas about her and Tim. If Tim or Verona headed down that path, Lauren was going to break out her stockpile of stories about poopy diapers and buying teething gel in bulk.