Agent's Admirer (Culpepper Cowboys Book 13) Read online

  Which meant she hadn’t been kissed in eight years. What if she’d forgotten how? The thought had her brushing her teeth again and using a little mouth wash. She didn’t want nasty breath if he did kiss her. Was it even okay to kiss on the first date? She never had before, but she hadn’t had a first date since she was twenty and moved to Culpepper.

  When her doorbell rang a moment later, she hurried to the door, opening it wide. Her house was kept showroom ready at all times…well, except for that one closet, but everyone had one of those, right?

  “Hi,” she said, looking at Bob, who had changed into a pair of jeans, a button up shirt and a pair of cowboy boots. The hat on his head was a cowboy hat this time, and she just wanted to lean in for a kiss. She didn’t know why she was so attracted to the cowboy look, when most real cowboys she knew smelled…well, rather ripe.

  “Hi,” he said, leaning against the doorjamb. “You ready?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, let me just get my purse and jacket.” It was already getting into the fall months, and therefore getting cold in Culpepper, especially at night.

  She grabbed both and stepped outside with him. He led her to a compact car. “I’ve seen your car around town. Just didn’t realize it was yours.”

  “It kind of stands out like a sore thumb in Culpepper, doesn’t it?”

  She buckled her seatbelt with a shrug. “There are a lot of trucks in town, but that doesn’t mean that not driving a truck is a bad thing.”

  “Well, as soon as I feel like I can trust the restaurant to do well, I’ll probably get a truck. I think it helps to have four-wheel drive around here.”

  Megan’s eyes grew wide as something occurred to her. “You’ve never driven in snow have you?”

  He shrugged. “It snows every few years in Texas, so I have a few times, but really not often.”

  “You’re going to need to learn. We have snow here, and not every few years. There will be snow on the ground most of the time until April. I’m surprised we haven’t had a snowfall yet this year. It’s coming, and you’re going to need to figure it out.”

  He pulled into the parking lot of the Watering Hole and turned to her. “I can do it, you know. It’s not that big a deal.”

  “You can do anything. Because you’re a Bob, right?”

  “Being a Bob does help.” He winked at her. “You ready to dance?”

  She nodded. “I love to dance.”

  “Really? So we’re not here just to sit at a table and stare soulfully into each other’s eyes while I try to figure out how to get you in bed?” Bob had actually never done that with a woman, and he hoped that wasn’t what she wanted. It would be very awkward. To him sex was all about what it added to a relationship. Casual sex was not on his list of things he ever planned to do.

  She shook her head. “Nope, we’re here to dance. And don’t bother trying to figure out how to get me in bed. I can tell you that really easily. When you want to know, just ask.”

  He blinked a few times. “So you’re just going to tell me how to get you in bed. Really? Do women do that?” Had he read her wrong? Was she one of those girls who would be easy to get into bed? If so, he wasn’t interested at all. It would be annoying, but better to know now than later.

  She shrugged. “I would. Wouldn’t bother me at all.”

  Bob wasn’t sure why she was offering the information, but since she was, he’d take it. “How do I get you in my bed then?”

  She put her hand flat on his chest and looked into his eyes. “Are you sure you wanna know?”

  He nodded, intrigued by her in a way he hadn’t been earlier. What would she tell him? “I’m sure.”

  She leaned close, her lips almost touching his ear. “A wedding ring.”

  2

  Bob’s brain was still spinning as he and Megan went into the bar together. Austin nodded to them as they made their way to a small table next to the dance floor. “I’ll go get drinks. What do you want?”

  She shrugged. “Cherry Coke.”

  “You might need something stronger if I’m going to be stomping all over your feet all night.”

  “Cherry Coke is strong. Trust me.”

  “All right.” He wandered to the bar and ordered her cherry Coke and a Dr. Pepper for himself. “How are you and Dallas doing?”

  Austin’s eyes lit up at the mention of his wife’s name. “We’re great. I don’t usually work evenings anymore, but my bartender for the night called in sick.”

  “Glad you guys are doing well. How long did you two date before you married?” Bob knew it was an odd question, but coming on the heels of what Megan had just said to him, he felt the need to ask.

  “You really don’t want me to answer that, Bob.” Austin nodded at Megan. “Is this your first date?”

  Bob stared at the other man for a moment. “Yeah, it’s our first date. And why don’t I want you to answer that? I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want an answer.”

  “Six days,” Austin mumbled as he slid the drinks in front of him.

  Bob blinked, hearing the band start a song. “Six days? Are you kidding me?”

  Austin shrugged. “Everyone in town has been getting married fast lately. The Quinlan girls started it, and everyone else seems to be following suit like a bunch of lemmings. What’s wrong with people?”

  “But you followed suit too.” Bob’s face was a mask of confusion.

  “Well, sure. I wanted to marry her.” Austin took another order and filled it. “Does it help that I knew her for most of our lives?”

  “Not particularly.” Bob carried the drinks to the table where Megan was waiting for him, wondering how she felt about all the fast marriages in town, not that he was going to ask on a first date. That would give her ideas, and no one wanted to be dating a woman who had those kinds of ideas.

  “Thanks,” Megan said, taking a quick drink of the cherry Coke through the straw. “Austin makes the best cherry Cokes in all the land.”

  Bob frowned. “Why didn’t you date Austin?”

  Megan studied him, glancing over at the man behind the bar. “I don’t know. I never really thought about it. There have always been rumors about him and some girl from high school. Of course, the girl from high school ended up being Dallas, and those two are head over heels in love with each other. I’ve never seen a couple more suited to each other.”

  “Dallas seems nice. I’ve seen her a few times, but usually Austin comes into the Burger Barn, orders for them both, and then he takes it home. They don’t seem like terribly social people.”

  Megan grinned at that. “They’re newlyweds. They do most of their socializing with each other, not the general population of Culpepper.”

  “I guess that makes sense.”

  Megan took one more sip of her drink. “You haven’t asked me to dance yet.”

  Bob looked at the dance floor and then back at Megan as if she’d lost her mind. “There hasn’t been a slow song yet.”

  “You mean you’re not going to do the line dances or faster dances with me?”

  He had never even thought of doing that kind of dancing with anyone. “I don’t know how.”

  “How did a Texas boy grow up without knowing how to do country dances?” she asked. “Come on. I’ll teach you.”

  The song that was playing ended and a slow song came on. “I can dance to this one.”

  Megan made a face. “I like the slow songs, but I prefer the fast. You have to learn.”

  He groaned. Why had he thought taking Megan out dancing was a good idea? She was gorgeous, sure, but didn’t she know that men didn’t really dance the fast songs?

  He pulled her against him, swaying slowly to the music. The vocalist was a female, and she was good. He couldn’t believe a small town bar could get good talent, but he wasn’t about to complain.

  Megan rested her forehead against Bob’s shoulder, struck for the first time just how big he was. She was five six, so not a small woman at all, but Bob dwarfed her. She pulled her head
back, and looked up at him. “How tall are you?”

  “Six three. Why?”

  “You make me feel tiny.” And feminine. No one had ever made her feel quite as feminine as Bob did at that moment.

  “You are tiny. Smallest woman in my arms.”

  She grinned at him. “You’re not so bad with the slow dances.”

  “I like to dance. Usually.” He was feeling a little intimidated by her need for the fast dances, though. He wouldn’t tell her that, because no man needed his woman to think he was afraid of doing anything with her, but he was.

  He drew her even closer, feeling her body completely pressed against him. She’d worn tight jeans, as he’d hoped she would, and her bottom was nicely rounded. The woman had a body that was to die for.

  He looked around the bar. There weren’t a ton of people there, being that it was a Tuesday night, but there was a good steady crowd, and Austin was busy constantly. “Is it always like this here?”

  “Most weeknights, yeah. On the weekends it really gets hopping. I prefer weeknights though, because the crowds are so much smaller. Most of my appointments are in the afternoons, and I can sleep late, so I don’t have to worry about getting up early.”

  “Well, we open at eleven, so I need to be at work by ten or so to prep. I can stay out later than most.”

  Megan looked up at him, wondering if he’d ask her out again and this would become a regular thing. She sure did like dancing with him.

  The music stopped again, and a fast song began to play. Bob started to head back to the table, but she pulled on his hand. “I’ll show you.”

  Bob felt extremely self-conscious as he nodded. The dance floor pretty much emptied except for the two of them, and she showed him how to do a faster dance. She led for the first minute or two, but then he took over. “How often do you go out dancing?” he asked after the song ended, and he was out of breath.

  “As often as I can. I don’t even care if I have anyone with me. I can go on my own and just dance.”

  He grinned at her. “I don’t think I’ve ever dated anyone who was so gung ho about the fast songs.”

  She shrugged. “I just like to dance.”

  The band announced a short break, and she went back to the table with him, drinking down the rest of her cherry Coke. “I’ll get more drinks,” she said, standing to go to the bar.

  He shook his head. “Nope. I asked you out, so I get all the drinks. You just sit and have a good time.”

  Megan frowned, but nodded, pulling out her phone to check her emails when he left. She didn’t mind being alone as long as she had something to occupy her mind. It was sitting alone and staring at the total strangers surrounding her that bothered her.

  He came back and handed her another drink, taking a big gulp of his own. “How’d you get into real estate?” he asked.

  “My dad has been a real estate agent since before I was born. I always went to his showings with him, and I genuinely enjoyed it. When I graduated from high school, it felt natural to follow in his footsteps, and I started studying for the exam immediately.”

  “Pass first try?” He’d heard the exam was a tough one to pass.

  She nodded. “Of course. I may not be a Bob, but I make certain that I excel at everything I do as well. My dad taught me well. My sister is a teacher, but I’m doing everything I ever wanted to do.” Except having children. She had more than a little case of baby fever with all of the pregnant women running around town. “What about you? Any siblings?”

  He nodded. “I have a sister and two brothers.”

  “All still in Texas?”

  “Yeah. Sister’s still in high school. Brothers are both in college. I’m the oldest.”

  “And how old are you?”

  “Twenty-eight.”

  Megan sipped her drink. “Big age gap between you and the others.”

  “My dad was killed in the line of duty when I was an infant. He was a police officer. Mom remarried when I was five.”

  She studied him for a moment. “How’s your relationship with your step-dad?”

  “Good. He always tried to treat us all the same.” It hadn’t always worked, but he’d been a good man, and he’d made Bob feel loved.

  “Did you go to college? Or go straight to work?”

  “Straight to work.”

  “I didn’t know you could be a chef without at least going to culinary school!”

  “I went to work as a dishwasher for a local restaurant when I was sixteen. I fell in love with the constant clank of dishes. The chef would punish people by making them chop onions, and I would beg for that job. I loved it.”

  Megan gaped at him. “You love chopping onions?”

  “Well, no, but I loved actually getting my hands on the food. So…I kept working there. Eventually I became an assistant chef and got to chop food all day. By the time I was twenty-two, I was head chef of a small restaurant.” Bob shrugged. He knew most people thought you needed to go to culinary school to be a chef, but there were ways to circumvent it if you were willing to work hard.

  “So your dream of being a burger chef started while you washed dishes?”

  Bob nodded emphatically. “Absolutely. And I started working on burgers at home. I was always begging my mom for a turn to cook.”

  “You can come to my house and cook anytime.”

  “That almost sounds like an invitation to eat crackers in your bed…”

  “Nope. Not at all. I already told you what that would take.” Megan wasn’t ashamed of her morals. She felt like sex belonged within marriage, and she wasn’t going to back down on that.

  He shook his head, a little surprised by her resolve. “What do you do on Tuesday nights?”

  “I watch Lazy Love.”

  He groaned. “Not you too!” It seemed everyone in town watched the show now that the celebrities were moving there. Maybe they’d always watched it and were just more vocal about it now. He wasn’t sure.

  “I think everyone in town watches it now. We have three of their four main stars with homes right here! How could we not?”

  “Have you met any of them?”

  She nodded. “I sold them their homes. They’re all really nice, down to earth people. I was surprised.”

  “People you could be friends with?” Bob asked.

  “Definitely! You obviously know Bob Bodefeld. He was there for your grand opening.”

  Bob shook his head. “Not really. Jesse told him that there was a Bob’s Burger Barn opening in Culpepper, and he contacted me, asking to be part of the grand opening to celebrate the greatness of Bobs everywhere. It was odd.”

  Meg laughed softly. “When they were looking at houses, Bob said that he needed a throne room, because he was King Bob. She mumbled something about him being the court jester and just kept going. It was obviously an inside joke between them.”

  “Oh, I actually kind of like that. You should call me King Bob. Such a nice ring to it.”

  She rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand as the band started playing again, dragging him to the dance floor.

  It was a slow song, so Bob held her close, wondering why she’d annoyed him so much before. At the moment, he could think of nothing annoying about her. Maybe she was what he’d been looking for.

  They stayed until the band left, and Bob was surprised at the number of new dances he’d learned. “Are you ready?” he asked after the band had picked up and gone.

  She nodded, hiding a yawn. She didn’t mind staying up late when there was dancing involved, but it was easier when she could go to bed at a decent hour. “Yes, I’m ready.” She couldn’t believe what a good time she’d had. Bob had turned out to be a good date, dancing to almost every song with her and chatting easily in between sets.

  “Let me go settle up with Austin, and then I’m ready.” Bob made his way to the bar for the last time that night. “We’re heading out.”

  Austin nodded, tapping a few keys on his computer and sliding a single piece of paper t
oward him. “Did you have a good time?”

  Bob nodded, handing over his credit card without looking at the bill. “We really did.”

  Austin smiled. “I think you and Megan make a good couple.”

  “We’re not really a couple. More like a couple of people having fun together.”

  Austin laughed as he handed Bob his card and receipt to sign. “You keep telling yourself that.”

  Bob shook his head. “You think otherwise?”

  “I saw the looks you two were giving each other. I think otherwise. If you need a best man, let me know.”

  Bob shoved the slip back at Austin. “Sure.” He knew it wouldn’t happen anytime soon. He had a plan. His business had to be successful before he could marry. How would he support a family otherwise?

  He walked back to the table and looked at Megan. There was something special about her, all right. Now he just needed to be able to hold off for a while, until he knew how well his business was really going to do.

  He was pensive on the way back to her house, pulling into her driveway. He lived in a small apartment just a couple doors down from the restaurant. He liked his location a lot, but she had a nice little house. “How many bedrooms?” he asked.

  Megan unbuckled her seatbelt as she answered. “Three beds, two baths, eighteen hundred square feet. Built in 1997.”

  “You sound like you’re trying to sell me on your house.”

  She shrugged. “I am a real estate agent.”

  “So how ‘bout I cook you dinner tomorrow night, and we watch that show of yours together?”

  “I thought you needed to work.”

  Bob sighed. “I’ve put a lot of time into training Kari, and she’s perfectly qualified. There’s no reason for me to be there from open ’til close. The plan was always for her to take over the evening shift from me.”

  She nodded. “Sounds good then. You coming here?”

  “Sure. I’ll be here at six-thirty. What time is your show?”

  “Lazy Love is on at eight. It’s not my show you know. It belongs to everyone.”