“Maybe I wouldn’t have.” He loved her! She could hardly think straight, but it was important that she did because she had to explain. “But maybe I would have. I…a lot of things happened to me that night in New Orleans. I came to some conclusions about why I wasn’t going back to Maxwell & Graham, but no idea where I did want to go. And I still had my dad to worry about and help. I didn’t think it was fair to drag you into my life when I had no idea which end was up at any given moment.”
“I’m willing to be part of your life no matter where it’s headed. Just tell me one thing. Will you give me—us—a chance?”
“Yes. I do love you, Jake.”
He whooped and swept her up in his arms. As he spun her around, she vaguely noticed that everyone was packed at the doorway, watching the entire exchange. She didn’t care. She threw her arms around his neck and held on tight. He was kissing her before her feet touched the ground, not that she could feel the ground, anyway.
He tasted better than she remembered, and she wanted all of him right that very second. She fought for control, the clearing of a throat behind her helping her along, and managed to disengage herself from Jake. But she grabbed his hand as she turned to face the owner of the cleared throat.
“Dad, this is Jake Lannister.”
Jake offered his hand. “How do you do, sir. I’m very pleased to meet you. I’ve heard a great deal about you.”
If her father was surprised by the polished way Jake spoke, so at odds with his cowboy-fresh-off-the-range appearance, he didn’t show it. Smooth as always, Dad, she thought again with a tender smile, even as her heart continued to pound.
“Yes, well, I would like to say the same, but my daughter hasn’t spoken of you. I take it the two of you are more than casual acquaintances?”
Now Natalie blushed. “Dad.”
He looked squarely at her. “I’m only commenting on how things look. If I’m misunderstanding, please enlighten me.”
“No, you aren’t misunderstanding. I met Jake several months ago in New York.”
Jake stepped forward. “I understand she’s been staying with you, and I’m sure her help has been immeasurable, but I’m hoping you can spare her for at least a short while. I’d like to take her to Wyoming.”
“Wyoming?” Both Natalie and her father spoke simultaneously. She might have heard echoes from her sisters still in the doorway as well.
“And why are you asking my father? I’m a grown woman, I—”
“Hush, Natalie, let the man speak,” her father said. “It’s obvious the boy was raised to respect his elders. And I respect that.”
Natalie only rolled her eyes, but then Jake tugged her around to face him. “I want to show you the ranch, Natalie.”
“Your family is in ranching, you say?” her father asked.
“Yes,” he said, turning back to her father. “Lannister Cattle Company.”
“I don’t think I’ve heard of them, but then, I don’t have any dealings in that area.”
He grinned. “We’ve been around almost as long as Holcomb Industries has.”
Her dad chuckled at that. “Well, that’s saying something right there.” He turned to Natalie. “We won’t need to have you involved in any meetings here for a while, so if you’d like to take a short vacation, I don’t see why—”
Natalie surprised her father and everyone else by moving away from Jake and hugging him tightly. She kissed his cheek, then said, “Dad, I’m not going to work for you. I love you dearly. And I want to keep on loving you dearly. But I’m not cut out for corporate life and I’d rather keep family as family and not as co-workers.” She looked at Jake, then glanced at her sisters pressed in the doorway behind them. “I want to open my own practice. I don’t know where or even what yet. But I think I’m better off being my own boss.”
Her father actually blushed at the public display and had to clear his throat several times. His voice lowered so only Natalie and Jake could hear his reply. “Yes, well. You always were more like your mother.”
Natalie was honestly surprised at that. “Mother was sick almost all her life. How am I like her?”
He smiled, and Natalie saw the love he had for her shining in his eyes. “She was an adventurer. Oh, her body might have been too fragile to allow her spirit to soar for real, but that never stopped her from wanting to. Had she been healthy, I think she’d have been a lot like you. Independent, single-minded, and ornery about it.” His eyes clouded then. “I suppose she wouldn’t have needed me, then. I’ve always felt a bit guilty for that. Not that I wouldn’t have wished her well, even if it meant losing her.” He shrugged, looking suddenly uncomfortable, as if he’d just realized what he’d revealed. “Maybe that’s why I wanted to keep you close. You’re the best part of her.”
“Oh, Dad.” She hugged him again and felt tears run down her cheeks. “I never knew. I do love you.”
“Go to Wyoming, Natalie.” He set her back, already well outside his comfort zone, and so publicly, too. So she gave him his space and let him reclaim his control. He straightened his tie and cleared his throat, his voice now back to normal. “I hope you find what you’re looking for.” He smiled then, and the father she knew and loved, the fox, surfaced once more. “Naturally, if it doesn’t work out, I always have a position available for you here.”
Natalie laughed and sniffled at the same time.
Jake stepped forward and shook her father’s hand. “Thank you, sir. I promise I’ll take good care of her.”
Her father gave him a look. “Oh, I’m not worried about that. You might want to get some help, though. You’ll have your hands full just keeping up with her.”
“I’ll take the advice under consideration.”
Natalie pinched his arm, but Jake just laughed and tucked her hand in his. The crowd had pushed into the lobby now, her sisters leading the pack.
“Come on,” he said, “before the mob descends on us. I want you all to myself.”
She couldn’t argue with that. “Well, what are you waiting for? Isn’t this the part where you sweep me off my feet?”
He grinned. “As a matter of fact…”
Rule number one: Never taunt him, Natalie thought, squealing as he swung her up in his arms. Oh, what the hell, she amended. Taunting was fun. And if there was one thing she’d learned, it was that life should be more fun.
With that in mind, she waved at the crowd assembled behind them, noting with great pleasure that many people were applauding. Her sisters’ faces were blank masks of confusion. Well, it was a pity they didn’t understand, but if she’d learned anything, it was that she wasn’t responsible for their happiness or for their understanding hers.
Well, she did have a certain proprietary feel for the happiness of the man who held her in his arms.
“Please tell me there isn’t a horse waiting in the parking lot,” she said, wrapping her arms more tightly around his neck. “I never did finish riding school.”
He kissed her soundly. “No horse. But there are one or two back at home I was hoping to introduce you to. I’d like to show you our land, but horseback is the only way to really see it properly. It takes a couple of days. We’d have to camp out. There’s a cabin, too, but I haven’t been that far to check out the condition of it. We don’t use it anymore—”
“Camping, huh?” She was open to new things, right? She had the feeling this was only the beginning, and that was fine by her. She reached up and licked the spot beneath his ear. “Would we be alone on the trail, hoss?”
He stopped at the curb and let her slide down his body. “Why, yes, little lady, we would be,” he said with that teasing grin of his.
“God, I’ve missed you,” she said softly.
He pulled her close, and she reveled in the hard strength of him. Her body was clamoring for him already, but she was more than willing to wait. She had all the time in the world. Or she would, if she had anything to do with it. And she would. Single-minded and determined. Yep, that was her.
“I missed you, too.” He tilted her chin up. “Natalie, you have to promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“If you hate the ranch, if it’s not for you, you have to tell me. We can find a compromise. We can have more than one home. Casper is close by, and if that’s not big-city enough, then—”
She pressed her fingers to his lips, trying not to moan at the contact. God, she’d never been like this with anyone else. And she wanted to be like this forever. “I just want to be with you.” It was the one thing she knew above all else. “We’ll figure the rest out. As long as you’re willing to let me find my own way, then I’m sure we’ll make this work. At least, I want to do everything I can to try.”
“Me, too.” He kissed her, running his hands down her sides, brushing over her already hard nipples with his fingers.
She did moan this time. “Did I mention I really missed you?”
“I believe you did,” he said, sounding a bit hoarse himself. But rather than tease her the way she’d expected, he tipped her chin up again, looking more serious than she’d ever seen him. “I do love you, Natalie.”