“It’s beautiful, but no one is going to notice that hat.” He put a hand to the side of her face. “All they will see is this delicate face and your beautiful green eyes and these luscious lips.” He leaned down and kissed her deeply, groaning as he pulled her close. He moved his kisses to behind her ear. “Let’s go back to bed.”
“Lloyd Harkner, we made dinner plans with Brian and Evie, and we are already running late.”
“Yeah, well, maybe my sister and her husband are having the same problem we are. We’ve all gone quite a few days without a nice soft bed we can share together.”
Katie pushed at him. “Well, you didn’t waste any time getting me back into bed, and now I’m hungry. So finish dressing. Should we see if your parents want to go?”
Lloyd grinned as he finished buttoning the shirt. “Katie, the reason Pa pulled me out in the hallway a while ago was to tell me he wanted to be alone with my mother tonight. So no, they won’t be going with us. They have a lot to talk about, and if I know my father, he’ll find a way right back into my mother’s soft side in no time at all. He probably already has.” He pulled on a waistcoat over the shirt and buttoned it, deciding not to tell his wife the real reason Jake had wanted to talk to him. Mike Holt was somewhere out there, looking for revenge, but Lloyd decided he wasn’t going to let that spoil things for Katie. “Let’s get dinner over with sooner than later. I’m anxious to get back here.”
Katie smiled and had to reach up to get her arms around his neck. “You look so incredibly handsome in a dress shirt and waistcoat.” She kissed him, then fussed with his silk tie. “Of course you don’t need clothes to make you look handsome. Actually, I prefer you with no clothes at all. You have the build of a god, Lloyd Harkner.”
“Yeah? Well then, that makes you a goddess.”
“Thank you, but I’ll have a hard time keeping you to myself tomorrow night. Do you know how many women will try flirting with you at that ball? I see how they look at you.”
“And I will have eyes only for the mother of my beautiful little girl and the woman who is carrying another one of my children in her belly as we speak. You’re all the woman I need, Katie Harkner, and when we get back from dinner, I’ll show you just how much I need you.”
She smiled. “You already did that.”
“And I’m not through with you.”
Katie blushed. “I want a massage next time. You are wonderful at that. You have such strong hands.”
“Oh?” He grasped her shoulders and gently moved his hands over them. “I’ll massage every inch of your body.” He leaned down and kissed her again, then stepped back to look her over. “You picked the perfect dress. The color blue is beautiful on you.”
She turned for him, holding out her arms. “Isn’t it lovely? I got it at a store that sells dresses made in Paris!”
Lloyd watched her lovingly. “Yeah, well, it won’t be long before it will be too small in the waist, thanks to that new baby.”
She smiled. “Well, for now I’m not showing, and wait till you see the dress I’m wearing tomorrow night! It’s mint green, your favorite color on me. And your mother bought the most beautiful yellow dress. You know how Jake likes her in yellow.”
Lloyd nodded as he pulled on a black frock coat with silk lapels. “I’m surprised my mother was in the mood to shop.”
“She wasn’t, but Evie and I made her. We both knew Jake would find a way to make things better. He always does.”
Lloyd put on a black silk bowler hat. “Yeah, well, Pa has a way with women.”
Katie folded her arms. “And so do you.” She sighed. “Lloyd, you look wonderful.”
“What about my hair? Is it okay just pulled back at my neck like it is?”
“You look fine.”
“Pa would say I look like an Indian dressed up like a white man.” He turned and took one of his guns from its holster and slipped it into a special pocket in his vest.
Katie lost her smile. “Why are you taking a gun?”
He forced a casual air. “I’m a Harkner, Katie-girl.” He put out his arm. “Let’s go eat.”
She took his arm. “Lloyd, is something wrong?”
“Not a damn thing.” He led her to the door.
“Are any of the ranch hands coming with us?”
Lloyd grinned. “Sweetheart, we raked it in at the stockyards today, and I paid the men off. I have a feeling they have other plans for tonight with all that money in their pockets. Whiskey, cards, and women, most likely.”