Page 5 (1/2)

“I’d much rather spend time with you than the old fuddy-duddies back there,” Justin admitted

He turned back slightly to the crohere his brothers were—Alex on the stage and Brandon to the left of it They were both looking his direction, but he kneasn’t hi on It was Shelby

It had been years since they’d been attracted to the saairl to date them first had been set aside after Brandon had fallen head over heels for Ashley They all had fallen, but Brandon had gotten the jump on him and Alex Several secret dates later, Brandon’s confession of love had sealed the brotherly pact They had stepped aside for his for her, but not on the level Brandon had shown Not even close Of course, what happened with Ashley had soured all of them on love

“Are you sure? I can hear your stohtly, a hint of amuse work I have to unpack the leftover gift bags—and there are more in the office—and sort the contents into neat little piles Itto eat, cowboy?”

Despite the fact that he really was starving, Justin bet if he didn’t go with Shelby now he’d never have a chance with her This wasn’t about reliving the gao This was about Shelby He did want to get to know her better, much better

“I want to go with you Also, I want to point out that you get to call me ‘cowboy’ but I can only call you ‘Shelby’ That’s not really fair, is it?”

“Wilde girls never play fair, Elko You know that By the way, h my friends callher hips in such a way he cout, anyway

Shelby looked into Justin’s dark brown eyes and thought the Fates were testing her resolve An Elko cowboy? What could be worse? Justin ht be the pinnacle of what she found attractive in men It sure see male perfection in a Stetson, black T-shirt, faded Levi’s, and cowboy boots Peeking out from under his hat was dark, thick hair His face was chiseled nicely and the lone dimple in his left cheek added to his beauty

But Justin wasn’t from Wilde, or even from any of the towns around the country like Bliss or Destiny in Colorado Those were cousins to her horown up in was accepted in full

Justin was from Elko A place she kneell, since it was only thirty minutes south of Destiny She’d been a cheerleader for Wilde High School’s Wolves, whose team played Elko’s Indians every year The jeers fro the poly lifestyle of the citizens of Wilde The slurs ca between the two school boards, but they still came

“Here we are,” she said, opening the door to the executive wing

“What do you need me to do to help you, Shelby?”

Leave Kiss s stacked up by the sofa?”

He nodded, slipping off his Stetson and placing it on her desk

“Let’s unpack them and make piles of each of the items” She felt completely safe since a few of the ad distance of her office Though she didn’t coerous If he was, it likely was in the sinful hich only added to her troubles “There are sixteen things in each We can stack theet a count”