Read Curves and the Rancher for Free Online Page B

played on her lips. They ’ d
only been together officially for two weeks, but what she really
wanted to do was tell him that she loved him. But was it too soon?
And what did he really feel for her?
    Their sex life was
amazing, and she knew he desired her. He told her repeatedly,
through actions and words. And she always felt so safe and protected
in his presence as well. With Luke, she felt a sense of completeness
that she ’ d never experienced before.
    Cassie turned off her
laptop and got ready for a morning shift at the diner. She had some
accounts work to do after lunch, and then she was going to have
dinner with Luke at the ranch and stay overnight. Her body tingled
at the thought of seeing him tonight, of his lips on hers, his hands
roaming over her body, his husky whispers telling her just how much
he wanted her …
    She smiled to herself,
running a brush through her shoulder-length hair. “ Yep,
I ’ ve got it bad, ” she murmured to her reflection in the mirror.
    ###
    “ Cassie,
coffee for the blond stranger. ” Betty gestured to the end booth.
    As she approached the
man, Cassie flashed back to the day she thought Phillip had posed as
a customer, and the freak-out she ’ d
experienced. But if that hadn ’ t
happened, she mused, then maybe she and Luke wouldn ’ t
have gotten together.
    Cassie set down the tray,
half her mind on Luke, and half on delivering the coffee. “ Here
you… ” her words trailed off
as she got a good look at the stranger in the booth.
    Phillip.
    “ Hello,
Cassie. ”
    She stared at her
ex-boyfriend, her hands frozen on the tray. His patrician features
looked exactly the same - aquiline nose, cold green eyes and
thin-lipped mouth.
    “ I
never thought you ’ d end up in a dump
like this, but then again, I didn ’ t
think you ’ d be so stupid as to leave
me. ”
    Her first thought was to
flee. Her second thought was to pour the hot coffee on his lap. “ H-how - how did you find me? ” Her mouth felt like sandpaper.
    His barbs came flooding
back to her. Are you sure you should be eating that? Your hips
don ’ t need any extra
flesh. Why are you so clumsy? How simple can it be to make me a cup
of coffee?
    Phillip smirked. “ I
asked my friend at the bank to tell me when there was any activity in
your account. So when you transferred money from your old bank
account to your new one, I knew exactly where you were. ”
    Cassie closed her eyes.
She ’ d been so sure that it was safe
to use her old bank account again. When Phillip hadn ’ t
appeared in Coldwater Springs in the first two months she ’ d
been here, she ’ d assumed he had no
interest in tracking her down.
    “ So
pack your bags and we can get back to Seattle tonight, ” he said smoothly. “ Oh, and you ’ ll
be pleased to know that I ’ ve spoken
to Sanderson and you can have your old job back at the firm. I was
even able to get him to sweeten the deal. Once old man Smythe
retires in six months, his job is yours. You ’ ll
be head of your department. ”
    She shook her head.
Once, the thought of being head of her department at twenty-seven
would have delighted her. But since she ’ d
gotten away from the large accounting firm and the city streets, she
realized she ’ d never been comfortable
with the backstabbing and bitchy gossip that was an everyday
occurrence in that workplace.
    She ’ d
rather work full-time here, at the diner, than back at Sanderson ’ s.
Even if she hadn ’ t met Luke , she
liked working at the diner a lot more than at an accounting firm
where people climbed up the corporate ladder with steel-capped shoes.
    “ No,
Phillip. ” She was pleased with how
firm her voice sounded.
    He spoke as if he hadn ’ t
heard her. “ And I ’ ve
booked an appointment with the top diet coach in Seattle for next
week. There ’ s just no excuse for you
not being as slim as all the other women out there. ” He waved a well-tended hand toward the window, as if there were
hordes of sylph-like