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she thought she had kept him from his work. Then again, he thought maybe it was for the best for her to think that way. He couldn’t afford to share another quaint and cozy meal with her again, even one of cookies and milk. It was best if he went back to his original plan to keep his distance. Especially since each time he saw her he couldn’t help but wonder how her mouth would taste under his.
    “The next time I talk to Sterling, I’ll let him know you’re doing okay. I’m sure he’ll want to know.” He then turned and walked out of the house.
    Diamond followed him out to the deck and watched as he mounted his horse. Just before he was about to ride away, he glanced over at her. After making what appeared to be a quick but unwilling decision about something, he said, “You didn’t keep me from my work, Diamond. I was where I wanted to be.”
    Without saying anything else, he rode off at a gallop and not once looked back.

Chapter 4
    S miling to herself, Diamond backed into the cabin and closed the door. Her eyes sparkled at the thought that Jacob had grudgingly admitted, in so many words, that he had wanted to spend some time with her. She was glad to know that he was fighting his attraction for her as much as she was fighting hers for him.
    Diamond sighed as her mind began operating on some sort of adrenaline high. The very thought of Jacob was assaulting her senses and giving her a heated rush. For some reason, her attraction to him seemed instinctive, natural and sensible. He was handsome, rugged and downright appealing. What woman in her right mind would not be captivated by those attributes?
    She remembered how at the table while they were eating cookies and drinking milk, Jacob had smiled atsomething she’d said. For one precious second, she had become mesmerized by that slow, seductive smile. It had taken all the willpower she possessed to maintain her composure.
    Diamond shook her head, trying to fight off this unusual state she found herself in. She immediately reached the conclusion that she must be going through some type of hormone crisis. She was in total awe of the emotions Jake aroused in her. She struggled to clear her head, reminding herself that she’d come to the ranch for peace, quiet and relaxation.
    She slumped down in a nearby chair, too weary and too confused to start tackling the cleanup of the kitchen just yet. She blew out a breath of frustration. Whispering Pines might be just what the doctor ordered, but Jacob Madaris was not. She wanted to convince herself that he was just another man, and in her line of business, she’d been around plenty. She drew her brows together. What was there about Jacob that wanted to make her forget the fiasco of a marriage she’d had with Samuel? It was a marriage that should have taught her a lesson. But one look at Jacob and she forgot everything, even the hard, cold fact that when it came to the affairs of the heart, she was a complete failure.
    Diamond stood on her feet. She would put Jacob Madaris and how she intended to deal with him out of her mind for a while. She had a kitchen to clean and ten pies to bake.
     
    Jake cursed himself for having admitted what he had to Diamond. The last thing he wanted was for her to start getting ideas that he was interested in her. Shewas used to men falling at their feet over her, both on and off the screen, and he had no intention of being one of them. Women who thought too much of themselves irritated him to no end. Usually they were women who lived in a world where money, looks and social status mattered a lot more than a person’s character. Over the years, he had dated a number of those types. He’d even been married to one nearly twenty years ago.
    Jessie Wellington, of the Boston Wellingtons, had had this farfetched opinion of what a real man should be. Besides being good-looking, of course, he needed a wealthy family background, a big home and plenty of money. Although he hadn’t had any of those