Christmastime Cowboy Read online

  He could see that Sabrina wasn’t used to being challenged directly. It was another thing that was interesting about her. Another difference. When he had known her she had been a lot more open. Sweeter. A lot more likely to crumple if pressure was applied.

  Now she might be more outwardly brittle, but he had a feeling it would take an iron squeeze to get her to crack.

  And when she did... Yeah, he was afraid she would shatter. And he had no intention of shattering her. Messing with her a little bit while they worked on this project was one thing. But he wasn’t a total dick.

  “It’s a big decision though,” Sabrina said, “so, I think it’s definitely something she should be a little more involved in, no matter what she might think now. Right now... She’s just very focused. Very, very focused.”

  “On?”

  “Making my brother sorry he crossed her, I think.”

  Liam frowned. “Yeah, what happened with that?” Lindy Parker hadn’t been in the picture back when Liam had worked at Grassroots, so he had no idea about the history between her and Damien Leighton.

  “He cheated on her,” Sabrina said simply. “Ten years of marriage, and he had an affair. I’m not happy with my brother, Liam. Not at all. Lindy is like a sister to me, not just in law. Just because she and Damien got divorced doesn’t mean my connection with her is gone.”

  “Hey, I’m all for a little revenge and retribution.”

  Sabrina’s expression turned to stone. She was thinking about them again, and he knew it. He hardly thought it was fair for her to compare what he had done with what her brother had done to his wife. Because Liam had never cheated. Mostly because he had never made any promises.

  “Go ahead,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “What?” she asked, blinking rapidly.

  “Go ahead and yell at me. You want to. You’re mad at me. I get it. So we can keep on tiptoeing around it, or you could just go ahead and shout at me. Here and now. The room is empty, and I bet it has great acoustics.”

  Sabrina’s eye twitched. She looked...well, she looked completely torn. And a little bit shocked. Both like she really wanted to take him up on his offer, and like she was wishing there was some furniture she could scurry underneath.

  “Okay. How about I go first?” If there was one thing he didn’t mind, it was facing something head-on. “I saw you naked, I turned you down and you’re still mad.”

  “I... That is not... You make it sound like...”

  He shrugged. “I’m going to go ahead and make it easy for you. I’ve seen a lot of women naked. Before you, after you. I’m not picturing you naked when I look at you now.” That was a lie. But he didn’t really mind lying either. “So whatever you imagine is happening on my end, it’s not.”

  “You’re an asshole,” she said.

  She turned away from him and began to pace the perimeter of the room, paying closer than necessary attention to things like crown molding.

  “That’s it?”

  “I’m going to do exactly what we came here to do. Which is evaluate whether or not the building is suitable for our purposes. I wouldn’t say that it’s perfect,” she said, giving him a hard glare. “But I suppose it will work.”

  “You’re ready to do this, then?”

  “I still think that Lindy should drive down and have a look before we confirm, but I can’t imagine finding a better place.” She seemed almost downtrodden about that. Probably because this had been his idea.

  Actually, she was capitulating much more easily than he had imagined, and it occurred to him that it was probably because she just wanted to get this project moving so that she could put any interaction with him behind her.

  “What’s your timeline?”

  She looked slightly sheepish. “Lindy wants it open before Christmas. She wants us up and running to take advantage of the festivities that are going to be happening around town. The sooner the better.”

  That would mean long, intense days in Sabrina’s company. Whether she wanted that or not.

  “We can do it,” he said. “But you are very busy, so I hear. So, you need to clear your schedule a bit so you can actually devote your time to serving my needs.”

  The look she gave him was so dry it could’ve sapped all the moisture out of the heavy coastal air. “Poorly phrased. But then, I have a feeling you did it on purpose.”

  “And you’re still not willing to clear the air between us.”

  “There’s no air to clear. I don’t feel comfortable around you, Liam, and I would think it was fairly understandable why. You humiliated me. You were cruel to me. At the very least, you should have treated me like a friend. Because even if I did have the wrong idea about what was happening between us, we were friends. I...I told you about my relationship with my father and you still... I trusted you.”

  Those simple words cut through every ounce of bullshit in him. He couldn’t give her a hard time, not after that.

  “We were friends,” she reiterated. “I had a hard time connecting with people because of my family’s position in the community, and you knew that. I got close to you, closer than I was to anyone. And I made a fool of myself in front of you and then you disappeared.”

  And when she found out exactly why, she wouldn’t be any happier with him than she was now. So, he wasn’t going to say a damned thing.

  “I did,” he said. “Because that’s what I do. At least, that’s what I did. But I’ve spent the past few years figuring out how to finish what I start. And I’ve done a good job with it. I’m still terrible with people, to be clear. The emotional part. But I know what I’m doing in business. And I’m going to make this successful. I promise you that.”

  “Are you going to apologize to me?”

  In that moment, she looked like the Sabrina he had once known. Young, vulnerable and far too innocent for the likes of him. Like someone who actually believed that he was going to apologize. He almost felt bad.

  Almost.

  “I’m not going to apologize,” he said. “Because leaving you like that was probably one of the nicest things I’ve ever done. Because if I hadn’t left you then, I would have left you after. And I stand by what I said.”

  Her cheeks turned scarlet, rage glittering in her blue eyes. “Right. Well, it’s emblazoned in my memory. So, there’s no reason to revisit it.”

  “What exactly are you mad about? That I didn’t have sex with you? Or that I left?”

  She sputtered. “That you... That you left. That you left and you didn’t say anything to me. I cared about you.”

  “And you’re still mad at me.”

  “Not every day of my life. But having you come back to town has been awkward.”

  “Well, I never imagined I would end up back here either. But here I am.”

  “Because of the ranch?”

  “Yes and no. I never intended to come back. Not even with part ownership of the ranch on the table. I had a big job. I liked what I was doing. Until one day I realized that I actually didn’t.”

  “Is that what happened with us? You were my friend until one day you realized you weren’t?”

  “I was twenty years old, and I was an asshole. That’s about it.”

  She looked...deflated by that.

  “Was, as in past tense? As in you aren’t one now?”

  He could tell she really didn’t want to let go of her anger. “I still am. But I would probably call before leaving town now.” That was a lie. He absolutely would not. And particularly not under those circumstances.

  She looked begrudgingly amused. “Well, as long as we both know the score. Which is the real difference between now and thirteen years ago.”

  “Which is exactly why I’m not the villain that you seem to think I am,” he said. “Because you didn’t know
the score, Sabrina, and I didn’t take advantage of that.”

  “Fine. Let’s let it go then, okay? I’m Sabrina Leighton, I work for Grassroots Winery. It has recently changed hands and is under new ownership, and I am helping the new owner realize her vision.”

  “Liam Donnelly,” he said, sticking out his hand. She shook it reluctantly, those delicate fingers curling around his, and it shocked him how visceral the response was to that contact with her. “I’ve been living in cities for the past thirteen years. Chicago, mostly New York. I had what was arguably an early midlife crisis and decided to take my inheritance and live in a small town. But, apparently, I can’t just get used to ranching work, so I decided to take on this venture. Something to keep me busy. Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” He released his hold on her. “Or so I hear.”

  She didn’t say anything, but he noticed that when she lowered her hand back to her side she brushed her fingers against her pencil skirt, as if she was trying to wipe the impression of his touch off her. “That’s very interesting. And it seems like we should be able to work well together.”

  He looked around the space. “I think we should. So, leaning toward this place?”

  “Yes,” she confirmed. “I’ll see if Lindy can come down and have a look. Can I hang on to the keys? So that I can open it up when she has time?”

  “I don’t know,” he said. “Gage gave them to me.”

  “Come on. Do you honestly think he’ll care?”

  He smiled and then held the keys out. “No.”

  She took them, quickly, being careful not to make any contact with him this time. “I’ll let you know what she says. I’m guessing she’ll be on board. And once she is we can start making plans. We’re going to need shelving and...”

  “Seating. Refrigeration. Yeah, I have a fair idea. How elaborate is the menu going to be?”

  “For now? Nibbles only.”

  “Nibbles?”

  She raised a brow. “Yes. Nibbles.”

  “Okay. I suggest we maybe don’t call them that on the menu.”

  “We call them that at the winery.”

  “What’s wrong with appetizers?”

  “Look, Donnelly, you can name your cheese whatever you want to name your cheese. But this is primarily a Grassroots venture. We are going to own most of it. Controlling share and stuff. So, I get to call them nibbles.”

  “If you want to die on the hill of nibbles, be my guest.”

  “I do, thank you. Surrounded by nice cheese platters.”

  “Now, where cheese platters are concerned, I think we are on the same page.”

  “Have you ever done this before? I mean, restaurants. Or, things like this.”

  “No. Not specifically. But hotels, and there were restaurants in the hotel. So while I didn’t oversee food service specifically, I’ve definitely seen what works and what doesn’t. Though I’m sure that what works in Manhattan won’t necessarily be the gauge for what works in Copper Ridge. And there, you get to be the expert.”

  “Because I’m so exceedingly local?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why does that not feel like a compliment?”

  “I don’t know,” he said. “Sounds like your baggage to me.”

  She snorted. “All right. I’ll get in touch with you once Lindy gives her opinion.”

  She moved past him, and he caught the scent of her. Vanilla. Just like always. And suddenly, he was thrown back to a different time, to warmer days...

  He shook his head, ignoring the tightening in his gut.

  “Do that.”

  The sooner she did that, the sooner they could get started. And the sooner they got started, the sooner they could be done.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  MUCH TO SABRINA’S CHAGRIN, Lindy was ecstatic when they arrived at the shop later that afternoon. It was perfect as far as she was concerned, everything about it. She had absolutely no qualms and was ready to get the ball rolling immediately.

  It was funny, because Lindy seemed to be fueled by her enthusiasm to make the winery a complete and total success and throw in Damien’s face the fact that she didn’t need him at all, and that in fact, she could do more without him around.

  Sabrina, on the other hand, was fueled by something altogether different and that was her desire to work with Liam and emerge unscathed. She felt like she was continually reevaluating that situation. At first, she had wanted to avoid him, but if avoidance was the primary goal then it was difficult to make the case that she was all right. Difficult to make the case that she had moved on in any regard.

  Not that she had ever pretended she had. Not to herself. And to other people? She just didn’t talk about it.

  Maybe moved on was the wrong phrase. It was just... She didn’t trust herself. Her father had always told her to be cautious. To lead with her head, and not with her heart.

  Back when he’d talked to her.

  He had said that passion was faulty, and feelings were lies. And she had worked so hard to comply with that. To be quiet so that she could spend time with her dad, since he couldn’t handle endless chattering. To be the one who took after him. Not like Damien, who was always volatile like their mother.

  She had rebelled once.

  The first time she’d set eyes on Liam Donnelly—when he’d come to work at the winery—she’d been sure her chest would crack open and her heart would spill right out in front of him. Like every feeling, every need, every desire she’d shoved down all of her life had risen up to the surface and begged for release.

  And then he’d looked at her. She had been certain, utterly certain, that he was the first person to truly see her.

  She had known it was wrong. But he made her feel right, and after so many years of feeling like an alien in her own body, vying for her father’s attention the only way she knew how, it was magical to her.

  Until the end. The end when everything had fallen apart, and then she’d set about to make everything around her as wrecked as she’d felt inside.

  But it was over. She wasn’t that girl anymore. She really never had been. She’d had a moment of insanity, and that was done and never happening again.

  Sabrina was going to handle being around him now. She was not going to give her sister-in-law any extra grief. Lindy had had enough. She didn’t need to deal with Sabrina’s baggage on top of everything else. Especially since Sabrina’s baggage was...well, stupid in a lot of ways, she supposed. Nothing was worse than having Liam confront her with what had happened between them. With him making her voice everything.

  Because it made what had happened between them feel small. And in her mind it was so large. But she was reluctant to admit that he had a point. It wasn’t like the situation would have been any better if he had slept with her and then disappeared.

  But that was the worst part, actually. It was the part that was so hard to explain to people, including him. Maybe especially him, because if she did it would make her sound even more like she was a pet-boiling whack job.

  The lingering tenderness made sense to her though. And it hurt all the way down. She had trusted him with all of herself, and more than that, she had trusted in her own feelings for him. They had been wrong.

  And that was the bitterest pill to swallow.

  That the one time she’d decided to believe in herself, to trust her gut, her gut had been nothing more than a fluttery case of hormonal butterflies.

  “This is amazing,” Lindy said, walking slowly across the wooded floor, her high heels clicking on the surface.

  Sabrina pressed her fingertips against the door, right where Liam had put his hand earlier. She pulled it back.

  “It is,” she said, stepping inside after her sister-in-law.

  They had brought along the other tasting room employee, Ol
ivia Logan, who was a funny little woman even though Sabrina quite liked her. She was a prim creature, with a lot of very lofty ideas about right and wrong, and sometimes got a little too judgmental for her own good, but she’d become a good friend to Sabrina over the years.

  “This will be too far for me to drive every day,” Olivia commented, sniffing.

  “It’s fine,” Lindy said. “Nobody will expect you to come down here. You’re welcome to continue working up at the winery. But, just in case, I did want you to come down and see it. Because I want everyone to feel like they have input.”

  Lindy almost overinvolved the winery staff in her decision-making, in Sabrina’s opinion. Though she knew the whole “we are all in this together” thing was kind of part and parcel with her gaining control over the winery.

  Damien had been much more about it being a Leighton family business. And only Leightons got a say in what happened. Her family was all about their standing in the community, all about their money.

  Perhaps that was one reason she was sympathetic toward Olivia, even when she was a little bit difficult.

  Olivia Logan was a member of the founding family of the county. The Logan family had been here since the 1800s, the first to settle both Gold Valley and Copper Ridge. They had come from Independence, Missouri on the Oregon Trail. And Olivia still carried their name.

  Sabrina didn’t have a famous name, but she knew how family pride, a lot of interest and concern with family reputation and standing could shape you.

  And what happened when you demolished said reputation.

  Of course, Damien hadn’t exactly helped the reputation. But she’d always had the feeling their dad didn’t expect as much from Damien as he had from her once upon a time. As if he was given a pass because he was never supposed to do well. Sabrina knew her dad felt like the fact that Lindy had ended up with the winery was ample evidence that their son had made a mistake marrying outside of his class. That she had somehow taken advantage of him.

  Sabrina just hadn’t been able to understand their take on it. Not in the least. Not when Damien was the one who couldn’t keep his dick in his pants.