LITMIR.BIZ

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were deeper, bluer, mesmerizing.

      Her heart raced. She would be living with him now, in this house, and all the awkwardness she’d felt the other day came back in full force. This would be her new normal.

      He began to rise and she gestured for him not to. He did it anyway. He had to be six foot two if he was an inch. “Welcome to Stone Ridge.”

      “Please sit down, Mr. Stone. If you get up every time I walk into a room, you’ll make yourself dizzy.”

      He chuckled and then his face hardened and his hand automatically went to his broken ribs. Of all his injuries, that one must be the most painful. “I will, if you call me Jared from now on.”

      “Okay...Jared.”

      “Please, take a seat.”

      She did, sitting opposite him. Sienna stood next to her chair, looking all around, taking in the big room with windows facing the groomed yard and books stacked on a wall of shelves. But her eyes found and stayed on two packages decorated with pastel balloon wrapping paper on the floor beside the desk.

      “Hello, Sienna,” he said. “I hope you’ll like it here.”

      Sienna took one look at Jared, forgot about the packages and climbed up on Bella’s lap, hanging on to her neck with a death grip. Bella pried her off her neck as gently as possible and her baby settled into a fetal position in her arms. “She’ll warm up. This is all so new for her.”

      “I figured,” he said.

      “You’re feeling better?” she asked.

      He nodded. “Every day gets a bit easier. I should be one hundred percent in a few weeks or so.” He paused as if speaking of his injuries made him uncomfortable. “I hope you like your accommodations. If there’s anything you want changed, anything you need, just let me know.”

      “Thank you. That’s very generous of you. The rooms are lovely and we’re going to manage just fine.”

      “Good to hear. Marie will be here today to show you around the kitchen and the rest of the property. Feel free to use anything on the ranch, including the horses, if you like to ride. And if you need something—”

      “I’ll be sure to ask,” she said.

      Jared smiled, a much easier smile than the one he’d attempted a few days ago. He wrote something down on a piece of paper and slid it over to her. “Here’s your starting salary. I think it’s in line with the going rate.”

      She glanced at the number and was relieved to see he wasn’t overpaying her. “Yes, it’s perfect.” It was a fair sum considering she was also getting room and board. If that number was even slightly higher, she’d feel less legitimate. The salary he offered allowed her a measure of pride. And Jared Stone seemed to be sensitive to that. “Thank you.”

      “I don’t expect you to work every day. You’ll have Sundays and Mondays off, if that’s okay with you.”

      “That’s fine. I, um, have a few questions for you, though, if you don’t mind?”

      “I don’t mind at all,” he said.

      She sat a little straighter in the chair; Sienna was happy as a clam to continue to cling to her. “Well, since I’m cooking for you, I’d like to know how you see yourself food-wise.”

      “How do I see myself?”

      “Yes. What’s your culinary landscape?”

      “In English, please?”

      She held back a grin. “Okay. Are your food tastes conservative, traditional, adventurous, exotic, selective...”

      “I’m definitely adventurous. There’s nothing I won’t try. Except liver. No liver, please.” He made a little-boy face, scrunching up his mouth, and she laughed.

      “No liver, check. Spicy?”

      “Yes, but not necessarily all the time.”

      “Do you drink alcohol?”

      “Does the sun shine?” he shot back.

      She laughed. “Okay, got it.”

      He was basically a cook’s dream. He liked to try new things and he ate everything, pretty much. She’d put that to the test very soon.

      The healthy cast on his face when she’d walked in was beginning to fade. How long had he been at his desk working? She knew the look of fatigue. Being a single mom, she’d had many a sleepless night. And even when she did catch some winks, it wasn’t for very long. Not all of that had to do with Sienna. She had a classic case of insomnia, an inherited trait. Thank you, Marco.

      Too late, she averted her eyes. She’d been staring at Jared. And he’d been quietly staring back.

      “If there’s nothing more—”

      “Actually, there is,” he said.

      Gingerly, he rose from his seat to full height. When standing, he was a solid presence in the room, a man who commanded attention. She’d noticed that about Cooper, too. “I have something for you both. It’s a little welcome gift.”

      “You didn’t have to do that.” Goodness, she meant it. How awkward was this? What could he have possibly gotten the two of them?

      “Would you like to open Sienna’s first. It’s in the big box.”

      He moved over to the two boxes by his desk. “Sienna, this is a present for you. Do you want to help your mother open it?”

      Her daughter’s eyes went adorably wide and she eased off her lap, took her hand and pulled her over to the wrapped box.

      “Christmas isn’t for a few weeks,” she told Jared.

      Jared only smiled.

      Sienna grabbed at the paper and Bella helped her the rest of the way until all the wrapping was off. When the box was open, Jared explained. “Some assembly required.”

      Sienna took one look at her gift and started flapping her arms like a little bird. “Bike! Bike!”

      “I can see that,” Bella said.

      The balance tricycle was hot pink with streamers on the handlebars and a chrome bell. It was already assembled except for the long rod that attached to the back step, so that it could be pushed and guided from behind. The training bike of tricycles.

      Sienna found the bell and that was that. The ringing lasted at least thirty seconds before Bella took her hand away. “Sienna, do you like the tricycle?”

      She began nodding. “Me yike it, Mommy.”

      “Can you say ‘thank you’?”

      “Tank you,” she said without hesitation. Her eyes were transfixed on her new trike.

      Jared grinned. “You’re welcome. Now you can ride around the ranch in style.”

      “It’s very generous of you,” Bella said.

      “There’s a helmet for her, too. Lauren, my sister-in-law, said she couldn’t ride outside the house without one.”

      “Yes, that’s true. Again, very thoughtful.”

      Bella took the trike out of the box and set it on the floor. Immediately, Sienna, thrilled beyond belief, lifted her leg and tried to climb up. Bella gave her a little push and then she was all set, her butt settled on the padded seat.

      “Your feet touch the pedals. Oh, my baby is getting to be such a big girl.”

      “I’ll attach this thing,” Jared said, a screwdriver suddenly appearing in his hand. He lifted the rod out and bent on his haunches. His body creaked and his face went white, but his jaw was tight, determined. Bella bent, too, and suddenly she was inches from Jared, breathing in a light musk scent, seeing the tiny lines of pain around

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