“Daddy, Tio Alec said girls can play polo,” Penny announced as they joined the group.
“Did you tell her girls couldn’t?” Kinley asked.
“No. I didn’t say that. I said she couldn’t because it’s not safe. I even showed her a video of Zaria playing,” Nate said, bending over to look his daughter in the eye. “Didn’t I?”
“Yes, Daddy,” Penny said. “But Beni can play.”
“His uncles are teaching him. And right now, he has to ride with one of them every time,” Nate said.
“But I’m a better rider,” Penny said.
“Maybe so, scamp, but for right now that’s the rule,” Nate said, scooping her into his arms and standing up.
“I’m happy to have you ride with me, Penny,” Alec said.
“Can I?”
“We’ll discuss it at home,” Kinley said.
Penny made a face at Kinley and looked very unhappy. “You lied about what Daddy said, girlie. You know that there has to be a consequence.”
“I’m sorry, Daddy,” Penny said.
As the three of them left the group, Alec noticed Scarlet watching him and realized he had no idea what she expected of him. They were strangers. It didn’t matter that he knew about the birthmark on the small of her back just above her buttocks or that he couldn’t forget the way her tongue felt in his mouth when they kissed. They were still strangers.
Intimate strangers.
He needed to change that. Well,needmight be too strong a word, but he wanted to change that. He wanted to know her better and to find out why she was here.
“Ladies,” he said as he approached them. “Scarlet, would you like to spend the afternoon with me so we can have a chance to talk?”
Billie stepped closer to Scarlet. Scarlet hugged her friendand then smiled at her. “Why don’t you go home and I’ll meet you there.”
“Sure. But if you change your mind, text me and I’ll come and get you.”
Billie walked away but not before giving Alec a warning glance.
“I think it’s safe to say she doesn’t like me,” Alec said.
“Yeah, I think so,” Scarlet said. “So what did you have in mind?”
“I can give you a tour of the town. We have a nice Main Street with one-of-a-kind boutiques. Or we can take a drive out toward my family’s ranch, Arbol Verde,” he said. “Or we can go back to my place and I’ll have my housekeeper make us an afternoon snack and we can sit by the pool and talk.”
He thought he might be pushing it by inviting her back to his house but he wanted a chance to really be able to talk to her and clear up the mess he’d made. But he didn’t want to coerce her or rush her in any way.
“Hmm... I’m not sure,” she said.
“I’m not trying to pressure you but I have to go to Seattle in the morning to meet with one of my clients and I’ll be gone until Saturday, so if we don’t talk today... I’m not sure how long you will be here,” he said.
“Fair enough. I’ve rented a home here temporarily,” she said. “After seeing the town, it seems like a good place to invest. It’s growing fast and I don’t have any property in this part of Texas.”
“It is a good place to invest.” But something about her interest in buying here didn’t ring true. She didn’t have a reputation for hanging out in small Texas towns. She was more about big-city, red-carpet events. But he wasn’t going to question her. He was simply glad she was here. “So should we go to my place?” he asked.
“Uh, no,” she said. “I don’t even know you, Alec. I mean, the first time we met you lied about you who you were.”
“Fair enough,” he said. “I just thought someplace private might be better so we could talk and get to know each other. But I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable. I really screwed up, Scarlet, and if there’s anything I can do to make this better, I want to fix it.”
“Where is your house?” she asked. “A conversation someplace where we have our privacy might be good.”