Page 11 of Mateo & Nicole
Those shivers turned into tumultuous waves of chills as they coursed beneath her skin. His voice was so quiet, so sure that she could do nothing but agree with him. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “You’re right. I should have told you.”
He nodded, his smile returning to its usual place. “Good. Now that we have that covered, I want to talk to him. Based on the way you were behaving, I wouldn’t be surprised if he thinks I’m the big bad wolf at this point.” He motioned toward the door. “Ladies first.”
Her lashes fluttered as her heart tripped over itself. This was the Mateo she’d gotten to know back when they were in high school. This was the man who could make any number of girls fall all over themselves just to catch his eye. He treated everyone like they were the most important person in the world, so the fact that he was talking to her like this didn’t mean anything.
Not a single thing.
She nodded, reveling in the way her taut, aching muscles had finally relaxed.
Mateo hadn’t fired her. He totally could have—or rather not gone through with the hiring process. She didn’t have the money to fight him on it in court, and she would have been left to find another option, even though she’d been searching for weeks before she’d finally come here.
Nikki focused on her breathing as they left the house and headed to the barn. Daniel and Paxton exited the structure a moment before they reached it, and he came barreling toward her.
His arms wrapped tightly around her legs, and he peered up at her with concern. “Is everything okay?”
She feathered her fingers through his hair and nodded. “Everything is fine. Mr. Palmer here has just found us a different place to stay.”
Paxton pulled back and gazed up at the other tall man in their presence. His head craned upward, and he looked as though he expected Mateo to take a big bite out of him if he got too close.
Mateo chuckled and dropped down to be at eye level with the boy. He held out his hand. “Did you know that I’m trying to build a bigger ranch out here? That’s why I needed your mother. There are going to be lots of mouths to feed, and from what I hear, she’s the best cook.”
Paxton didn’t miss a beat. He nodded firmly and folded his arms. “She’s the best cook ever. She makes the yummiest mashed potatoes.”
Mateo cut a look in Nikki’s direction. “Is that so?”
She flushed and let out a soft laugh as she waited for Paxton’s response.
“Yeah.”
Mateo chuckled. “Well, then I’m guessing we’re going to have to have a lot of potatoes on the menu. What do you think?”
Paxton nodded resolutely.
“You know what else?” Mateo said, turning serious. “I’m going to need lots of help around here this summer. Alotof help. I might even need to hire a few more cowboys.” He seemed to let those words sink in, and then he leaned forward almost conspiratorially. “Do you think you could help me out with that? Can you be a cowboy?”
Paxton frowned and dropped his hands to his sides. “I don’t have a hat. Or boots.”
Mateo tossed back his head with a laugh. “I’m sure I could fix that. Here.” He pulled his hat from his head and placed it on Paxton’s head. It was too large, but Paxton practically glowed from beneath it.
Nikki watched on with adoration, which quickly turned to horror as she realized just what was happening in her heart.
The man was quickly stealing every spare part of it.
This was bad.
Really, really bad.
When Mateo looked over to her, noticing the strained expression that was likely written all over her face, he shrugged. “You can wear that one. I have plenty more at the house.”
If only that was the problem she was dealing with.
6
Mateo
It was entirely possible that Mateo had bitten off more than he could chew. As more men showed up to take their place in the wranglers’ cabin, he started to question if he’d hired too many.
His accountant had assured him that the business model he’d set up would allow him to hire the number of men he had before him, but now, he wasn’t so sure.
