The Cowboy's All-Business Bride (Billionaire Cowboys Book 5) Read online

  “You’re so good at this.” Gently urging Sharkie off her lap, Leyla stood and slipped into the dress.

  “How long till he gets here?” London asked.

  “Like, forty minutes, I think.”

  London chewed her lip in concern. “That doesn’t give me much time, but okay. I can work with it.”

  “Do you think this is weird?” Leyla’s fingers lingered on the dress’s top button.

  “No. I told you. It’s the perfect outfit.”

  “Not that. This whole thing with Kane. Me getting the job so fast… him asking me out.”

  Sighing, London came to stand right in front of Leyla. Her hands came to Leyla’s shoulders, and she looked her straight in the eye.

  “It feels weird because you’ve gotten used to things being hard,” London said.

  The words were a sucker punch to the gut, but they also rang true.

  “Yeah,” Leyla murmured. “I guess that makes sense.”

  “You just came out of a rough period.” London’s eyes softened. “Actually, you’re still in it. What really makes sense is that all of the world will seem a little off. Now, here. Have a seat and let me get to it.”

  London guided her over to the plush seat in front of the powder table. It was vintage, Leyla’s mom having picked it up for her several birthdays back. Photos, both recent and from childhood, lined the mirror.

  A picture of Leyla and her mom at high school graduation caught her eye. That bittersweet pang that Leyla was coming to learn to live with increased.

  “What do you think my mom would think of Kane?”

  “Hm.” London fluffed Leyla’s hair from behind. “I haven’t met him yet, so I can’t say.”

  “Yeah, but I mean with the whole situation. His hiring me and then asking me out. Him being this oil mogul.”

  “You’re thinking an awful lot. Are you nervous?” London reached around to plug in the hair curler.

  “How could I not be?”

  “Relax. He’s just a regular guy.”

  Leyla inhaled till her chest hurt. “He’s not. Even if he wasn’t a CEO, there would be nothing regular about Kane Clayton.”

  “Ooh.” London’s eyes sparkled. “Now, I can’t say what your mom would think of him, but I can tell you that I like him already. What’s special about him? His abs? His glutes? Or, no. His pecs. That’s it, right?”

  Leyla knew her friend was kidding. Mostly.

  “He’s unbelievably hot, yeah, but it’s more than that. It’s the whole air about him. He’s a man who knows what he wants and goes after it. That’s admirable.”

  “Then you two should be a good match.” London wrapped the first string of hair around the hot iron. “Because you also know exactly what you like, and you’re the most confident person I know.”

  “Most of that confidence is forced. You know that.”

  London shrugged and moved on to the next piece of hair. “It doesn’t matter. If people buy it, then it’s real.”

  Over the next half hour, London worked her magic like she always did and turned Leyla into the best version of herself. By the time she was done, Leyla had glowing skin, smoky eyes, and wavy, beachy hair that a mermaid would be jealous of.

  That confidence meter was about to break.

  “You like it?” London asked, a big smile on her face.

  “I love it.” Leyla gave her a tight squeeze. “Thank you so much.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “Oh my gosh. He’ll be here any minute.”

  “Maybe I should wait and meet him. You know, make sure he’s a respectable guy, give him the talk about getting you home at a reasonable hour…” London twirled her wrist like there was more.

  “No way. I really appreciate you helping me get ready, but it would be weird if my friend is lurking around here.”

  London sighed dramatically. “Oh, okay.” She looked down at Sharkie. “Guess it’s you, me, and Chinese takeout tonight, buddy. You ready to eat?”

  Sharkie whined and raised a paw, showing he was a good boy who was ready for his dinner.

  London scooped him up. “Seriously, though. Text me when you get home. If you don’t, I’m calling the cops.”

  “Before you walk across the hall to see if I’m here?”

  London walked with her to the front of the apartment.

  “Yes. I can be that lazy.” At the door, she gave Leyla a side hug. “Have fun tonight.”

  “Thanks for everything!”

  As soon as the door closed behind London, the nerves kicked in. Rubbing her palms back and forth, Leyla paced the living room.

  What if she’d planned all wrong and it turned out she was inappropriately dressed? Say Kane wanted to take her somewhere adventurous, like rock climbing? She couldn’t do that in a dress and heels.

  “Rock climbing?” Leyla shook her head. She was doing that thing where she worried to the point of insanity.

  A buzz from below made her gasp. Kane!

  Heart thudding, she hit the button to allow him access to the building. While waiting for him to ride the elevator up, she checked her makeup in the mirror above her mom’s photo.

  Everything still looked great.

  “Well, Mom.” She took a deep breath. “Look at me. Living life just like you wanted me to. I only wish you were here to see it.”

  A knock came on the door. Her heart somehow beating even faster, Leyla opened it up and found Kane standing there in a navy-blue suit. He didn’t have a tie on, but the outfit was perfectly cut to his tall, toned body, and he gave off the impression of being dressed for a sophisticated night.

  Then again, he could probably make a potato sack look good.

  “Hi,” Leyla said and exhaled.

  His eyes lit up, a smile quickly following. “Good evening. You look beautiful.”

  “Thank you. You do, too.” She bit her lip in pleasure, then realized what she’d said. “Handsome. I mean handsome.”

  He laughed. “I like beautiful. It’s an adjective I don’t get much. Makes me feel special.”

  He was special. Not that Leyla would tell him that right then and there.

  “Are you ready to go?” he asked.

  “Yes. Thanks.” As she grabbed her purse, the door across the hall opened up.

  “Oh!” London leaned against her door jamb, doing an awful job at pretending to be surprised. “Sorry. I didn’t realize anyone was out here. I was just going downstairs to check my mail.”

  Leyla pressed her lips together to stop herself from laughing. She’d told London not to be at her apartment when Kane got there, and leave it to her to find a way around the request.

  “What’s up, Leyla? You going somewhere?”

  Again. Worst acting ever. She sounded like she was a robot. Leyla bit hard into her cheek, but a chortle still escaped.

  “Kane, this is my friend London.”

  “Nice to meet you.” London offered her hand, which Kane promptly shook.

  “The same.”

  “And yes,” Leyla said. “We’re heading out.” Stepping into the hall, she locked the front door.

  “Cool. Have fun.”

  “Have a good night, London,” Kane said, and led the way down the hall, which gave London a chance to look at Leyla and mouth oh my God, so hot.

  At the elevator, he pressed the button then gestured for Leyla to enter first.

  “Thank you,” she murmured, stepping inside.

  The second the doors closed behind them, Kane spoke. “She definitely knew we were out there, right?”

  Heat crept up Leyla’s face. “Yeah,” she admitted.

  “Hm.” He didn’t seem put off by the news. On the contrary, he grinned.

  “What?”

  “You talked me up to your friend.”

  “I…” Her jaw dropped, and she desperately tried to figure out how to answer that. Meanwhile, heat that could melt an ice cap crept into her face.

  “It’s okay.” His face softened. “It’s a compliment. I would have talked
about you with my friends, too, if I’d seen them today.”

  Leyla finally got her mouth closed. “For the record, she wanted to be at my place when you got there, and I said no way. That would be creepy.”

  “Lucky for her, she lives a few steps away from you.” He laughed.

  “Yeah. She usually finds a way to get what she wants.” Shaking her head, Leyla joined in on the laughter.

  By the time the elevator reached the ground floor, all the anxiety she’d felt earlier had disappeared. Kane was anything but a stick-in-the-mud. No matter what happened that night, it was sure to be a good one.

  Her street wasn’t in the most lavish part of town, but it also wasn’t in the best. The white sports car with a canvas top and red seats stuck out like a sore thumb. Leyla wasn’t surprised at all when Kane led her to it and opened the passenger side door.

  “So, where are we going?” Leyla asked as he settled behind the wheel.

  His shoulder was only inches from hers, and the closed space intensified the spicy, woodsy smell coming off of him.

  “Do you like Italian?”

  “Love it.”

  “Great.” He gracefully maneuvered the car into traffic. “Because I made reservations at an Italian restaurant.”

  “What if I had told you I’m gluten intolerant?”

  He shrugged. “Then I’d take you somewhere else.”

  She started to mention it might be hard to get in “somewhere else” without reservations, but then remembered who she was talking to. Not only was Kane a CEO, being exactly that also made him something of a celebrity.

  When she’d done a little poking around earlier, the internet search had brought up tons of photos of him rubbing elbows at charity events and galas. People knew who he was. He’d made quite a mark with the Austin elite.

  “How was your day?” Kane asked as he drove.

  “Really good. I had a shift at the hospital.”

  “You work in medicine, too?” His face lit up in surprise.

  “Oh. No.” She laughed at her blunder. “Sorry. I do acting work there. It’s called standardized patient work. It’s where they bring in actors to pretend to be patients for med students.”

  “Wow. I didn’t know that was a thing.”

  “It’s an interview situation. Luckily, there are no real exams involved.”

  “I find going to the doctor bad enough.”

  “Exactly,” she smiled. “What about you? How was your day?”

  “Good. I checked in on the offices in California then made plans to visit a Texas drill site in a few days. Oh, and then got fitted for a suit for this event in New York.”

  “What event?”

  “The Met Gala,” he said, like it was absolutely no big deal at all.

  Leyla barely managed to hide her surprised gasp.

  For a few minutes there, she’d actually forgotten they came from such different worlds.

  “That sounds like fun,” she said, cool as a cucumber.

  The Met Gala was a big deal, expensive and full of celebrities, but she didn’t want to turn into some gawking fan.

  “I don’t know that I’ll have time to go, really. We’ll see.” He pointed at something up ahead. “Ah. Here’s our destination.”

  Once more, she had to hide her shock. The restaurant they were pulling up to was easily the fanciest, most-written-about Italian spot in Austin. With a five-star rating, Leyla had read about it but only ever dreamed about eating there.

  Thank goodness she’d gone with a dress and heels. This kind of place probably didn’t allow guests in jeans.

  After Kane handed the car keys over to the valet and a staff member opened the restaurant’s front door for them, a smiling hostess greeted them right away.

  “Mr. Clayton.” She stepped out from behind her hostess stand. “How wonderful to see you. Your table is ready.”

  “You’re a regular here?” Leyla asked as they followed the hostess through the restaurant.

  “I’ve been here twice, I think.”

  Well, he’d certainly made an impression.

  “Have you ever been here?”

  At first, she thought he was making a tasteless joke, but his earnest expression said otherwise.

  It was hard not to laugh. Had he seen her tiny apartment? Read her resume?

  Heck no, she’d never eaten at a place where salads cost almost as much as her electric bill.

  “No,” Leyla managed. “But I’ve heard it’s good.”

  “More than good. Amazing.”

  The small table the hostess left them at was candlelit and cozy, removed from all the other tables by at least a couple yards. CEOs, it seemed, got the special treatment there.

  “Do you like wine?” Kane asked as they settled in.

  “Absolutely.”

  “What kind?”

  “In my mind,” Leyla said, “there’s nothing but merlot.”

  “Good choice.”

  A sommelier approached the table, and Kane didn’t bother looking at the menu before ordering “a bottle of the best merlot.”

  Leyla heard her phone vibrate in her purse. No doubt, London was already asking for details on the evening. Ignoring it, along with the panic a table setting with five pieces of cutlery was causing her, she took a careful sip of water.

  “Thank you for asking me out tonight. I’m already having a good time.”

  Kane scooted his seat closer to the table. “We’ve hardly gotten started.”

  “Trust me. This is much more exciting than what I do most nights.”

  “And what do you do most nights?” His gaze, fixated on her face, made her tingly all over.

  It took a few seconds to formulate an answer.

  “Mostly, hang out at home with London and her dog. Lately, do some pre-production work on a film I want to make.”

  “No kidding. A short?”

  “No.” She sat a little taller. “It’s a feature.”

  “That’s amazing. When are you filming?”

  “That’s, um, that’s yet to be determined.”

  She fiddled with her napkin. Maybe talking about her film wasn’t the best idea. She’d been feeling really good until she’d brought it up.

  “What’s it called?”

  “I don’t have a title for it, yet.” She shrugged. “We’ll see.”

  Luckily, the sommelier returned with their wine, which saved her from having to talk more about the movie.

  As the two of them watched, the man who had created a whole career out of knowing and serving wine showed them the label, popped the cork, and poured Leyla a taste. With Kane’s gaze on her, she lifted the wine glass to her lips and took a slow, calculated taste.

  A long moment passed as the cocoa and fruity notes settled on her tongue then dissolved into a clean finish.

  “We can get a different bottle,” Kane said.

  The sommelier nodded earnestly. “There is a wonderful cabernet that our head sommelier brought in only today. No one else has had it yet, save the chef, and he claims it’s the best cabernet he’s tasted in years.”

  It took all of Leyla’s strength to hold back laughter. Both men stared at her, waiting for her word. Like she was a princess or something.

  “This bottle is good,” she said.

  It was an understatement. The wine was the best she’d ever had.

  With a satisfied nod, the sommelier filled both their glasses, set the bottle on the table, bowed, and left. Not ten seconds later, a man in a black tux appeared and introduced himself as their waiter.

  “All I know,” Leyla said, “is that I want whatever your best pasta dish is.”

  Screw eating skinny food because she was on a date. She’d never bought into that nonsense.

  Kane’s deep laugh warmed her down to her toes. “That sounds like a good idea.”

  “And an appetizer?” the waiter asked. “Perhaps the panko-crusted eggplant topped with pickled beets and Robiola? La Quercia Nduja?”

  Leyla ha
d no idea what that last one was, but she made a noise of acknowledgment like she’d had it just the other day.

  “Both, please,” Kane answered.

  “Wonderful, Mr. Clayton.” Bowing just as the sommelier had, the waiter went to put in the order.

  “It seems I picked the right restaurant, after all,” Kane said.

  “I have to be honest; I’m not really picky. I could find something to eat anywhere we went.”

  “Still,” he mused. “I wanted to impress you, but it seems that’s not easily done.”

  Leyla threw her head back with laughter. She thought about telling him that she was actually nervous and feeling very much like a fish out of water, but it was kind of fun letting him think nothing fazed her.

  “If you want to keep trying,” she settled on saying, “I wouldn’t mind at all.”

  “Challenge accepted.” Kane raised his wine glass.

  “I look forward to seeing what you come up with.” She clinked her glass against his in a toast.

  Chapter 6

  Kane

  From over the top of his wine glass, Kane surveyed the striking woman seated across from him. They hadn’t even received their appetizers yet, and already, she’d captivated him.

  Though he really did enjoy Italian food, the full truth was that he’d brought her to Flavio’s in order to see how she acted when put into an opulent situation.

  He wasn’t sure what to make of her not batting an eye at the fine-dining setting. From all the information he’d gleaned of her, she hadn’t grown up in anything even remotely resembling an upper-class situation.

  Yet, she wore the atmosphere like she’d been born for it. Like royalty.

  Had she been living a double life that even Kane’s investigator hadn’t been unable to unearth? One where she snuck away to Sharrain and spent nights and days as a member of the king’s family before returning back to Texas and becoming a regular person once more?

  It seemed rather extreme, but he was no expert on the matter.

  Hopefully, any questions he had would soon be answered. The real complication, though, was the matter of money.

  If she was used to such a fine lifestyle, how would an offer of a million dollars look? Would she sniff at the check he’d decided to write her in exchange for marriage?