She must be more overwrought than she’d realized. Maybe she was even suffering some type of post-traumatic syndrome. After all, it had been a nerve-wracking day. This behavior was so far out of character she could barely recognize it as her own.
Josie folded her arms protectively across her chest. “Let’s just forget about it,” she said. “If you’ll help me get to the lodge, I won’t mention anything to Mr. O’Dell.”
The man dropped his hands from her shoulders, but the heat from his touch remained. He gave a lopsided grin. “Too late.”
Was he deliberately keeping her off balance? “What do you mean?”
Folding one arm across his flat stomach and the other behind his back, he made a courtly bow. “Luke O’Dell at your service, ma’am.”
“But the man in the brochure photos—”
“Was my father. He died six months ago.”
“Oh!” Josie murmured. “I’m so sorry.”
“Me, too.” A flicker of pain crossed his face. He diverted his gaze to the toes of his cowboy boots, then shoved his hands into the pockets of his well-worn jeans. “Look, Josie, I know guests are told payment is nonrefundable without a week’s notice, but under the circumstances I’ll be happy to give you your money back.”
“Oh, I don’t want my money back. After all I’ve been through, I really need a week’s vacation.”
Luke gazed at the mud-stained creature before him and tried to suppress his dismay. The last thing he needed right now was a half-crazy, lovelorn woman moping around the ranch. She’d probably require extra attention, and the lodge staff was overextended as it was.
He shook his head dubiously. “It would probably be better if you come back some other time. All of our guests this week are couples, and I don’t want you to spend the week feeling like a third wheel.”
“But I won’t be participating in the group activities. I’m registered for the honeymoon package.”
She wasn’t half-crazy; she was full-blown loco! Luke stared at her incredulously. “You want to do the honeymoon package activities alone?”
“That’s right.”
“You want to go on a moonlight trail ride, a private cookout, an overnight canoe trip…by yourself?”
Her chin moved ever so slightly upward. When she spoke, her voice had a defensive edge. “That’s right.”
Oh, boy. What was she—some kind of emotional masochist? It sounded like she’d come here to wallow in her misery. If so, she’d no doubt make the whole ranch miserable in the bargain.
He rubbed his jaw, trying to think of a way to dissuade her, then glanced down and realized a huge puddle was forming beneath her on the barn floor. She was soaking wet and probably freezing; there was no point in trying to reason with her while she was in this condition. He had no choice but to put her up for the night. Hopefully she’d change her mind tomorrow.
Luke pulled his hands out of his pockets and straightened. “Look, I’ll tell you what—you can sleep on it and we’ll see how you feel about things in the morning. The refund offer will still stand. In the meantime, I’m sure you’re anxious to get out of your wet clothes.”
She nodded, and the motion made the veil flop in her face again. He reached out and pushed it back, arranging the whole thing behind her shoulders.
“I’ll take you to your cabin. My pickup is just outside.” He motioned toward the door.
She turned in the direction he indicated, but the bottom of her dress didn’t turn with her. She stooped to unwind it from around her ankles and stumbled.
Luke’s hand shot out and caught her around the waist. He felt as though he’d just grabbed ahold of a live electrical wire. Her skin felt warm and supple and sexy as sin beneath the thin, wet fabric, and touching it sent shock waves pulsing up his arm.
Attraction, strong and unexpected, surged through him. He hadn’t felt anything this good in a long, long time. He swallowed hard. “Do you need some help with that thing?” he asked.
She looked up and nodded, and his fingers tightened involuntarily around her waist. Touching her like this made him notice things about her that had previously escaped his attention. How could he have failed to notice before now that her eyes were the exact color of a field of bluebonnets, or that she had an adorable upturned nose dusted with a faint sprinkling of freckles?
Giving himself a mental shake, he cleared his throat and tried to clear his mind. “What can I do?”
“Could you please lift up my skirt?”
The request conjured up an image that made Luke break into a sweat. His eyes skimmed over her, overlooking the mud and noting instead how the wet silk clung to her curves, outlining her high, round breasts and narrow waist. Holy mackerel; how could he have missed all this before now? That veil had been hiding more than he’d realized.
He couldn’t repress a wolfish grin. “Well, now…there’s a request I don’t hear every day.”
He liked the way she blushed, and he loved the way her smile lit up her face like a switched-on lightbulb. It had the same effect on him, making him feel unaccountably turned on.
“This thing must weigh a ton,” she explained, plucking at her sodden skirt. “And it’s wound so tightly around my feet I can’t bend down without falling over.”
Reluctantly he relinquished his hold on her and untangled the dress. “It’s heavy, all right.” He draped the train over the arm she held out to him. “I’ve got full-grown heifers that weigh less.”
Her laugh was soft and warm. A dimple flashed in her right cheek, and he found himself searching for another witty remark so he could see it again.
He’d be better off searching for a way to get her off the ranch, he warned himself. The lodge manager had walked off the job last month, and he had his hands full trying to run both the ranch and the lodge at the same time. The last thing he needed right now was an added distraction.
Especially a distraction exhibiting as many red flags as Josie. For starters, she was sure to be an emotional mess. He’d vowed he’d never get involved with another woman recovering from a recently broken romance, and it didn’t get any more recent than this. Tonight was supposed to be her wedding night, for Pete’s sake.
Besides, he had no intention of falling for a city slicker again. Next time around he was determined to find a good, solid, practical woman who’d been born and bred in the country and knew exactly what ranch life was like.
He was out of his mind to even be noticing things like the way her top lip had two luscious peaks that exactly mimicked the curves on her chest, and…
He abruptly realized he was staring. With an effort he forced his eyes away. He needed to stop thinking about her. She was clearly off-limits.
But the fact did nothing to stop another rush of electricity from charging through him when he took her arm. “I’ll help you to the truck, since you seem to have a hard time getting around in that thing.”
Her heart-shaped face grew worried. “I’ll get mud all over your seat.”
It was a practical consideration, and he was grateful she’d thought of it. He’d been too preoccupied gawking at her to think of it himself. “I have a tarp in the back. Wait here and I’ll throw it over the upholstery, then I’ll come back and get you.”
“I’ll need my luggage. It’s in the back seat of my car.”
He hadn’t thought of that, either. It was as if his mind had taken a vacation south. South of his belt buckle, that was. “I’ll get you settled in the truck,