A Miracle for the Confident Cowboy (Love in Sweet Bloom)

Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Duke couldn’t deny the triumph he felt when he saw her expression falter. He’d hit a nerve. Well, it served her right. This Sophie woman had been ill-mannered, and he wasn’t about to let her get away with it.

He might have relocated to Texas, but he’d been raised right.

Watching her process what he’d said brought him more pleasure than it should have and the triumph was quickly taken out by a sliver of guilt. No longer did he want to lurch to his feet and leave. Even if he wanted to, he figured he wouldn’t be able to. He’d caught sight of Pippa out of the corner of his eye. She was watching their date take place and the last thing he needed right now was for her to report to Rob Clifford that he’d slighted the man’s sister.

He tightened his hands into fists beneath the table as they stared each other down. This whole blind date thing had been a mistake. He should have never agreed to such a thing—and especially not at Pippa’s restaurant.

A smile he didn’t feel like wearing had been slapped to his face but his eyes were likely telling another story.

She huffed. “I bet you think you’re so smart.”

“Actually…” His cheek twitched. “I don’t have to be smart as long as I’m an honest man.”

She made a face at him. Geez, this woman was a handful. He pitied the man who would end up falling in love with her. “Okay, Duke…” she drawled. “That’s an interesting name. Were you named after a family member?”

He couldn’t tell what was going on. The way she said his name set off a reaction in his gut, but that wasn’t the part that put him on his guard. It was like she was trying to catch him on something. His brows lowered, creasing as they pulled together. “It’s not my given name.”

Something flickered across her face. Disappointment? That was an odd reaction.

“My name is Charles. Everyone at the ranch calls me Duke.”

Sophie folded her arms and looked away. “Fine.”

He cleared his throat. “Fine?” He chuckled despite himself. “ Fine ,” he said with a sigh. He rubbed the back of his neck then leaned forward, clasping his hands together on the table. “Look, it’s very clear you don’t want to be here and neither do I.”

Her gaze found his, her interest piqued.

“But Pippa is working tonight and I get the feeling that if we cut this short we’re both going to regret it.”

By the look on her face, he could tell he’d hit the nail on the head. “We might as well finish this date and we don’t have to see each other again.”

She huffed. “Fine,” she said again but didn’t offer any topics of conversation.

“Tell me about yourself. What do you do for work?”

Interest flickered in her gaze, her dark eyes sparkled. “I’m a writer.”

His brows lifted. “Oh?”

A soft smile touched her lips. “Yeah.” With that smile, it was like a shell had fallen away from her, showing just how beautiful she was. When she wasn’t covered in spikey armor, she was actually gorgeous.

His stomach tightened and he leaned forward. “What do you write? Maybe I’ve read some of it.”

She scooted closer to him, her excitement growing. “I have a small niche, so I don’t think so. It didn’t start out as much, but it’s growing at an astronomical rate.”

He was drawn like a moth to the flame as she continued talking about her passion. It was so obvious she truly was in love with what she did.

“I write about restaurants, food, recipes, and the behind the scenes of it all.”

Duke straightened. “You mean like a food critic?”

She nodded. “Sorta. That’s definitely a part of it. But it’s so much more. My readers really like to know how the sausage is made, if you know what I mean.” She let out a laugh. It was the most delicious sound he’d heard in a long time—wrapping around him like a wool blanket on a cold winter night.

“That’s intriguing. Who do you write for? I’d love to see what you’ve got going on.”

Sophie was quick. She pulled out her phone, tapped on it, then pushed it across the table, beaming with pride. “That’s my blog.”

He stared at the screen, as he lifted the phone to get a better look. One brow arched, he glanced at her again. “You’re a blogger .” The disdain dripped from his voice as if against his will.

Her expression flattened and her eyes narrowed. “Yeah, so?”

Duke shrugged, swiping through the webpage she’d brought up for him. “It’s just… well… it’s not really a publication .” He could have sworn he heard her gasp, but then perhaps he’d imagined it.

Sophie snatched the phone from his grasp. “It’s just as real as any other publication. I have thousands of readers who interact on my page. I’ve got recipes that have gone viral?—”

“That’s all well and good,” he murmured, “but it’s not a real job.”

Her mouth fell open, gaping wide. If he were in a horror movie, something would have crawled out of it. His eyes lingered there, watching it morph into a thin line of disapproval. Her eyes narrowed. “And what about you?” she sneered. “What exactly do you do at the ranch?”

Not missing a beat, he folded his arms and gave her a smug look. “I’m the head farrier.” Based on her blank expression, he could tell she didn’t know what that meant. “It means I’m the specialist when it comes to caring for the horses’ lower legs and hooves.”

She snorted. “What? You weren’t good enough to take care of the whole animal?”

He bristled at the insinuation. “I know how to take care of the animals from top to bottom, I assure you. I take every opportunity to work with them—exercise them, feed them, groom them—it’s what I love most about my job.”

This time she arched a brow. “So you’re stuck in a job you don’t love.”

“What?” he stuttered, “That’s not what I?—”

“It’s fine. You’re putting food on the table,” she murmured flippantly. “Sometimes people such as yourself can’t make enough doing what they love.” The way she said it had so many implications. Was she actually suggesting that her job was a better fit?

He scowled at her, unsure about where to go from here.

Sophie wagged her finger at his face. “You better be careful. Your sore loser attitude is showing.”

Grinding his teeth, he did his best to school his expression. She was right. If Pippa saw him scowling at Sophie, he wouldn’t hear the end of it.

His date on the other hand smiled freely. “You deserve it, you know.”

“And why is that, exactly?” he ground out. She didn’t answer right away because at that moment the waitress delivered their food. He gave the woman a courteous smile and a nod. The second they were alone, Sophie answered his question.

“You deserve to be put in your place for calling me stupid.”

“I never said—” Duke started with exasperation.

“You might as well have.”

He snapped his mouth shut and stared at her in disbelief. He most certainly didn’t call her stupid and he didn’t say that blogging was stupid, either. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he let out a long, slow breath. “All I said was that your job isn’t…” He trailed off. There was no use getting buried deeper into the pit he’d just dug for himself. “Look, we’ve gotten into dangerous territory again. How about we change the subject.”

“Fine by me.” She blew out a breath of her own. “Do you like animals?”

A strained smile returned to his face. That was a topic he could get behind even if it seemed pretty obvious. “Of course I do.”

She sighed. “I mean, other than horses.”

He shifted in his seat and leaned forward. “I know,” he murmured.

Her sardonic expression changed and she considered him thoughtfully. “Okay, cats… or dogs?”

Duke rubbed his hands together. This was going to be easy. Girls were almost always cat people and he was one of the few men who agreed with that sentiment. “Cats.”

Just like that, her expression returned to what it had been before. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

He blinked once, then twice. “No. I’m a cat person. I have one and he’s the best little guy ever.”

“Cats are narcissistic little deviants. Sometimes I wonder if they aren’t demons incarnate.”

Well, there went that option for connection. There was no chance that this date could be salvaged. He might as well let it go down like the sinking ship it was. “And I suppose you think dogs are so special?”

“Obviously. They’re loyal, social and playful?—”

“ And they’re messy and they can be dumber than?—”

“Well, cats can’t be trained. They cough up furballs and… and they scratch the carpet for the fun of it.”

He scoffed at her statement. “I’m pretty sure a dog has more bad habits than you can shake a stick at. Dogs are dumb. They aren’t resourceful. A cat would figure out how to take care of itself if got locked out of the house. For the record, not all cats scratch the carpet.”

Her face was flushed now, though he couldn’t tell if it was completely from anger. He might have been mistaken, but she almost looked like she was enjoying their banter now. “I see it now,” she muttered. “The guy from England likes cats because misery loves company. I bet you just like the fact that you don’t have to do anything except empty a litterbox. What kind of commitment is that?”

“So, you acknowledge that I’m a Brit now?” he asked, amused.

“Sure. And you’re afraid of commitment. Which is why I’m more than certain that this isn’t going to work out.”

“ This ?” he pushed.

She pointed a finger between the two of them. “You and me. I’m sure you’re usually a big hit with the ladies. That accent of yours makes them fall all over themselves for you, no doubt. But that’s not me. I’d rather stick a thousand needles in my eye than ever have to spend another second with you.”

He had no response. He was too stunned to think of anything to say.

She placed her napkin on the table and stood up. “I can’t say it was a pleasure,” she murmured. With that retort, she stomped out of the restaurant.

Duke couldn’t believe what had happened. He watched her storm past the window on the sidewalk outside. Then she got in her car and drove away.

“So? How did it go?”

He jumped, finding Pippa scooting into the spot where Sophie had been. He frowned at her. “As grateful as I am that you thought about me, I’m going to have to say that you couldn’t have been more wrong in thinking we might have anything at all in common.”

She didn’t seem disappointed by his statement. Instead, she laughed and waved a dismissive hand through the air. “Oh, she’ll grow on you.”

“I certainly hope not,” he muttered under his breath.

Pippa must have heard based on the single raised brow. “You need to give her a chance. She’s new in town. She’s trying to find her place. When things settle down, you’ll see. She’s a real sweetheart.”

He glanced out the window where Sophie had once been. The funny thing was that he almost wanted to believe Pippa. Sophie was his type in several ways—in all of the ways except the one that mattered. “She hates me.”

Pippa dragged her eyes to the window then brought them back. She shrugged. “That’s a little strong, don’t you think?

Duke chuckled. “Sorry, Pippa. You might be right about a lot of things, but this time you got things wrong. Thanks for the comped meal. It was delicious as usual.” He got to his feet then grabbed his hat. He touched the brim and headed toward the door. In another lifetime, he might have gone after Sophie and tried to find something they could connect on.

He liked a girl who could hold her own—one with spunk. Sophie was a ten and then some in that category. She simply didn’t have any interest in him.