Page 2 of Calling His Bluff
With an oath, she recognized those boots.
Heart pounding, she froze. What was Jack Rawlins doing in Wild Rose Point, let alone a bridal shop?Herbridal shop? Still shocked and dismayed, she tried to convince herself that he’d stumbled into the wrong town—not to mention the wrong shop. Jack Rawlins wouldn’t be caught dead in a bridal shop. Maybe he hadn’t seen her and would realize his mistake and leave.
All hope of that evaporated as he began to whistle her namesake tune. She groaned audibly but still didn’t move. She’d hoped to never see the man again.
“Josephine Bodine,” Jack drawled. “I’d know that behind anywhere. You might as well come on out.”
With a curse, she squirmed back out through the wedding dresses to push to her feet. Not turning around, shepretended to dust herself off before slowly coming face-to-face with the cowboy again.
Her traitorous heart ricocheted around in her chest at the sight of the tall, broad-shouldered, slim-hipped, sinfully handsome cowboy grinning down at her. Tipping back his Stetson, his faded denim blue eyes scorched her bare skin like the fires of hell that were nothing compared to his hands on her.
“It’s been too long,” he said.
Not long enough, Josephine thought as her mind raced. Seriously, what was Jack doing here? “Lose your horse? You must be lost. I can’t imagine why a Montana cowboy would be out here on the West Coast.”
“Can’t you?” he asked, giving her a look that sent heat missiles racing to her center. Bullseye. Jack had always been an excellent shot when it came to finding her weak spot. The damp salty sea air had curled his dark hair at the nape of his neck beneath his Stetson. She thought about the last time she’d buried her fingers in that mop and unconsciously unfisted her hands at her side.
“You look great, Josie,” he said so softly it felt like a caress. His gaze ran roughshod over her, as his hands and lips and body had last done.
“If you’re waiting for me to say the same about you…” The rest of her words caught in her throat. He knew he was the hottest thing since air fryers. She unfocused on his assets and searched her brain for what his real intentions might be. Nothing good, she would bet on that.
* * * * * * * * * *
CHAPTER 2
Jack dragged his gaze from her, and she watched him look around the shop that sat steps from the Pacific Ocean on the main drag of Wild Rose Point, Oregon. Right now, it was off-season. The sky when she’d driven in had been gray and stormy, the streets short on tourists. But she could see how this picturesque coastal town would swarm with visitors during the peak season.
She wouldn’t be staying to see that. The best thing she could do was get out of town quickly before anyone she knew heard what she’d won in the Great Aunt Clara Poker Sweepstakes. She especially didn’t want two brothers from Idaho knowing about her “inheritance” or where they could find her. The Armstrong twins had turned out to be poor losers—especially when bested by a woman.
Jack showing up did not bode well either. Her secret must already be out. “Looking for a wedding dress?” she asked as he took in the place before all that blue heat shifted back to her. Sparks flew again, some of them catching fire on her skin and others igniting memories of being naked in this man’s arms. She swore the cowboy could see right down to her soul—not that it was the spot he liked the best.
Jack shook his head. “There’s only one woman I want, and we both know I can’t have her. At least not the way I want her.” His gaze, along with his words, almost had her shimmying out of her jeans right here on this hardwood floor.
Almost. “You’ve always wanted what you can’t have.” She folded her arms across her chest, only seeming to draw his attention to her breasts. She unfolded her arms, hating the heat that rushed to her cheeks as his grin told her he hadn’t forgotten her breasts in his hands, her hard nipples in his mouth.
“Seriously,” she snapped irritably. If he thought for a second that he could waltz back into her life and she’d fall for his line again, he was sadly mistaken. “What are you doing here?”
“I heard about your good fortune.” He chuckled. “I’d never heard of anyone winning a bridal boutique in a high-stakes poker game.” His grin broadened. “But then again, not everyone is Josephine Bodine. Looking for someone to take the place off your hands?”
“There’s that cowboy I know.” Josephine shook her head, hating that it was disappointment she felt. Her good fortune was his real intention for being here—not her. “Come to help me out—out of my money, that is.”
He shook his head, dropping his gaze to his hand-stitched Montana cowhide boots. He only wore them when he thought he was going to get lucky. “You’ve got me all wrong. Always have.” Raising his head, he locked eyes with her. “I missed you.”
“Thought you’d take better aim this time? Sorry, but your shooting hasn’t improved,” she joked, although her heart wasn’t in it.
“Actually, it has. I’ve settled down. I’m a private investigator, licensed and even have an office back in Bozeman,” he said.
She tried hard not to show her surprise. Jack settling down? He’d quit the poker circuit? The last time she’d seen him, she’d awakened in a hotel suite queen-sized bed alone, the cowboy long gone after taking his and her shares of poker winnings they’d agreed to split the night before.
Her look must have told him that she hadn’t forgotten their last time together. An image of the two of them tangled in the sheets, Jack’s body warm and strong, his hands…
“I know I shouldn’t have left like that,” he said as she shook off the image with a shiver and watched him reach into his pocket to pull out a roll of hundreds. “I doubled those winnings, wanting to surprise you, but when I got back to the hotel, you were gone.” He held the bankroll out to her.
She didn’t move to take it.
“I also owe you an apology. I should have left a note.” He glanced at his boots again before looking up at her again. “The truth? I panicked and rather than admit how I felt about you, I burned the bridge after me,” he said, holding her gaze. “That night…” He shook his head. “You have to admit it was…incredible. So much so, I never wanted it to end and that scared the hell out of me.”
“So, you fled like the coward and thief you are, taking my share of our winnings.”
