Free To Love a Wilde by Kimberly Kaye Terry

with them. “I can’t let the two of you have all the fun without me!” When she tried to get up, both women turned toward her, simultaneously issuing the order for her to “sit!”
    With a resigned look Lilly sat back down, but before she turned away, Yasmine saw the pleased look cross her face and felt an answering happiness bubble up inside her. It had been a long time since she’d felt any type of female camaraderie. Too long.
    In fact, the only times in her life when she had had been when she was with her aunt, the two of them usually in the kitchen, discussing everything from life to arguing about which was the best way to cook a roast. Maybe, despite the oddness and all-around craziness that her life had suddenly become, her visit might be the best thing that had happened to her in a long time.
    She hoped it would be. It was time to lay to rest old ghosts and decide which direction to take in her career as well as her private life.

Chapter 9
    “H ave you given it any more thought?”
    “What about? Catering the wedding? Yes, I told you I would love to!”
    “No. I mean, yes, about the wedding, but also about you opening a business. I was talking about it with Nate. He agreed it would be a fantastic idea. There isn’t anyone nearby who is doing anything like that, you’d have an open field, could provide something that is sorely lacking.”
    Holt paused, stopping dead in his tracks as he had been headed toward the kitchen.
    He frowned. He hadn’t known Yasmine had been thinking of starting a catering business. But why that should surprise him he had no idea. She was definitely a woman of purpose.
    It had been nearly a week since his encounter with Yasmine in the horse stable. A week of her avoiding him. A week of remembering their explosive kiss in the barn. A week of thinking of her, nonstop.
    With both of them living in the house, it had made it difficult for her to avoid him completely, but she’d managed to not be in the same room with him alone at any given time.
    Not that he’d made it easy for her. He felt like a damn fool with the amount of times he’d made excuses to head back to the house, particularly with it being one of their busiest seasons, moving herd and getting ready for calving season as well as marketing the cattle.
    After he’d gotten rid of Sheila after her ill-timed interruption of his and Yasmine’s scalding encounter, Holt had rushed inside the house in search of her, only to find she was no longer at her own welcome-home party.
    Frustrated, he’d found one of his brothers and asked if he knew where Yasmine had gone, trying to be as casual as possible. It was then that Lilly had walked up behind him and informed him in a voice gone ice-cold that Yasmine had decided to call it a night. Although she’d been succinct, not giving more details besides the bare essential, her stony expression spoke volumes. She might not have known what happened, but he’d bet his prize steer on the fact that she thought he had something to do with it.
    Tempted to badger Lilly for more info, Holt had glanced toward his brother Nate, who stood near hisbride-to-be, Althea, and caught the subtle shake of his head, telling him to leave it alone.
    No one could ever accuse Holt of being the type to scare easily, but when it came to Miss Lilly … well, a man knew when to hold his cards and when to fold them and walk away. For now, he walked away.
    He’d spent the rest of the evening evading his brothers, after realizing they suspected something was up, not wanting to deal with their questions. He’d had more than his fill trying to figure out what in hell he had to do to fix the mess he’d created, without dealing with his nosy brothers, as well.
    The next morning he’d woken with a pounding headache … with his hand fisting his shaft, rock hard, from a night spent having the type of wet dreams that would make a prepubescent boy blush.
    And the rest of the week hadn’t been any different.
    Night