Free Luck Be A Lady (Destiny Bay Romances-The Ranchers Book 5) by Helen Conrad

another.” He held up his glass. “Drink your champagne.”
    “I hate champagne,” she said, her fingers curling around the stem of the glass.
    “So do I,” he admitted conspiratorially. “But it does look so good in these glasses, doesn’t it? Milk just wouldn’t be the same.” He leaned a little closer. “That’s why I had Pierre substitute ginger ale. Drink up. It won’t hurt you.”
    She looked at him in surprise and he smiled, holding his glass high. “Here’s to real life,” he toasted.
    She picked up her glass and tapped it with his. “Real life,” she agreed softly, taking a sip. He was right. Ginger ale. Then her eyes met his, and it hap pened again, the twisting, burning sensation in the pit of her stomach. She didn’t retreat from it this time. Maybe if she met it head on, if she didn’t try to run away...
    A waiter appeared, claiming Cody’s attention, and she went on examining him, letting the warmth wash over her. The dark, straight brows, the high cheek bones, the bronze skin were set off marvelously by the immaculate white shirt and the splendidly cut suit he wore. His hands were strong with long, tapered fin gers. The turquoise ring glittered on his right hand and a slim gold watch adorned his wrist. Everything about him was smooth, silky, sophisticated, yet there was the definite impression of steel beneath the velvet. He was a man a woman could be proud to be seen with.
    He was giving last-minute instructions to the waiter. Dinner had already been planned ahead, but she paid no attention to the details. She was thinking of the kiss they’d shared that very afternoon, of the way he’d pulled her up against him. His body had been hard. She could remember just what it felt like. Her breath caught in her throat as a quiver ran through her.
    “Potage aux concombres,” he announced as the waiter brought in the soup.
    “Lovely,” she murmured, watching him ladle the creamy liquid and thinly sliced cucumbers into her exquisite china bowl. An elegantly dressed couple stopped to say hello to Cody, throwing Kelly a ques tioning glance, but they didn’t linger long enough to be introduced. The waiter retreated and Kelly turned to Cody. “I feel so out of place here,” she said.
    “You look adorable.” His grin didn’t leave room for contradiction. “All-American. Apple-cheeked. And with that cute little cap on...”
    “Oh!” She’d forgotten all about the blue delivery cap. Snatching it off her head, she hid it quickly beneath the napkin on her lap. “Why didn’t you tell me I still had that awful thing on?” No wonder she’d been getting so many strange looks!
    Amusement shone in his eyes. “As I was going to say, with that cap on you look even more wholesome. Like the softball mom you are.”
    Kelly made a face and reached for her soup spoon. “From what I’ve seen, wholesome is hardly your style,” she noted wrly. “And softball is hardly your game.”
    “That shows how little you know about me,” Cody retorted. The amusement evaporated. “I was a kid once, you know. Like everyone else. And I’ll have you know I was the best pitcher and base runner on my Little League team.”
    She noted the serious turn he was taking. She also noticed that he beamed right in on the baseball, but didn’t refute the crack about wholesomeness not being his style. Of course, it would hardly be, from the evi dence she’d come across all afternoon long.
    “I can’t imagine you stealing home,” she murmured.
    His eyebrows rose mockingly. “Really? From the things you’ve been saying, I thought you could imag ine me stealing just about anything.”
    She started to protest, but the words died in her throat. It was true. She’d been acting as though he had the plague, or at least a bad case of kleptomania. Maybe it was time for her to lighten up a bit.
    Pierre brought the salad, serving each plate with pomp and ceremony that made her feel like a prin cess. Turning just a little she met