Free Breakfast with a Cowboy by Vanessa Devereaux Page B

didn’t fit all the way around the window in the door.
Ma’am should have been miss because she couldn’t be
more than thirty. Prettiest thing he’d ever seen.
    “I’m fine. Sorry if I disturbed you,” she called to
him.
    He saw her glance his way and quickly stepped away
just in case she thought he was some type of peeping tom who went on train
journeys to spy on women traveling alone.
    “Didn’t disturb me, miss. I just wanted to make sure
everything was okay.”
    “Yes, really it’s okay and I’m fine.”
    It hadn’t sounded like it and her voice was weak,
probably from crying. However, he would take her word for it and not push the
issue more.
    “Have a good journey, miss.”
    He touched his head, thinking his cowboy hat was
there to give her a polite goodbye, but realized he wasn’t wearing it.
    Damn, he missed that thing. He walked back to his
compartment and sat down.
    He pulled out his book and opened it, getting comfy
in the chair so he could read. But he just looked at the words without
comprehending them. The place was silent, no sobbing to interrupt his peace,
but now knowing he had a pretty woman just a few feet away disturbed him big
time.

Chapter
Two
     
    Josie knew she couldn’t stay in her compartment for
the whole trip. She needed to stretch her legs, plus she was getting hungry.
She pulled out the mirror from her purse and checked her appearance. Her eyes
were still red and puffy from her sudden outburst a little less than an hour
ago.
    She hadn’t realized her sobbing was so loud until
the man had knocked on her door. His voice had been deep and sexy. She’d also
gotten a peek at him through the gap in the curtains. Gorgeous is how she’d
describe him with his strong jawline and wavy dark hair. A cute guy had coming
calling and she’d sat there with a red and blotchy face.
    One
lost opportunity. She smiled thinking how she’d heard Jennifer’s
voice in her head just then, and not her own.
    “Okay, I know, I know, I promised.”
    Damn, she hoped no one overheard her talking to
herself.
    She dabbed some blusher on her cheeks, put some
drops in her eyes, and blinked a few times. Now she looked at least half
respectable so she could to head to the restaurant for a quick bite.
    Josie stepped into the corridor and remembered the
restaurant car was to the right. She headed that way, passing a few people and
having to squeeze past them in the tight fit of each of the train’s corridors.
She saw the glass door that had restaurant written in black lettering on it and
opened it back, letting a couple out before she stepped inside.
      The place was
more crowded than she’d expected it to be. She glanced at her watch. She’d hung
around in her compartment longer than she’d thought, because it was already
close to eight and prime evening dinning. Maybe she’d dig out the energy bar
she’d stuffed in her bag and have an early breakfast tomorrow. She was about to
turn and leave when a lady called out to her.
    “Would you like me to find a seat for you?”
    Josie turned back to see her holding a menu.
    “Are you sure? It looks pretty packed in here.”
    “We can always find room for a single diner.”
    That made it sound depressing, like she was the only
one dining alone tonight.
      Her stomach
rumbled. The energy bar wasn’t looking that great right now.
    “Okay,” said Josie.
    She followed the hostess to the middle of the car
and her heart missed a beat when she saw him. The man who’d come calling at her
compartment. He was sitting eating a steak and reading a book while he did so.
He was also eating alone and the hostess was stopping by his table.
    “Sir, do you mind if this lady joins you at your
table?”
    “No, there’s really no need to disturb him,” Josie
whispered.
    He looked up and her legs went weak. She hadn’t seen
his beautiful blue eyes when he’d spoken to her earlier. They were baby blues
if she ever saw them.
    He smiled. “No problem at all. I’d be happy