The Rancher and His Unexpected Daughter by Sherryl Woods

enjoy watching me squirm trying to keep you away from the front of the house till she got back?”
    He nodded. “Sure did.” He reached across the table and patted her hand consolingly. “That’s okay, darlin’. I appreciate you going to all that trouble to impress me.”
    Janet moaned. “I did not do it to impress you,” she declared adamantly.
    â€œShe did it to keep you from getting food poisoning,” Jenny chimed in. “You should see—”
    â€œThat’s enough, Jenny,” Janet said sharply. She was determined to get through the rest of the evening with some dignity intact. If she wasn’t careful, Jenny would be offering Harlan a tour of the kitchen.
    â€œThat chocolate cake sure does smell good,” he said. “I know Gina didn’t stop by and bake that.”
    â€œIt’s got a great big crack right down the middle,” Jenny revealed. “I had to patch it together with icing.”
    Janet scowled at her. “Thank you for sharing that,” she grumbled.
    Harlan winked at her this time. “Don’t fret, darlin’. With chocolate cake, it’s taste, not looks, that count.”
    â€œI wouldn’t hold your breath on that score, either,” Jenny warned. “She probably left out something important.”
    If she could have, Janet would have sent Jenny to her room on the spot before she made any more embarrassing revelations. Unfortunately, she could see the injustice of such an act. She was just going to have to survive this debacle and hope that Harlan wasn’t one to gossip. Fortunately, she was in town to practice law, not to do catering.
    As it turned out, the cake was not only edible, but actually pretty good. At least Harlan ate two slices of it, his amused gaze fixed on her the whole time. He seemed especially fond of the inch-thick icing in the middle.
    The minute dinner was over he shooed Jenny off by declaring that he would help clean up. Jenny didn’thave to be asked twice. She was gone before Janet could protest.
    â€œYou cannot walk into that kitchen,” she said adamantly, though short of stretching out her arms and trying to bar the doorway, she didn’t know what she could do to stop him.
    He ignored her, picked up an armload of dishes and headed across the dining room. “The sooner we get things squared away in there, the sooner you and I can sit on that front porch and enjoy the breeze.”
    To his credit, he didn’t even blink as he walked into the midst of the mess she’d created trying to make dinner. Maybe he’d served time on KP in the military at some point, she decided as she watched the ease with which he set things right.
    â€œCome here,” he commanded when he’d washed the last dish and wiped down the countertops.
    â€œI don’t think so,” she said, holding up the last plate she was drying as if to ward him off.
    He grinned, shrugged and came to her. Before she realized his intentions, he slid his arms around her waist and held her in a loose embrace. “Thank you,” he said softly, his breath fanning intimately across her cheek.
    â€œFor what?” she asked shakily. Her breath snagged in her throat as she met his gaze.
    â€œFor going to so much trouble.”
    â€œI told you—”
    He reached up and brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes. “I know what you told me, but the fact is you could have served me whatever that was you cooked in the first place and tried to scare me off forgood. Instead, you went to a lot of trouble that wasn’t necessary. I don’t scare that easily.”
    She sighed. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
    He studied her intently. The spark of mischief in his eyes raised goose bumps.
    â€œYou gonna fall apart if I kiss you?” he inquired.
    An unwilling smile tugged at her lips. “I might.”
    He nodded. “I think I’ll risk it anyway,” he