The Rancher's Second Chance by Victoria James Page A

not willing to take my pants off for any man to wear and I don’t care how he fills them out.” She smiled sheepishly as he choked on the whiskey in his mouth. She removed the ice pack from her leg.
    “I have to say, I never would have expected to hear that coming out of your mouth.” He stood when she removed her leg from his and tossed what was left of the ice into the sink. On the one hand he was happy he didn’t have the distraction of her silky leg on his thigh, and on the other, was downright disappointed. Melanie was luring him in. Not on purpose, he knew, because there wasn’t a damn coy bone in her body, but it was in the way she spoke to him, the serious side to her, the caring side.
    She shrugged. “I don’t like to ramble on when something can be said succinctly.”
    “So where’s your family?”
    She sighed. “Back home. We sort of lost touch.”
    “You lost touch with your parents? And you have a sister, right? You lost touch with her?”
    Melanie traced the lines of the whiskey bottle. “We’re all pretty busy, and I don’t talk to them much.”
    “What made you start the wedding planning business?”
    “I used to work for a wedding planner when I was at boarding school and learned the ins and outs of her business. Because of my background, I also knew the ins and outs of high-end events; there was no guesswork. So after I graduated I worked with her full-time and took business courses at the local college. By the time I managed to finish I was ready to venture out on my own. First I did it without a storefront. I’d go and meet people through local bridal shows and then as I took on more clients I thought I’d take the plunge and open my own place.”
    His mind was spinning with everything she’d just revealed. And he was kind of blown away, because he hadn’t expected any of that. No one at that school needed part-time jobs. Certainly not Melanie.
    “Why did you have a job in boarding school?”
    “I’ve always been interested in business and wanted to get some hands-on experience.”
    “Your parents were okay with that?”
    “They didn’t know.”
    He thought back to every school event he and his parents had attended for Cori, but he never remembered seeing her parents. He’d seen her sister, but never any parents. And the whole line about losing touch with her family? There was obviously a hell of a lot more going on with her than he’d have guessed.
    “They must have been proud of you for starting your own company.”
    She shot him a smile. “I didn’t realize you were such a talker.”
    “I’m not, unless I have something worth saying. I’m not really into bullshit and trivialities, but you’re easy to talk to,” he said gruffly. “You didn’t answer my question. What do your parents think of your business?”
    “I’m sure they are proud in their own way. I’m getting kind of tired. I should probably get to bed,” she whispered.
    He nodded and stood. She was obviously done with being questioned. Melanie answered questions about her family the way Gage did: vague and fast. “Sure.”
    She stared at his face for a moment and then gingerly stood, holding the armrest. He walked over to her, knowing what he was going to do. “Here, why don’t I carry you to bed.” She teetered to the left and he grasped her shoulders to steady her.
    “Thanks but, no, no. Totally not necessary. I’m fine. I can hobble.”
    “No need to hobble.”
    “I don’t need you to pick me up.” Her gorgeous green eyes were glittering with something and he knew he wanted an excuse to hold her. He didn’t want her to go to bed yet.
    He reached down and swung her into his arms and then almost fell backward as she started flailing around. “What the hell are you doing, Mel? Trying to make us both fall?”
    “No, I’m trying to make sure I’m decent!” Decent or not, he was liking this. A little too much. He walked across the room and the weight of her against him, the softness of her