I’m ready for a cowboy to steal my heart!!
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Cowboy Stole My Heart
A River Ranch Novel
by Soraya Lane
Blurb:
It takes true grit to build a billion-dollar dynasty like the Ford family ranch. But when it comes to finding love, all it takes is one handsome cowboy to steal a womanโs heart inย Cowboy Stole My Heartย by Soraya Lane.ย
SHEโS RIDING SOLO
As one of the heirs to the River Ranch fortune, Mia Ford is practically Texas royalty. But that doesnโt mean sheโs some pampered princess. She can saddle up and ride a horse as well as any man, even a hard-working cowboy like Sam Mendes. For years, sheโs harbored a crush on the strong, silent horseman. But how can she make a move when sheโs his boss?
HEโS TAKING THE REINS
Sam Mendes is through with loveโor so he thought. Still recovering from a breakup, heโs doing everything in his power to resist Mia Ford. Itโs bad enough sheโs the kind of beauty who drives men wild with desire. Itโs even worse sheโs got him so worked up, aching to kiss her lips, when heโs supposed to be working her ranch. Is this lovestruck cowboy willing to risk losing his jobโand breaking his heartโto win the girl of his dreams?
Amazonย |ย Barnes & Nobleย |ย BAMย |ย IndieBoundย |ย Powells
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Excerpt:
Mia disappeared and he talked to the horses, wandering down the line to look at all of them. Heโd only seen her ride the one, her favorite mare, but he had a feeling she was full of surprises, and her horses all looked impressive. When she didnโt reappear, Sam went looking for her, wondering what the hell was taking so long.
โHey, do you need a hand back there?โ he called out. He squinted in the half-light, dark compared to the full sun glare outside when he ducked through the doorway and into the tack room.
โOh, shit, sorry, just give me a sec.โ
He stopped. Sam stood in the middle of the small room, saddles and bridles covering every inch of wall space, and Mia pressed into one corner, her tears impossible to hide. โHey,โ Sam murmured, striding over to her. Hell, he hadnโt expected her to be crying. Heโd thought she might need a hand carrying some gear out, but . . . he didnโt know what to do.
โIโm fine, please,โ she said, holding one hand up to her face, the other stretched out in front of her as if trying to push him away before he was even close.
โYouโre not okay,โ he said, knowing how gruff he sounded but unable to help it. โCome here.โ
She shook her head. โPlease, Iโm fine,โ she managed, voice cracking.
โYour mom, huh?โ he asked, knowing that there was no way in hell heโd managed to say anything to upset her this much. She was still grieving, he could see that from a mile off.
She nodded, dropping one hand, the other still covering her face. โYeah,โ she whispered. โItโs just I havenโt talked about her for a long time. Sheโs been gone twelve years so I shouldnโt be reacting like this.โ
โCome here,โ Sam said, not taking no for an answer this time as he opened his arms and pulled her in.
He held her, tight, letting her cry. She sobbed once, loudly, a noise that made his heart lurch for her, feeling her pain, before she went silent and relaxed in his arms. It had been almost a year since heโd held a woman like this; comforted a woman and held her and felt something for her. He stiffened. Only that woman had played him, ripped his heart out when heโd have done anything for her. Anything.
โIโm sorry,โ he said. โIโd tell you itโll get easier, but I doubt it will.โ
He didnโt sugarcoat things, even this type of thing, but he did feel for her. Sheโd tried to talk about her mom all nonchalant to him, laughing about her beautiful stables, when in reality it had torn her in half and left her crying all on her own. Sheโd lost her mom and her best friend as well; no wonder sheโd been prickly when heโd tried to muscle in and take over with the one thing she did haveโ her horses.
Mia pushed back and he wished she hadnโt. Heโd liked the warmth of her against him, the tickle of her long hair catching in his stubble as heโd inhaled her shampoo or whatever it was on her that smelled so damn delicious.
โSorry,โ she murmured, her hands to his chest as she stepped back. โI donโt ever let anyone see me cry.โ
He believed it. She didnโt strike him as the type to let anyone see her vulnerabilities.
Sam glanced down at her, at her hands against his chest, at the way she was looking up at him, her eyes wide. Her mouth parted, tear-stained cheeks making her look so vulnerable that it tugged at something inside of him heโd thought was long buried.
โYouโve got nothing to apologize for,โ he muttered, slowly raising a hand and brushing his thumb gently across her cheeks to blur the tears away.
Mia stayed still, her palms still planted against him, head tilted. He looked at her mouth, fought the urge to rub his thumb across her soft pink lips. Instead he dropped his hand, skimming past her long blonde hair on the way past. Sam bent a little, eyes on her mouth, imagining what her lips would taste like. He wanted to kiss her so damn bad, wanted to push her up against the wall behind her and kiss the hell out of her. But he didnโt.
Heโd sworn off women for a reason, and sexy or not, he wasnโt about to take advantage of his boss up against a wall. Even crying she was beautiful, but he wasnโt going there. He couldnโt go there.
Dammit!
Her eyes were dancing, her lips were parted, her hands were slowly dropping away from his chest. But instead of closing the distance between them, instead of hungrily tasting her lips against his, he took her hands, stepping back and squeezing them.
โYou take all the time you need,โ he said instead, hearing the husky note of his own voice. โIโll be out here.โ
He walked out, ducking back through the door and out into the bright sunlight again. Goddamn it! What the hell had he just done? Heโd always prided himself on being able to keep his shit together, and heโd let himself get way too close to Mia.
Copyrightย ยฉย 2018 by Soraya Lane and reprinted by permission of St. Martinโs Press.
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Author Info:
As a child, Soraya Lane dreamed of becoming an author. Fast forward more than a few years, and Soraya is now living her dream! Soraya describes being an author as “the best career in the world”, and she hopes to be writing romance for many years to come.
Soraya loves spending her days thinking up characters for books, and her home is a constant source of inspiration. She lives with her own real life hero and two sons on a small farm in New Zealand, surrounded by animals and with an office overlooking a field where their horses graze. She is the author ofย The Devil Wears Spurs, Cowboy Take Me Away,ย andย I Knew You Were Trouble.
https://www.facebook.com/SorayaLaneAuthor
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