A Cowboy in Disguise by Victoria Ashe

play tiddly winks. Definitely that.”
    She laughed. Laughter was good, he thought.
    “Purple, reading, air hockey and shopping. Good night, Scott.”
    “Good night.”
    They rolled up in their separate comforters and stretched out in front of the fireplace, gathering near the flames for heat. The temperature outside continued to drop and ice formed in crystalline flakes on the glass inside the cabin windows.
    Scott began, “Alex, I can’t pretend I don’t feel what I feel here.” Maybe it was the magic of the nighttime or the glow of the fireplace, but his words took on a life of their own. He’d meant to pretend. Up until two seconds earlier.
    “This may sound silly or naïve to you, but I’ll explain,” she said. “I was engaged to be married once, and one evening I surprised him.”
    “He wasn’t alone,” Scott said. He fell silent for a while, then spoke again. “Someone I once thought I loved betrayed me, too.”
    “Really? Then maybe you know where I’m coming from. See, I really thought he was the only man I would ever be with. I made such a mistake with him and it hurt me both personally and professionally.”
    “Alex, all men aren’t like that. Some of us actually value commitment and respect the woman we’re with.”
    Alexandra rolled over to face him. “Really? So when was the last time you were with a woman? Dated one for a while, slept with her and then ended it? Or how about a convenient one-night stand?”
    Scott also rolled to face her. “Is that what you think of me? That I proposition every woman who registers a pulse?”
    Alexandra shrugged. “I don’t think that, but they do say where there’s smoke …”
    Scott cut in before she said something they’d both regret. “That woman I mentioned, Mackenzie—I was with her for over two years and I would have proposed to her. I wanted to. But, I found out some things in time, and let’s just say it didn’t work out. It would have been disaster. I haven’t been with another woman since.”
    “Oh.” Alexandra looked truly taken aback. If anything, at least he wasn’t as predictable as she seemed to think all men were.
    “In fact,” Scott whispered, “I haven’t so much as kissed a woman in months, until out there in the snowbank with you today. Empty flings just aren’t my style. I left teenage impulsivity behind a long time ago.”
    Alexandra giggled and tucked a piece of wayward hair behind her ear. “What? No backstage romp with the pop star?”
    Scott groaned. “I’m going to physically injure whoever told you those rumors.”
    “So you beat up on women?” Alexandra gasped in mock horror. “See, I knew I’d find a fatal flaw.”
    “It was that Sarah, wasn’t it?” He groaned again. “I can’t win.”
    Alexandra’s eyelids grew heavy and she yawned. One of her long, shapely legs covered in filmy material slid out from under the blanket.
    Scott inched closer to her until a mere foot of space kept them apart. “Can I kiss you again, Alexandra Hunter? Nothing sordid. Just one more kiss?”
    Her eyes flew open and he watched her gaze drop from his nose down to his lips. Did she want what he wanted? To feel that powerful current again in spite of all the warnings they’d told themselves?
    Her look was all the response he needed. He wrapped his hands in her soft hair and pulled her to him. But, she pressed her hands against his chest. “Scott,” she whispered. “Stop. We have to stop. Really!”
    He pushed himself away immediately. “I’m sorry, Alex.”
    “I’m as much to blame as you.” She rolled herself up tightly in the blanket and turned away from Scott’s view. “Let’s just try to get some sleep. No more kissing. No more personal questions, okay? Those lead to bad places.”
    So much for friendly colleagues, he thought. What he was feeling put “friendly” to shame.

 
     
     
    Chapter Five
    In the morning light, Alexandra was thinking clearly again—or so she told herself. It was the