Kinkade, Lea - I Got a Feelin' [The Chisholms of Texas 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Lea Kinkade

I’m always looking for new recipes to try out.”
    “Seriously?”
    “Seriously, darlin’. Maybe you’d let me make you dinner some night.”
    Ryan didn’t know where the offer had come from. He’d never offered to fix a meal for another woman, except for a member of his family, before. He would make her dinner here at her apartment, since he and Ryder shared a house for now, and he would talk her into bed afterward. Maybe her body could be his plate. His own body responded viscerally to the thought of Samantha spread out before him with various foods in strategic places on her delectable body. Good thing he was sitting down. His dick was straining at his zipper already, and they weren’t even touching.
    “I think a dinner at your place isn’t going to happen anytime soon, handsome. We haven’t even gone out on a regular date.”
    “That hasn’t been by my choice. I asked you out more than a week ago and you turned me down flat, if you’ll recall. Do you think you know me well enough now that you’d say yes if I asked you out again? Dinner and dancing? Very public places?”
    “I don’t know. Let’s see how the dinner conversation goes, shall we?” He could see that she was only half joking. “Why don’t you tell me about your family? It must be nice to be part of such a large, close-knit family. What was it like growing up with so many brothers and sisters?”
    Seeing that she was seriously interested in his answers, Ryan started talking about the joys and pitfalls of being part of such a large family where everyone was in your business all the time. She peppered him with questions while they ate and cleared up after the meal. Getting him another beer, they settled on either end of the couch.

    * * * *

    Samantha was truly fascinated by his stories of growing up with five brothers, two sisters, assorted cousins, aunts and uncles and grandparents. Although she could tell that Ryan really loved his family, his stories revealed exasperation and some envy of his siblings as well. It was obvious in the way he spoke about his older brothers that, although he loved them dearly, he’d felt like he was compared to them his whole life. He had a strong sense of competition with his brothers. These feelings had led him to follow the rodeo circuit after he graduated from college, following in several of their footsteps. When they had both decided they’d had enough of the gypsy-style life that was rodeo, it had also led him and his twin, who he referred to as his best friend, to spurn the family business and pool their rodeo winnings to conceive of and create Chaps & Spurs.
    Samantha could tell that, in addition to loving his twin, Ryan truly liked Ryder for who he was. He told Samantha that, for most of their lives, Ryder had seemed content to follow his lead. Since they had created the club, though, Ryder had really come into his own. Ryan really liked the man that Ryder had become. That wasn’t a given. The two brothers might look exactly alike, except for Ryan’s goatee and earring, but their personalities were totally different. Ryder was easygoing until you got him riled up. Then you’d better watch out. Ryan admitted he was quick to anger but couldn’t hold a grudge. The brothers had similar tastes in music, food, and women, but they hadn’t fought over a woman since college. Ryan was the more outgoing of the two, but Ryder was beginning to come out of his shell more and more.
    Although Ryan told her that Chaps & Spurs had started as a rebellious idea, she got the sense that Ryan was more himself now than at any time in the past. He had come into his own as a man and was comfortable in his own skin. That someone from his privileged background had gone through this type of self-evaluation intrigued her even as the attraction she felt toward him grew.
    Samantha ached for the love and affection she could see Ryan had for his siblings. She had never had that type of relationship with anyone. Growing up, she