Page 126 of Her Boss, Her Rancher: Sunrise On The Ranch

“Love them.”

“And, oh, here, how about artichoke hearts?”

“Yep.”

“Great, we have our toppings now.”

“How about I put on a pot of coffee?” Jared walked over to the coffee machine. “We can have a cup while the pizza is cooking.”

She blinked. She hadn’t intended for them to eat the pizza now. But he had said he was hungry. “Uh, sure. I’ll just chop up some of these veggies and then put the pizza in the oven. I hope it turns out okay.”

“Me, too,” he said. And then smiled again.

He was messing with her. He had been since he’d walked in here, but she refused to make anything of it. So what if he was charming, he was also her boss at the moment. And business and pleasure mixed like oil and water, to use a foodie phrase.

The coffee brewed as she cleaned the kitchen. Once it was done, Jared poured a cup for both of them and they sat facing each other across the granite-topped island.

The coffee warmed her up and went down deliciously. “Mmm, this is perfect.”

“Yep. It’s not too bad. Just about the extent of my talent in the kitchen.”

“I bet that’s not true.”

“Oh, wait, I have been known to fry an egg or two.”

“Really? How did you ever get by?”And get to be such a glorious picture of a man.

“My mama was a good cook. She fed me real good. And then came Marie. I never had to learn.”

“Do you want to?”

He put his cup down and leaned forward, the twinkle in his eyes as blue as a sun-drenched lake. “You offering to teach me?”

She tilted her head. Was he flirting? She’d always loved dishing it up with other foodies, but was he serious? “Don’t you already have a job?”

He grinned and her heart nearly stopped. “I do. But as you can see, I’m not exactly running to the office every day.” He cleared his throat. “I mean my Dallas office.”

She couldn’t afford to return his flirting. She was out of practice, so much so that she wasn’t even sure hewasflirting. Besides, she had a gigantic wall surrounding her heart stamped with a No Trespassing sign. There was no room behind that wall for anyone other than Sienna.

Certainly not a man like Jared Stone.

Goodness, she still loved Paul. Her heart broke every day from missing him.

“Well, uh...”

“I was just kiddin’,” he said. “You’ve got enough to do around here.”

How awkward. She really didn’t have a comeback for him. She was busy, but spending more time with a lonely, injured Jared Stone wouldn’t be wise.

Because she liked him. It killed her to admit it.

Her nerves jumpy, she sipped her coffee and checked the monitor screen. Anything to avoid eye contact with him.

“How’s she doing?” he asked.

“Sawing logs.”

“So do you usually stay up the rest of the night?”