Placing her glass down, she smiled and nodded while leaning forward. Her cleavage teased him as the front of her bodice dipped with her body. When she took a deep breath and her mounds lifted, then sank, his eyes opened wider of their own accord, and he hoped she hadn’t noticed. All his resolve and probing focus went out the window when his manly urges surfaced, taking over his body and brain. His breathing became shallow with the tightening of his throat, and he fidgeted, trying to regain his breath and hide his erection, which he knew could be visible if she peeked at the crotch of his pants.
When he saw her gaze come to rest there, he knew he had been caught.
It was now or never. All her planning and plotting she had been obsessing about all day long and she had yet to get anything out of him. She certainly hadn’t expected to be so dazzled by him, or that they would see eye to eye on several issues. And according to him, she and James also had the same philosophy on life. How interesting.
These handsome, mysterious men just kept surprising her. Maybe that was the reason why she completely forgot about her ploy. Maybe. Or maybe it had to do with his bewitching stare. She couldn’t help gazing into his dreamy brown eyes and getting lost.
She caught Greta ogling him several times when they first got here. Sherry’s daughter had been overly hospitable this evening, going out of her way to get them a table quickly. She had never done that before, especially not in five minutes flat, a world record for her, no doubt.
And after they were seated, she kept glancing over at him while she served other tables. Could she be any more obvious? Frankly, she found it outright rude of Greta to behave in such an unladylike manner. She had half a mind to get up the next time Greta ogled him from afar and tell her to stop it. That was no way for a young lady to behave.
But the fact Trevor hadn’t even noticed her made her think twice before doing it. She’d look pretty foolish getting up out of the blue and going over to reprimand the young lady. Why, it’d look like she was jealous. Jealous? Her? Never.
Taking a sip of water, she stared at him and decided it was time she forgot about Greta and got down to the business at hand. And that was finding out who Trevor and James really were and the real reason they came here.
She leaned forward and gave him a warm smile. She noted his eyes fixed on her bosom then, and when she saw the bulge of his manhood rise in his pants, well, she knew she had him.
Ordinarily, she felt uncomfortable when men leered at her at the saloon. In fact, it repulsed her, but she endured it because she had no choice. That was all part of the game. It came with being a saloon girl singer. She had to accept it and live with their stares. Quitting was out of the question. She needed to be there to be the eyes and ears of the operation. So she just ignored it and went on performing night after night.
But this evening was a totally different story. Trevor’s heated stare made her skin tingle and her heart skip a beat. Why, it even made butterflies flutter in her stomach and her legs weak. And staring at his excited erection made her pussy quiver and undergarments wet with arousal as she imagined his naked body under his attire, his surely muscular chest and arms, and his other enticing attributes.
She inhaled deeply, trying to catch her breath since her lungs had stopped functioning for a second. She folded her hands under her chin. “What exactly do you and James do again? James was vague when I asked him earlier.”
Her words seemed to break his focus, and he slid his gaze from her chest to her face in surprise. “What we do?”
“Yes. Is it a hard job?” She nodded.
He shook his head while looking around. “No, just light manual labor.”
She lifted her brow as curiosity urged her to probe further. “What exactly?”
He huffed. “Boy, I’m starving. When will they be coming to serve us?” He lifted his finger when a saloon girl passed by the table. “Excuse me, miss, but can we order?”
She nodded looking at the table. “Greta didn’t serve you yet. I’ll just go get her.”
“That’d be mighty nice of you, miss.” He smiled.
Oh, he wasn’t going to get away with avoiding the question. She squinted and glared at him. “Well?”
He observed her and grinned while taking her hand. He brought it up to his lips and kissed it, never breaking eye contact. Her breath caught in her throat at the unexpected move on his part.
“I didn’t intend on talking about work this evening, pretty lady. We’re here to enjoy ourselves. And talking about work sure isn’t entertainment to me,” he replied
Before she could respond, Greta came to the table. “I’m so sorry. It’s been so busy.”
Trevor let go of Belle’s hand that instant and looked at Greta. “What do you have to eat?” Greta didn’t respond, but just stood there wearing an obnoxious grin while she gawked at Trevor.
Belle glared up at her. “Well, aren’t you going to answer him?”
The young lady glanced at her and then returned her attention back to Trevor. “I’m sorry. What was the question?”
Belle wanted to curse, but decided to stay quiet when Trevor looked at her to give her a sideways smirk.
“What do you have for dinner?” he asked Greta again.
“Oh, we have fried chicken with potatoes and grits.”
“Now that sounds good. We’ll both have that,” he replied.
Greta grinned and before leaving the table said with a look of embarrassment plastered on her face, “You shouldn’t have to wait long. My ma runs an organized kitchen.”
The minute she left, he laughed lightly. “The young lady seems to have gotten under your skin, Belle.”
“Why would you say that?” She opened her eyes wide and heat rose to her cheeks.
“Well, the frown on your face when she waited at the table gave me a clue.”
Think, Belle, think.
What could she respond to that? Certainly not the truth. When she gazed at him again, she saw a wide smirk spread over his features. Hmm, so he toyed with her. An excellent deflection to her previous question.
Taking a gulp of water, she waited for the perfect reply to come to mind and thank God it did. “Well, she had interrupted our conversation. You were going to tell me what exactly was yours and James’s job.”
He shook his head. “Pretty lady, you sure are persistent.”
“Sometimes.” She nodded.
He lifted his brow and bent forward, whispering, “I like that.” Leaning back in his chair, he replied, “If I answer your question, do you promise you won’t ask me any more questions about work?”
“I swear.” She lifted her hand.
Taking a huff, he replied, “We work on the train. Light maintenance work.”
“Oh” was all that came out of her mouth. She certainly wasn’t expecting the complete truth, but somehow she expected a more elaborate lie.
Dumbfounded, she focused on her folded hands resting on the table. She prodded her mind, hoping her next move would come to her, but it didn’t. For the first time in her life, she was stumped as to what to do or say next.
He intended to make his move as they walked back to the inn. But circumstances made his plan impossible to accomplish. For a small town, Fort Smith had its share of people. Everywhere he looked, he saw people traveling in wagons, on horseback, or walking. He needed to go someplace isolated where they could finally be alone.
Once their meals had come at the saloon, they ate and talked for an hour more about anything under the sun. He marveled at how easily conversation came to them. They had many interests in common. And on further reflection, he realized the same could be said about James. If he had been on this date instead of him, Trevor was sure Belle would have had the same ease conversing with James as she did with him.