Cowgirl Makes Three / Her Secret Rival: Cowgirl Makes Three / Her Secret Rival

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“Da, peez.” Lily was looking up at him with those big blue eyes, and his heart nearly broke. He wanted to give his child anything she wanted. And right now she wanted to see the women in the other room.

“Lily,” he said, hugging her, “let’s go for a walk. Or we’ll play on your swings. Okay?”

“’Kay,” she said, although he could tell she was just being nice. If she’d been older, she would probably have been sighing with resignation. Man, did he have a way with females or what? Even his own daughter had to take pity on him and cut him some slack.

“Maybe we could look at the horses, too,” he said, taking her hand and trying to come up with a better treat than the swings.

She nodded solemnly. It occurred to him that his daughter was pretty serious at times. Probably because she spent so much time with adults. Again, Ivy’s suggestion that Lily might like to play with other kids came to him. Was it already that time? Was he just being a selfish jerk keeping her here on the ranch with him all the time?

“Bwooz,” Lily said.

Noah shook his head, not understanding.

“Bwooz,” Lily repeated. And finally, “Bwoo-ooz.” She galloped around, mimicking a horse. Or at least as much as a chubby, tottering two-year-old could manage.

Uh-oh. He was going to have to play “bad dad.” Twice in five minutes. “Not Bruiser. He’s too mean. Maybe Cornbread.”

Lily was on the verge of answering when a shriek and then laughter came from the next room. His daughter turned around and zipped away, heading toward the living room.

“Lily,” he called. “Come back here right now.”

Lily, in typical two-year-old fashion, interpreted that to mean Run Faster. Before he could react, she had covered ten feet of space and had made it partly down the hall. Not to the living room—but obviously his own voice had carried to that room. Just as he caught Lily and swung her little body up into his arms, he looked up into a sea of female faces.

For some reason he didn’t want to examine, he looked for Ivy’s face among them. And when he located her, it was her he spoke to. “I’m sorry. She’s just really curious about what’s going on.”

He expected Ivy to nod or say that’s all right and then lead her brood back to their business. Instead, she bit her lip and zeroed in on Lily. “The forbidden is always enticing,” she said. “It’s okay for her to come in.”

He could see that Ivy was nervous, but…oh, there it was. The memory of how her father had kept her from getting to be a regular girl. Dammit. How could he fight that? He couldn’t. Especially because she was right. Lily’s eyes were glowing with excitement.

“If you’re sure she won’t bother you,” he said.

The women automatically began to exclaim that of course they would love to have Lily join them.

And, of course, he was reluctant to leave her in the company of women she really didn’t know. Lily was adventurous to a point. With Marta not there, his child would most likely enjoy herself until she realized that no one she knew was in the room. Plus, these women were busy. Who would keep Lily out of trouble and safe?

No one seemed to think of that, and he didn’t know what to do. As a male, his presence would be taboo. He would just have to take Lily elsewhere. Probably crying at being denied a treat.

“I think…maybe a male opinion on our progress would be a welcome addition, too,” Ivy suddenly said. “I mean, how can we know if we’ve achieved our goal of looking our best if we don’t have any guys to critique our work?”

The look she gave him was both mischievous and determined. She must know that he was going to be like a ship without a sail offering his opinion on women’s beautification techniques, but it was almost as if she’d read his mind regarding Lily. The idea that Ivy could read his thoughts was unnerving. If that were true, she’d know what he was thinking right now was that she looked incredibly beddable in that long white silk robe she was wearing. He wondered what she had on underneath.

Noah tried to blank the thought from his mind. “Always glad to be of service,” he said. “Thank you for accommodating Lily, ladies.”

Cries of “she’s a love, she’s adorable, of course we want her here” were uttered, and Noah soon found himself seated in his living room, which had been transformed into something he didn’t even recognize. The women had brought folding tables, draped them in white cloth and set up makeup stations. There was a makeshift changing area behind a room divider.

The atmosphere was cheerful. Ivy was fully in charge, too, he noticed. For once, she held the power. “Alicia, be bolder with that lip color. You have the complexion to carry something bright. Melanie, look! You have gorgeous cheekbones, and now we can see them. Here, try this teal dress on. It’s your color.” And “Sandra, not too much liner. A bit more subtle. There, that’s perfect.”

The women asked questions. They were almost like children. At one point Melanie even pulled on Ivy’s arm to get her attention.

At that, he grinned, and Ivy gave him a look. “No more feed and seed for you,” she said. “I must have been insane.” Even though she seemed to be enjoying herself.

“What?” Melanie asked.

“Nothing. Just a stupid joke,” Ivy said, and Noah noticed that Sandra gave her an evil glare. He hoped Sandra didn’t try to cause trouble for Ivy. She’d had enough heartache in her life already. So he was glad when Ivy smiled. Then she raised one brow and mouthed “Payback.” Or at least that’s what it looked like.

Indeed, in the next minute Ivy turned to Noah. “What do you think?” she asked, having Melanie try on another outfit. “The black leather jacket or the white one?”

She was laughing at having trapped him. Her eyes glowed. It was the lightest he had seen her since she’d arrived, so of course he had to play along. She’d thought she was going to discombobulate him. Two can play at that game, Ivy, he thought.

“Well,” he said, rubbing his neck as if he was nervous, “if I was a woman, I’d probably choose the white one. But I’m a man.” He gave Ivy a long, long look. “And if I were Bob, I’d choose the black leather. Maybe pair it with a short, tight black leather skirt and some thigh-high boots.”