Curves and the All-American Male (BBW Western Romance - Coldwater Springs 7) by Jenn Roseton Page A

room. Chase checked his watch and looked out the window.
    “I’m ready.” Sarah picked up her black purse. “Chase?”
    The doorbell chimed. “I’ll get it.” Chase strode to the door.
    Sarah turned to Lori and frowned. “We’re not expecting anyone else.”
    Male voices drifted from the hall, then Chase and another man entered the room. The living room seemed to shrink as Lori glanced at the stranger.
    Tall. Muscular. Dark brown hair. Tanned, as if he’d spent a lot of time outdoors this past summer. He wore pale blue jeans, a blue and white checked shirt and appeared to be in his early thirties.
    “Ty, this is Lori, Sarah’s friend,” Chase said. “Lori, this is Ty Quinn.”
    “Hey.” Ty gave her an easy smile, his brown eyes lighting up as his gaze swept over her.
    “Hi.” Lori’s voice almost deserted her. He was gorgeous. His nose looked like it had been broken once, and he had a firm jaw, but the whole effect was of one good looking male. Nervous butterflies swooped inside her stomach. Her not flat stomach. She guessed it was too late to suck it in, now that he’d already seen her.
    “What are you doing here, Ty?” Sarah threw her husband a questioning look.
    “Ah - yeah.” Chase raked a hand through his hair. “It looks like Jessica has two sitters tonight.” He flashed a grin at Ty. “There’s some beer in the fridge. Help yourself. We won’t be too late.”
    “We’ll be back by ten,” Sarah added, her brow crinkling as she looked from Lori to Ty. “Excuse us a minute.” She grabbed Lori’s hand and urged her toward the kitchen, closing the door behind them. “Ty’s an old rodeo friend of Chase’s.” She nibbled her lip. “I had no idea he was going to be babysitting as well.” She paused. “Will you be okay with him being here?”
    “I guess.” She tried to sound convincing. Right now she was nervous and a little excited about sharing sitter duties with Ty.
    “Chase keeps telling me he’s a good guy, although it sounds as if had his fair share of conquests on the circuit.” Sarah looked at her, worry in her eyes. “If you don’t feel comfortable with him being here, I’ll tell him there’s no need for him to stay.”
    “No, it’s okay.” Although part of her wished she could be honest and ask for Ty to leave, that was only because she was being a scaredy-cat. She didn’t think she’d ever had such an immediate attraction to a guy before, not even her recent boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend.
    She could certainly control herself for three hours. And it wasn’t as if Ty would be interested in her. She’d often been told she had a sweet girl-next-door face, but in her experience, most guys didn’t fall for girls like her, with a smattering of freckles on her nose, and auburn hair. They liked pretty, thin girls, especially if they flashed a lot of cleavage.
    Although her cleavage was generous, she’d never felt the need to expose it like that. Except in the bedroom … and even then, she hadn’t had a whole lot of experience in that department.
    “Well, all right. If you’re sure.”
    “I’m sure,” Lori replied, giving her friend a reassuring smile.
    They returned to the living room, the two men breaking off in mid-conversation.
    “Time to go, sweetheart.” Chase wrapped an arm around his wife’s waist. “We’ll see you in a few hours, Lori.”
    “Have fun.” Ty winked at the couple.
    Lori thought she heard Sarah murmur something under her breath, and wondered if their dinner out would be quite as enjoyable as Sarah had anticipated.
    The sound of the front door closing echoed through the house.
    “So.” Ty turned his attention to her and lifted his eyebrows. “Why haven’t I seen you around Coldwater before now?”
    In a flash, Lori realized why she’d felt so nervous and on edge around this man, even though she’d only met him a few minutes ago. He reminded her of her ex-boyfriend, Ron. His easy grin and charm, his air of confidence in himself and the