A Cowboy in Manhattan Read Online Free PDF Page B

already. But her feet were glued to the floor, her heart pumping deep and slow inside her chest.
    He came closer and closer, and all she could do was stare.
    A knock on the door behind her nearly made her jump out of her skin.
    “Katrina?” Mandy called. “You in there?”
    The absurdity of the situation suddenly hit her. And Katrina recovered her sense of humor. What was she expecting Reed to do here? Make a move with Mandy and Caleb downstairs? Ridiculous. She quickly found her voice.
    “I’m naked in here,” she called out to Mandy. “And Reed’s remaking the bed.”
    There was a stunned silence on the other side of the door.
    “You shouldn’t have done that,” Reed intoned. “Get out of the way.”
    Mandy stammered from outside. “I’m… Uh…”
    Reed snagged Katrina’s bare shoulder, moving her off to one side. His warm, callused palm left a distinct tingle in its wake. He quickly swung the door open.
    “Mix-up,” he told Mandy. “Your sister thinks she’s funny.”
    “He was lying in wait for me,” Katrina countered, still feeling breathless.
    “I thought you’d take longer in the shower,” Reed protested.
    “Why? Because I’m from New York City?”
    “Because you’re a girl.”
    “I’m a woman.”
    Mandy’s attention was flying back and forth between the two.
    Reed’s nostrils flared as he sucked in a deep breath. “And now you have fresh sheets.”
    “Thank you,” Katrina returned breezily.
    She was scrambling to tamp down her powerful sexual reaction to him. It was strange and more than a little unsettling to have her hormones run amok like this.
    Maybe it was brought on by the stress of the afternoon. He had rescued her, after all. He’d lent her his shirt and brought her back here to where she was safe and warm. Had his white-knight behavior tripped some anthropological hormonal switch, making him seem like mate material? She sure hoped it was temporary.
    “Caleb’s pouring the wine,” Mandy offered, watching her closely.
    “Then I’ll get dressed,” said Katrina, pasting on an unconcerned smile.
    These things were obviously mind over matter, and she was a very disciplined person. Reed was just a man. And a stubborn cowboy at that. She preferred her men more urbane and refined, a guy who could pull off a tux and discuss literature, fine cuisine and world events.
    Mandy stepped backward into the hall, obviously intending to wait there until Reed joined her.
    “It was an accident, ” Reed told Mandy with firm conviction.
    “I know.” She nodded. “Could have happened to anyone.”
    Reed set his jaw in annoyance and moved through the doorway.
    Once in the hall, he turned back to glare his annoyance at Katrina.
    “You’re not funny,” he admonished. But a split second later, his frank, heated gaze slid from her towel-covered hair to her bare feet and back again.
    Her toes curled into the soft carpet, and her stomach rolled anxiously. Hoo boy.
    Katrina woke up in the Terrells’ guest room in the early, dark hours of the morning and couldn’t seem to get back to sleep. Bothered by the time-zone change, her nagging ankle, and the fact that Reed was sleeping on the other side of the thin bedroom wall, her brain couldn’t seem to relax.
    Since Mandy had brought all of Katrina’s sister’s clothes to the Terrells’ house, she had options. She changed into a simple black-and-white leotard, then searched her way through the house for a suitable space to exercise. She found a big rec room in the basement that was perfect. It had a smooth Berber carpet, a big open space in the middle and a ledge that ran the length of the room at a height where she could brace her hand for balance.
    She plugged in her earbuds, turned on her player and made her way through a low-impact aerobic workout, getting the blood flowing and warming up her muscles. Then she ran through a familiar stretching routine, easing down into the splits, bending sideways first, then forward at the waist,