Handsome Flirt Read online

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  HANDSOME FLIRT

  First edition. November 16, 2020.

  Copyright © 2020 Lori Wilde and Liz Alvin.

  ISBN: 978-1393313854

  Written by Lori Wilde and Liz Alvin.

  Table of Contents

  Copyright Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

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  Further Reading: A Perfect Christmas Surprise

  Also By Liz Alvin

  Chapter One

  Travis Walker listened to the voicemail and then listened to it again. A woman had called his phone and asked for help with grandma's curses.

  Her curses?

  He took off his Stetson and glanced around the barn on his brother’s ranch. What was this? Some kind of joke?

  He honestly didn’t know when it came to the folks in this town. He’d moved to the small town of Honey, Texas, three months ago and had been working on the ranch, trying to decide if he, too, wanted to move to the country.

  Prior to coming to here, he and his brother had been private investigators and security consultants. Definitely not curse busters.

  Had he really sunk to the level of helping cursing grandmas? If his brother wasn't away on his honeymoon, Travis would dismiss this as another of Max's jokes.

  But the lucky devil was in the Bahamas experiencing the joys of wedded bliss. No, this phone call might be the handiwork of the new helper, Elvin Darwin, aka The Favor. Travis had been dating Elvin's aunt at the time he'd agreed to hire the young man. Heck, he’d known he would need help on the ranch with Max gone, and Elvin seemed like a capable young man. It was a job anyone could do. Heck, an armadillo with a pitchfork could probably do a fairly good job if properly motivated.

  Besides, at certain times, a man would agree to just about anything. Elvin was that anything.

  Unfortunately, the sexy aunt with amazing legs was long gone, but now Walker Ranch still had Elvin. Travis had to admit the current situation had convinced him not to make decisions with his heart instead of his head.

  Well, to be perfectly honest, he hadn't made that decision with his heart. Another part of his anatomy had been the main influencing factor.

  Sure, he could fire the kid, but come on. How fair would that be? The kid was likeable. Uncoordinated, unfocused, and a real chatterbox. But likeable. How did you fire someone who was so genuinely cheerful? It would be like pink-slipping Santa Claus.

  Even he wasn't that low.

  “Elvin,” he hollered, not wanting to scare the horses but needing to find out what was going on. “What does this voicemail mean?”

  Elvin popped his head into the doorway of the barn. A sandy-haired, all-American-looking kid, he was currently grinning that same grin he always grinned, regardless of the occasion. “What voicemail, boss?”

  “I got a voicemail from a woman named Danielle saying she was stopping by today to ask about hiring me.” Travis frowned at the young man. “She said a young fella had told her I did investigations. Would you be that young fella?”

  Elvin bobbed his head and said in his usual rapid-fire manner, “You bet. I was in town, and I ran into a lady looking for you. She’s a real nice lady. She lives in Dallas and has three little dogs that are all rescues and way cute, and she often stops by the library to get books about dogs, and she loves to walk so she can get her steps in. Plus, she—”

  Travis held up one hand. “Elvin. Let me stop you there before you get to her Social Security number.”

  Elvin blinked. “Why would you want to know that?”

  Travis bit back a smile. “I don’t. I just wanted you to stop telling me everything about her. Background checks aren’t as thorough as you are when it comes to the people in this town.”

  Elvin seemed more than a little confused. “All she wants is for you to help with her grandma's cursing.”

  Travis was starting to feel like he’d dropped into a foreign film and had no subtitles. “What does that mean? Did you ask this woman for more information?”

  Elvin kept grinning while he shook his head. “Nope. I took to heart what you and Max said about not offending folks in town and didn't ask a thing.” He glanced around, almost as if he thought someone would overhear him, then said softly, “I don’t know Danielle very well, but I think her grandmother may talk like a sailor. Mine used to. Could curse the sky blue, as my mom always said. Maybe Danielle thinks you can help.”

  “I wish you’d found out a little more,” Travis said, mentally thanking fate that at least Max wasn't here to witness this. Max had made it clear that Elvin was Travis’ problem, but, of course, like any brother, he took great joy in pointing out the major flaws in the hire-by-your-hormones approach to running a ranch.

  “I'm really not good at finding out information. Besides, what more could I ask without prying?” Elvin blinked and looked sincerely baffled. “You just said not to ask for her Social Security number.”

  Blowing out a breath of frustration, Travis realized this was a discussion he couldn’t win. Instead, he said slowly, “Please don’t tell anyone else in town that Max and I used to be private investigators. We aren’t anymore, and I don’t want to have to hurt people’s feelings by turning down cases.”

  “You’re going to turn her down?” Elvin’s expression made it clear he thought this was horrifying.

  “Yes. I don’t do this anymore.”

  “Seems kind of rude. My mother always says you shouldn’t say no to someone when you’re perfectly capable of saying yes.”

  Travis opened his mouth to refute the statement, but the sound of a car pulling up in front of the house stopped him. Elvin scurried out of the barn like a puppy lured by the smell of a cheeseburger. Travis rubbed a tired hand across his forehead and then slowly followed.

  Elvin had sprinted over and now was standing next to a fairly new blue SUV. When Travis got closer, he realized the young man had a dopey look on his face as he stared at the woman. Yeah, real nice. Ogle the poor woman.

  “Elvin, open the door so she can get out,” Travis said. Man, Elvin made him feel older than dirt. Now he was giving out lessons on manners.

  Elvin gleefully did as asked, opening the door with a flourish. “Welcome,” he said, waving one hand as if he were leading her to a red carpet. “My lady.”

  Oh, for the love of— “Elvin. Thanks. That’s fine.”

  A woman slowly climbed out of the car, her expression one of bewilderment. Still manners took hold of her, and she said, “Thank you, Elvin.”

  Travis looked at her and drew in a deep, purely male breath. Okay, so maybe Elvin had something of an excuse for how goofy he was acting. The woman was a tall, gorgeous brunette, the kind that came into private detectives' offices in the movies, but absolutely never showed up in real life.

  The woman smiled at him, and Travis felt all the blood in his body rush southward. Then she slowly headed toward him, a sexy smile on her lips, and an even sexier sway to her hips.

  Oh, man.

  “Hello,” she said, her voice as seductive and sultry as the rest of her. As she drew closer, he couldn't help noticing how black her eyes were. Not brown. Black. A deep, night-sin black. The kind of eyes a man could drown in.

  “Are you okay?” she asked, a slight frown forming on her face.

  Travis mentally slapped himself. Great, he was standing there looking as idiotic as Elvin. Pulling hi
mself together, he smiled and extended his hand. “Yes. Hi, I'm Travis Walker.”

  She took his hand in hers, but rather than shaking it, she tipped her head to the side and smiled slowly. “I know. And I am?”

  Ah, geez. Disappointment washed through him. A drop-dead gorgeous woman finally walked up, and it turned him into a looney time. Figured.

  “Happy to see me?” he tried in a last-ditch effort to guess what she meant.

  Her expression didn't change, but the glimmer in her eyes dimmed. He literally could feel her disappointment. Travis scanned his brain. He must know her, but from where? The obvious answer was that he'd dated her at some point, but he knew that couldn't be true. He would remember a woman who looked like this.

  Some things a man's DNA didn't let him forget.

  “I'm Danielle. Danielle Karlinski,” she said in that satin-sheet voice of hers. “Dani.”

  Recognition slammed into Travis like a runaway bulldozer. “Gypsy!”

  She laughed, the sound as seductive as the rest of her. “I go by Dani now, Killer.”

  From across the room, Elvin asked, “Killer? Why did you call him Killer?”

  It had been years since anyone had called Travis that. “It's a nickname from high school. Nothing special.”

  He'd intended to let it go at that, figuring Elvin didn't really need an explanation. But he'd forgotten that Gypsy was never at a loss for words.

  After tossing a grin at Travis, Dani said to Elvin, “Before I moved to Honey, I lived in Dallas. That’s where I know Killer from. A group of us hung around together and everyone had a nickname. I was Gypsy because of my dark hair and eyes—”

  Travis shook his head. “Nope. Not the reason. We called you Gypsy because your grandmother came to school and told us your family lived in those caravan things and were gypsies.”

  “So not true,” she said, laughing again. “And only someone as boneheaded as you guys were would have believed her.” She looked at Elvin. “My father sells insurance and my grandfather ran a hardware store. We lived in the suburbs like the rest of the class.”

  Dani turned her attention back to him, and Travis couldn't help smiling. Man, it was good to see her. She'd changed a lot during the years. In high school, she'd been skinny with big glasses.

  Not anymore. Now she was beautiful. Tall, with generous curves and a sexy, slinky way of moving. No doubt about it—she was a walking fantasy.

  “Hey, Killer.” Dani waved one hand in front of him. “Did you drift off on me?”

  “I'm still here.” Deciding there was no sense lying to her, especially since what he'd been thinking had probably been written all over his face, he confessed, “I was noticing how gorgeous you've become.”

  “Ah, that's so sweet, Killer. Thanks. I'd say you've changed, too, but well, you haven't.” She laughed again. “Still quick with a line, I see.”

  “Hey,” he protested. Sure, sometimes he used lines. Okay, maybe more often than just sometimes, but he wasn't using one now.

  Still, one look at Dani's face told him she wasn't about to believe him.

  “Oh, admit it, Trav,” she said. “You're still a dog.”

  He started to protest again, then decided to try a different approach. He gave her his I've-been-bad look. That one never failed to turn women to mush. “I know I used to be wild in high school, but I'm an adult now. I meant what I said. You're beautiful, and not just on the outside. I can tell you're still as beautiful and sweet on the inside as you were when we were teens.”

  Dani met his gaze, her expression thoughtful. Travis barely resisted the temptation to do a victory dance. Yes! He'd known she'd be unable to resist the look. That one always won women over and made them believe—

  “You're kidding, right?” Her laugh this time was more of a hoot. “You don't really say things like that to women, do you? You come across as very superficial.” Dani patted his arm. “Travis, women know when men are lying to them. That line reeked of insincerity. As a trial lawyer, I've studied people, and I feel obligated to point out that when you lie to people, it's only because you have your own trust issues.” She patted his arm again. “Maybe you should seek professional help.”

  Travis arched one eyebrow. “Cute. And hey, thanks for the concern, but I'll muddle through.”

  Dani gave him that look women gave to puppies. “Okay, but remember, there's no shame in admitting you have a problem.”

  He was aware that Elvin was hanging on everything they said, so he decided to move the conversation into his office.

  “Your concern is overwhelming,” he said dryly, but she only laughed again. He couldn't help smiling at the sound. Funny, he'd forgotten how much time they'd all spent laughing in high school. But now, seeing Gypsy, he had to admit, those had been great years.

  “You didn't tell me why you call him Killer,” Elvin pointed out, ignoring the frown Travis sent his way. “Did he do something bad in high school?”

  Dani never took her gaze off Travis as she explained, “Travis was a real lady-killer. He had all the moves, and the girls were crazy about him.”

  “No, they weren't,” Travis felt obligated to say. “It was just that as an Army brat, I'd lived lots of places growing up, so I was more sophisticated than you hicks. You were easily impressed.”

  A slow smile formed on her face. It was a teasing smile, a tempting smile.

  An amazingly sexy smile.

  And once again, Travis felt attraction wrap around him and squeeze. She was one gorgeous lady.

  “Travis? A lady-killer?” Elvin made a snorting, laughing, choking noise. “Travis?”

  That brought him back to reality. Travis was all set to tell the kid that yeah, he'd been hot and heavy with the girls in high school when he realized that wouldn't help him convince Dani he was now a mature adult.

  Instead, he said to Dani, “I know you must be busy. Come inside the house and tell me about your grandmother. Max and I aren’t private detectives anymore, but I’m happy to listen.” He led the way up the front steps and opened the front door. This time when he smiled at her, he used his all-business smile. As Dani walked by him, he didn't miss the smirk hovering around her lips. He also didn't miss the faint musky, sensuous smell of her perfume.

  Once again, he felt his hormones take improper notice, so he looked at Elvin, knowing the kid would aggravate him and make him forget all about Dani.

  His plan worked. One look at Elvin practically drooling made Travis grit his teeth.

  “Don't you have some work to do?” he asked the younger man.

  Elvin shrugged. “I guess. But this is more interesting.” In a voice only slightly muted, he asked, “What do you think is up with her grandmother?”

  “Let Travis come in here, and I'll tell him,” Dani hollered back.

  Elvin looked stunned, obviously surprised Dani could hear him, but come on, people fifty yards away could hear him.

  “Tell me later,” Elvin said in his famous loud whisper to Travis.

  Travis frowned. “No. Now get back to work. Those stalls need to be mucked out.”

  He headed inside the house, and as he shut the door, he noticed Elvin was half walking, half skipping to the barn.

  “That kid,” he muttered.

  “Is probably looking at you as a father figure and only needs a male role model to teach him how to behave,” Dani said.

  “Is that your professional opinion as a student of human behavior?” he asked, coming to stand next to her.

  “More or less. He's a smart young man who is trying to impress you.”

  At that moment, Travis could hear faintly hear Elvin singing the jingle from a cereal commercial. As he sang, he kept getting louder and more enthusiastic. Travis looked at Dani and raised an eyebrow. “I take it you're not very good at judging people.”

  “Usually I am,” she said. “Maybe that young man needs a little more time to grow up.”

  “Yeah, a couple of hundred years should do it.”

  Again, sh
e laughed. “Travis, it's so good to see you. I haven't laughed this much in years.”

  Then she did the one thing he'd been hoping she wouldn't since she'd woken up his libido.

  She hugged him.

  DANI WAS SO GLAD SHE'd come to see Travis. Not only was she sure he would be able to help her, but she was truly happy to see him again. When she'd arrived at the ranch, she'd been stressed and worried, but now she felt calm. Calm was something she rarely felt these days, what with the pressure of the new job she was about to start in New York and the pressure from her family.

  But Travis made her happy and reminded her of fun times, so she hugged him even tighter.

  “Hello, old friend,” she said.

  Travis hugged her back. Having his arms around her made Dani feel safe and secure and...something else. Something she couldn't quite name. Something that felt like—desire.

  With a start, Dani pulled away from Travis and stared at him. Okay, that was new. She'd never felt anything remotely like desire around Travis before. Never. Not even when all the girls in high school had been fawning over him, she'd always just thought of him as a platonic guy friend. She'd never wanted him, lusted after him, or dreamed about him.

  But that sure had changed a couple of seconds ago. Now all she could think about was how handsome Travis was and how attracted she was to him.

  Wow.

  “Everything okay?” Travis asked.

  Dani tried to determine from his expression if he knew what had just happened, but she couldn't tell a thing. Well, it didn't matter anyway because nothing like that was going to happen again. She had no intention of getting close enough to him for her emotions to go crazy again.

  “I'm fine.” She headed over to one of the chairs across the room and sat. After he was settled on the couch facing her, she said, “I'm in a little bit of a rush, so let me explain why I'm here.”

  “Sure. The message I got said it had to do with your grandmother cursing. So has her potty mouth gotten her into trouble or something?”

  Dani rolled her eyes. “Potty mouth, please. My grandmother thinks drat is a hard-core cuss word.”