Cowboy Stole My Heart (River Ranch #1)
Soraya Lane
Synopsis ♥
It takes true grit to build a
billion-dollar dynasty like the Ford family ranch. But when it comes to finding
love, all it takes is one handsome cowboy to steal a woman’s heart in Cowboy Stole My Heart by Soraya Lane.
SHE’S RIDING SOLO
As one of the heirs to the River Ranch fortune, Mia Ford is practically Texas
royalty. But that doesn’t mean she’s some pampered princess. She can saddle up
and ride a horse as well as any man, even a hard-working cowboy like Sam
Mendes. For years, she’s harbored a crush on the strong, silent horseman. But
how can she make a move when she’s his boss?
HE’S TAKING THE REINS
Sam Mendes is through with love—or so he thought. Still recovering from a
breakup, he’s doing everything in his power to resist Mia Ford. It’s bad enough
she’s the kind of beauty who drives men wild with desire. It’s even worse she’s
got him so worked up, aching to kiss her lips, when he’s supposed to be working
her ranch. Is this lovestruck cowboy willing to risk losing his job—and breaking
his heart—to win the girl of his dreams?
Excerpt ♥
Mia disappeared and he talked to the
horses, wandering down the line to look at all of them. He’d only seen her ride
the one, her favorite mare, but he had a feeling she was full of surprises, and
her horses all looked impressive. When she didn’t reappear, Sam went looking
for her, wondering what the hell was taking so long.
“Hey, do you need a hand back there?” he
called out. He squinted in the half-light, dark compared to the full sun glare
outside when he ducked through the doorway and into the tack room.
“Oh, shit, sorry, just give me a sec.”
He stopped. Sam stood in the middle of the
small room, saddles and bridles covering every inch of wall space, and Mia
pressed into one corner, her tears impossible to hide. “Hey,” Sam murmured,
striding over to her. Hell, he hadn’t expected her to be crying. He’d thought
she might need a hand carrying some gear out, but . . . he didn’t know what to
do.
“I’m fine, please,” she said, holding one
hand up to her face, the other stretched out in front of her as if trying to
push him away before he was even close.
“You’re not okay,” he said, knowing how
gruff he sounded but unable to help it. “Come here.”
She shook her head. “Please, I’m fine,” she
managed, voice cracking.
“Your mom, huh?” he asked, knowing that
there was no way in hell he’d managed to say anything to upset her this much.
She was still grieving, he could see that from a mile off.
She nodded, dropping one hand, the other
still covering her face. “Yeah,” she whispered. “It’s just I haven’t talked
about her for a long time. She’s been gone twelve years so I shouldn’t be
reacting like this.”
“Come here,” Sam said, not taking no for an
answer this time as he opened his arms and pulled her in.
He held her, tight, letting her cry. She
sobbed once, loudly, a noise that made his heart lurch for her, feeling her
pain, before she went silent and relaxed in his arms. It had been almost a year
since he’d held a woman like this; comforted a woman and held her and felt
something for her. He stiffened. Only that woman had played him, ripped his
heart out when he’d have done anything for her. Anything.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’d tell you it’ll
get easier, but I doubt it will.”
He didn’t sugarcoat things, even this type
of thing, but he did feel for her. She’d tried to talk about her mom all
nonchalant to him, laughing about her beautiful stables, when in reality it had
torn her in half and left her crying all on her own. She’d lost her mom and her
best friend as well; no wonder she’d been prickly when he’d tried to muscle in
and take over with the one thing she did have— her horses.
Mia pushed back and he wished she hadn’t.
He’d liked the warmth of her against him, the tickle of her long hair catching
in his stubble as he’d inhaled her shampoo or whatever it was on her that smelled
so damn delicious.
“Sorry,” she murmured, her hands to his
chest as she stepped back. “I don’t ever let anyone see me cry.”
He believed it. She didn’t strike him as
the type to let anyone see her vulnerabilities.
Sam glanced down at her, at her hands
against his chest, at the way she was looking up at him, her eyes wide. Her
mouth parted, tear-stained cheeks making her look so vulnerable that it tugged
at something inside of him he’d thought was long buried.
“You’ve got nothing to apologize for,” he
muttered, slowly raising a hand and brushing his thumb gently across her cheeks
to blur the tears away.
Mia stayed still, her palms still planted
against him, head tilted. He looked at her mouth, fought the urge to rub his
thumb across her soft pink lips. Instead he dropped his hand, skimming past her
long blonde hair on the way past. Sam bent a little, eyes on her mouth,
imagining what her lips would taste like. He wanted to kiss her so damn bad,
wanted to push her up against the wall behind her and kiss the hell out of her.
But he didn’t.
He’d sworn off women for a reason, and sexy
or not, he wasn’t about to take advantage of his boss up against a wall. Even
crying she was beautiful, but he wasn’t going there. He couldn’t go there.
Dammit!
Her eyes were dancing, her lips were
parted, her hands were slowly dropping away from his chest. But instead of
closing the distance between them, instead of hungrily tasting her lips against
his, he took her hands, stepping back and squeezing them.
“You take all the time you need,” he said
instead, hearing the husky note of his own voice. “I’ll be out here.”
He walked out, ducking back through the
door and out into the bright sunlight again. Goddamn it! What the hell had he just done? He’d always prided
himself on being able to keep his shit together, and he’d let himself get way
too close to Mia.
Copyright © 2018
by Soraya Lane and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Press.
Review ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
It's been a while since I've read a cowboy romance and this one hit the spot nicely.
Sam
Mendes has found fame doing what he loves. He would rather deal with
horses than people any day. He is offered the chance to get away from
the fame for a while, and back to what he loves best. They call him the
horse whisperer, but this one may even be too much for him.
Headstrong Mia loves horses and works hard for what she has, even though she comes from money. She is competitive, proud and beautiful. Mia's dad has hired Sam to help with an unruly horse. From the offset, the sexual tension is dripping off these two and they rub each other up the wrong way. Both want the best for the horses, but they also want their own way. He likes to work alone. She wants to help. He's cocky and she's stubborn. The horse is special and is going to take a unique bond to win him over.
Sam is an alpha male and Mia is head strong which is my favourite combination. This book is about taming the beast, but maybe that's not just the horse ;)
Cowboy stole my heart had a really good realistic storyline, and I enjoyed the journey. It has more than a romance to offer, and the ranch/horse became important to me too. 4 stars out of 5.
*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review*
Sam
Mendes has found fame doing what he loves. He would rather deal with
horses than people any day. He is offered the chance to get away from
the fame for a while, and back to what he loves best. They call him the
horse whisperer, but this one may even be too much for him.Headstrong Mia loves horses and works hard for what she has, even though she comes from money. She is competitive, proud and beautiful. Mia's dad has hired Sam to help with an unruly horse. From the offset, the sexual tension is dripping off these two and they rub each other up the wrong way. Both want the best for the horses, but they also want their own way. He likes to work alone. She wants to help. He's cocky and she's stubborn. The horse is special and is going to take a unique bond to win him over.
Sam is an alpha male and Mia is head strong which is my favourite combination. This book is about taming the beast, but maybe that's not just the horse ;)
Cowboy stole my heart had a really good realistic storyline, and I enjoyed the journey. It has more than a romance to offer, and the ranch/horse became important to me too. 4 stars out of 5.
*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review*
Mass Market Paperback £7.99 or £6.11, 304 pages
Publication: January 2nd 2018 by St. Martin's Press
About the Author♥
As a child, Soraya Lane dreamed of becoming
an author. Fast forward more than a few years, and Soraya is now living her
dream! Soraya describes being an author as "the best career in the
world", and she hopes to be writing romance for many years to come.
Soraya loves spending her days thinking up characters for books, and her home is a constant source of inspiration. She lives with her own real life hero and two sons on a small farm in New Zealand, surrounded by animals and with an office overlooking a field where their horses graze. She is the author of The Devil Wears Spurs, Cowboy Take Me Away, and I Knew You Were Trouble.
Soraya loves spending her days thinking up characters for books, and her home is a constant source of inspiration. She lives with her own real life hero and two sons on a small farm in New Zealand, surrounded by animals and with an office overlooking a field where their horses graze. She is the author of The Devil Wears Spurs, Cowboy Take Me Away, and I Knew You Were Trouble.
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