“You up for dinner?”
Annie leans against the open door looking up at me with those long lashes I’ve been dreaming about, those curves in her skin-hugging jeans, the cowboy boots that can drive me wild all on their own.
She licks her lips slowly, running her tongue in a smooth, quick circle.
Shit. A huff of a laugh escapes me. If it were anyone else, I would have thought it was an invitation, but with Annie I wouldn’t dare assume. She steps into me and pulls me down by the back of the neck.
“Can I have another kiss?” she whispers, and it’s the most beautiful sound in the world.
“Come here.” I pull Annie in close and land my mouth over hers. Annie comes at me with a vengeance, her tongue bursting over mine with a passion she’s dying to unleash. Cars drive past us. The balloon ride company shuts down for the night, and Annie and I linger in that freezing parking lot with our mouths locked over one another as if it were our last few moments on earth.
We finally pull apart to a darkened sky. The two of us with matching goofy grins. We opt out of going to a restaurant and pick up take out and head to the carriage house where Wyatt is graciously letting me stay. After I crashed his fuck-fest last night, he gladly tossed the keys at me to the one bedroom refurbished cottage behind his property. The Golden Oaks Horse Ranch is a boarding facility he runs on the side. It once belonged to his father, who, as far as fathers go, isn’t nearly the disaster mine happens to be. Nope. My father won’t be gifting me a horse ranch anytime soon—maybe a pile of shit to step in.
I start a fire and settle us on the couch.
“Are you hungry?” I start taking the Chinese food out of the bag, and Annie shakes her head.
She shows me her phone.But please, eat. I don’t want you to starve.
“Nope, I’m fine.” I move the bags to the table and scoot in close, twisting my body just enough for her to read my lips. “Tell me something about you I don’t know.”
I saw my mom today. She’s pretty adamant I get this high-tech implant. It would require surgery. It’s been heavy on my heart all afternoon, but you managed to take my mind off it. Thank you for that.
“Will this implant help you hear?”
“I think so,” she mouths before typing into her phone.I’m a candidate, so my mother is pretty rabid about it. It stimulates the inner ear, making sounds richer than other implants. It’s basically a sound processor and a couple of transducers. It blows doors off old-school implants.
A swell of relief fills me. “Annie, you have to do this.” I rub her shoulder, trying to coax her into the idea. Hell, I’d take her there now to have this done if I could.
She frowns before typing into her phone.You would get along great with my mother.She looks to the ceiling a moment.But, seriously, I know it would be a good thing. I’m just not sure if I’m ready for it. I’m a big chicken when it comes to hospitals. I feel sick just thinking about it.
“I get it.” I pull out my phone.When my brother died—I started to black out as soon as I hit the ER. I’m not a fan of blood or gore, and, unfortunately, with Ben I got both.
“I’m so sorry,” she says in the faintest whisper. Her fingers move lightning fast over her phone.What you went through is unimaginable. I couldn’t handle losing either one of my brothers. I feel bad when they act like jerks around you.
“No. They don’t.” My chest rumbles with a laugh. “Maybe a little.” I squeeze my finger and thumb together and wince.I’m teasing. I’m glad they’re protective of you. I wouldn’t want it any other way.
She lifts a shoulder at the thought.Tell me about your family.
My family. I swallow hard, trying to figure out which angle to take on this.
“My dad is—” I clasp my hand to the back of my neck before reaching for my phone.He’s a character.That’s putting it mildly.My mother was divorced, a single mom when she met him. My older brother, Wyatt, this is his ranch. He’s a great guy. I can’t wait for you to meet him.I nod toward the main house.He’s a lady’s man. That’s why he’s opted to let me stay in the guesthouse. My brother, Benji—we were close. We fought sometimes. Nothing was ever perfect in our lives, but we had each other.
That about sums up my existence in a nutshell with the exception of Olivia. Just the thought of her makes my stomach sour.
Annie holds out her phone.You mentioned that he passed away this last summer, that was just a few weeks ago. I can imagine how raw your emotions must be. Do you want to talk about him?Her eyes glitter as tears threaten to fall.
Just seeing Annie trying to absorb my pain makes it all a little easier to handle.
“He was a nut.” True as God.We loved the same things, fishing, hiking. He wasn’t in the band toward the end. When we were little, he’d tell everyone I was his sister just to piss me off.A laugh bucks through my chest.He was my buddy. I can’t imagine how I’m going to get through life without him.
Annie sighs as she writes out a reply.Blake—I want you to know that you can talk to me about Benji anytime you want. I’m here for you. I don’t want you to ever feel like you can’t talk about him.
I nod. “Thank you. I’ll take you up on that. I appreciate it.”
Annie slips over and sits in my lap. A devilish smile rides over her lips as she taps into her phone.Tell me about the girls in your life. Every time I turn around, there’s a girl trying to climb you.
“Sort of like this?” I give the bottom of her thigh a light tap. And a genuine laugh trickles from the both of us. Hers still has the volume turned down.Girls, huh? I don’t kiss and tell.
