“It was the only thing that kept me from going crazy waiting to hear from you.”
That was sobering. “I guess we’re both walking an emotional tightrope.”
“I’ll never admit to that.”
“You just did.” She glanced over at him.
His cheek dented. “No, ma’am, I did not. You’ll never catch me on a tightrope. Those dudes wear spangled tights.”
“They’re ripped dudes in spangled tights.”
“But the outfit’s the problem. Cowboys don’t do spangled tights.”
“How about saying you’ve got barbed wire tangled around your Wranglers?”
He chuckled. “I could say that.”
And he could melt her heart in the process. “You really expected this to work out, didn’t you?”
He sighed. “Yep.”
“Looking at it from your vantage point, I can see why. All the signs pointed to me deciding to move out here. But I’m still blown away that you hatched this plan in February. Did you really set your sights on me months ago?”
“Uh-huh.”
His answer sent squiggles through her stomach. “But you flirted with both me and Sara.”
“I did at first. Then you two sat me down and said I had to choose. For the first time in my life I paid close attention to my gut as well as my cock. I can trust my gut a lot more.”
“Mm.” And they were back on dangerous ground. Not his fault. She’d asked.
“You’re both beautiful, both sexy, but you… you stir something deeper in me. You inspired me to get off my butt and begin writing this series.”
“If I did, I’m glad. But I’m pretty sure I haven’t flirted back.”
“You have not. I’d given you no reason to, but that’s because I’d never let you see who I am.”
Her chest tightened. “Seems like you’ve kept that from everyone.”
“Not quite true. Lucky knows me. He’s not going to be shocked that I’ve been writing. Mom won’t be, either. It’s possible nobody in my family will be completely surprised. I think they know I’ve been up to something and it’s somehow connected to you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m sure they’ve noticed I haven’t dated since February, which isn’t like me. They probably assume it’s because I’ve made a choice.”
He hadn’t been seeing other women? She didn’t want to hear that. “I can see why you didn’t date. This book must have taken all your free time.”
“Not all of it. I still went dancing at the Buffalo now and then. I’ve been known to take a woman home after a night of dancing but I quit doing that in February. Getting horizontal with anyone other than you didn’t appeal to me.”
He'd saved himself for her. “How can you be so committed to someone you barely know?”
“I’m a writer. We soak up info like a sponge. I made good use of that week you and your family stayed here after Angie got married. When your folks came in May, I learned more about you. August was the best, though, when we took that ride.”
“But we had a fight!”
“Do you remember what it was about?”
“Yes! It was about… oh, my God. It was about whether a man is capable of writing sex as well as a woman can.”
