“Thanks.” Having his sexy self in the passenger seat gave her the fumbles and she had trouble getting the key in the ignition.
“You okay over there?”
“Just…” She managed to jab it in and start the motor. “Hyped up.” His low chuckle turned her insides to molasses.
“So am I. Everything’s… different.”
“No kidding.” She backed out of her parking spot next to the mini-hacienda. “I meant to invite you in to see the trees but I forgot.”
“Another time.”
“Want some Christmas music for the road?”
“How about if we just talk?”
“Fine with me. I don’t need Christmas music. I’m already chock-a-block with the Christmas spirit. I have a feeling this will be one to remember.”
“You could be right.”
Taking a deep breath, she focused on driving instead of the extremely appealing man next to her. When he’d texted that he’d finished the gate repair and wanted to take her to lunch after they shopped, she’d offered to drive because she needed gas.
That was true, but she was also testing his willingness to be chauffeured by a woman. She’d happily let him pay for lunch since it was his idea, but this relationship had the makings of something serious, which put her on alert.
If he harbored any rigid beliefs about a woman’s place, she wanted to know. He’d readily agreed to her plan and his relaxed posture told her he was fine riding shotgun. Great news.
Since he’d chosen conversation over holiday music, she started the ball rolling. “I was bummed about the party at first, but now I’m glad we’re going. As you pointed out last night, we’ve never danced together.”
“I’ve been thinking about that. It’s almost as if we made a mutual decision. Did you ever consider asking me?”
“I did, but I hesitated. It felt like a big step.”
“Same here. I wonder if we both sensed what might happen if we got that close.”
From the corner of her eye she caught him watching her. “And we might start something we weren’t ready for?”
“Exactly.”
Her body began to tingle. Maybe music was a better choice. “Are we ready for it now?”
“God, I hope so. We’d better be, because there’s no going back.”
“Nope.”
“I can’t speak for you, but I needed these six months to settle in, get acclimated. Gather info.”
“Info?”
“About you.”
She laughed. “That’s funny. Obviously I didn’t need to settle in, but I’ve been gathering info about you, too.”
“From Jordie, no doubt.”
“I promise she was discreet. I don’t think she told me anything you wouldn’t want her to. It was all good stuff.”
“Like I said, she has zero objectivity when it comes to me.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.”
