“So, tomorrow?”
“Already?” The humor in her voice did nothing to hide her desire.
“Do you want me to do the whole wait-a-week thing?”
Stopping, her hand went immediately to my chest. “Don’t you dare.”
“Then tomorrow, we’ll go out. Somewhere not with our parents. Or siblings.”
“And where would this place be?”
Dinner. At my house. I could cook for her. But then I’d want to take her to bed, and I wasn’t sure if that was moving too fast for her.
But, then again…
Backing her up against the wall outside her building, I caged her in with my arms pressed to either side of her head.
“We’ve known each other a long time.”
“I thought you’d never notice,” she teased.
“I know you better than anyone. I’ve memorized the way you smile. I know how you laugh on purpose when you think you’re going to cry.”
Taking a strand of her blonde hair between my fingers, I twirled it, wrapping it around my finger to draw her closer.
“Youthinkyou know me better. Tell me something I don’t know.”
“How about the way you talk to me, so boldly and confidently when you’re really hiding all that unease inside?”
For just a second, she looked shocked. But only a second. Because I knew she would come out swinging no matter what I told her.
“Just like I know you. Quiet, brooding, always watching…I’ve been waiting for you to make a move for years, which is why I’ve been biding my time. I knew it would happen.”
“You did, huh?”
“Do you think I’ve never noticed the way you watch me over the years? How you check on me when a storm rolls in?”
“I’ve never checked on you.”
“No, not me personally, but you check in with my mother, Cheyenne, and even Wyatt, whom you claim to hate. You’ve even gone so far as to tell him to rotate my tires, which I find hilarious since I’m a mechanic.”
“Maybe you should have done it sooner.”
“Maybe you should trust me.”
“I do,” I rumbled, leaning in closer. “With my life. But that doesn’t mean there’s ever been a single day in my life that I haven’t worried about you.”
Her eyes dropped to my lips and her chest heaved as her breathing sped up. “I know.”
“It’s always been you.”
“Then stop wasting time.” Her eyes flicked back up to mine in challenge. “Don’t make me wait. I’ve been doing that long enough.”
I nodded, then leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “Tomorrow,” I promised. “Dinner at my house. I’ll pick you up after work.”
“I can drive myself.”
“I know you can, but there won’t ever be a time that I’ll let you drive at night all alone in the country.”
