“I, uh, like learning new things.” It was a poor explanation and she knew it, but words were really hard right now with his intoxicating cologne clouding her sharpest senses. She lifted her fingers to his beard, knocking loose the last few grains of flour.
“Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t have a desire to give the ranching life a try.”
She’d never stopped staring into his eyes since he leaned in, and even if she wanted to now, she was frozen. Lost in the depths of his gaze. One she was certain could peer clear into her soul. “It’s not that simple,” she said, her words hardly a whisper.
“Sure it is.” He closed the gap, gently brushing her lips with his own. She dug her fingers into his beard until she found his cheek and pulled him closer. She’d never allowed a second kiss before, too afraid where it might lead.
The smoke alarm went off again, and Hudson groaned. “I better go check.”
Reese sat panting on the couch, too dizzy with pleasure to give the warning bells in her head any mind. No one she’d dated in Chicago ever made her feel this way with a simple kiss.What if . . .
“Any objections to ordering in?” Hudson asked, his head poked through the kitchen doorway again.
Curiosity and the urge to be close to Hudson pulled her off the couch. “What were you cooking, anyway?”
Hudson tried to hide the mess on the counter with his broad chest, but Reese zipped around him. He caught her with both arms, her back to his chest, but it was too late. She spotted the evidence. Even if she hadn’t, the distinct scent of something burning and smoke steaming from the oven was hard to miss.
“Uh, sorry,” Jed said, scratching his head. “I got distracted.”
Reese turned her gaze up toward Hudson, sending him anI told you solook. “What was this supposed to be?”
“Deep-dish pizza,” Jed answered before Hudson could stop him.
The splotches of sauce and flour on the counter made sense. She opened the oven cautiously, eyes wide at the crispy ball of bread that appeared when the cloud of smoke cleared. “If you want dough to rise, you’re supposed to heat the oven, shut it off, andthenput the dough in,” she said with a laugh, grabbing for a towel to fan the smoke away.
Jed opened a window, its objectionable screeching reminding Reese how much work was left to do with this house, and how badly she wanted to be around for it. But she couldn’t give up her life in Chicago.Could I?Her parents would never understand. If she turned down the promotion, she’d burn a bridge. The stakes were too high.
“I’ll order us some pizza,” Hudson said, pulling out his phone. He looked at Reese with a helpless shrug. “I tried to cook. At least let the record state that much.”
Deep-dish pizza. He tried to make her a deep-dish pizza to feel more at home. Despite all her objections, Reese was afraid she was falling harder for Hudson Ross than ever before, and she had no clue what to do about it.
Chapter 13
Hudson
“We should be mending your fences,” Reese said as Hudson held the door to The Starlight Wine and Gift Shoppe open for her.
“And we will,” he replied, following her inside. “But first, we have a living room to finish.” The furniture was all delivered, the TV hung, and every piece of trim painted and installed. The only things left were the small details that he would never get right on his own. Things hecouldlive without if it came down to it, but he wanted her touch. He also needed the excuse to come into town that wouldn’t arise her suspicions.
“Hey,” he said, tugging her back by the hand. “I need to run a quick errand. Think you can get by without me for a few minutes?”
“An errand?” Reese challenged him with her raised eyebrow of suspicion, but this was one secret he was going to keep.
“I’ll be ten minutes. Fifteen tops.” He cupped her cheek and kissed her softly to prevent any objections from slipping out. Plus, he really wanted to kiss her and was taking advantage of every excuse. It was their kisses, he felt certain, that were breaking down her walls.
Time was ticking down, but he felt more certain about their future every day.
Reese wanted to stay; he could feel it. She only had to accept it for herself.
Hudson slipped out the door and turned left, stopping three storefronts down. He halted outside the door, a rush of anxiety hitting him unexpectedly. The last time he’d picked out a ring, that woman left him standing alone in a church full of people.
The humiliation he’d felt rushed back to him in a blunt wave, making it nearly impossible to brush away.
He’d gambled and lost.
He might lose again.
Reese is different and you know it.
