“Call me Sophia,” she interrupts while giving me a firm shake with her weathered hands.
“It’s nice to meet you, Sophia,” I say with a genuine smile. “Thanks for having me.”
“Well come on in. No need to stand out on this porch all night.”
Joy takes my hand, and we follow her aunt. The inside is about what I would imagine. An open floor design reveals a large living room and dining room with older, comfortable-looking furniture. The furniture isn’t new but it’s in great condition. We walk past the farmhouse-style kitchen and into a hallway.
“The bathroom is here.” Sofia points to the first door on the right. Across the hall, an open door leads to a dark room. “And that’s my office.”
We continue down the hall on an unexpected tour. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but I was under the impression that Sophia wasn’t thrilled to hear about me. While she wasn’t exactly celebrating, she seems nice enough. Joy’s soft hand squeezes mine, and I find her looking up at me with a worried expression when we stop outside of the next door.
“And this is the guest bedroom.” Sophia glances at our empty hands. “You don’t plan to stay? It’s such a long drive; I thought you’d be here for the weekend.”
A smile tugs at my lips when Joy laughingly interrupts. “We have a bag in the truck. I knew you wouldn’t want us making the long trip back.”
“Okay. Well.” She turns and leads the way to the living room without another word.
This time when I glance at Joy, she too is trying not to laugh. We take a seat on the couch and Sophia joins us a couple minutes later carrying a tray with a pitcher of iced tea along with cheese and crackers. She sits in the upholstered chair across from us and watches us quietly.
“So, this is Tate,” Joy says awkwardly.
“We’ve met,” Sophia says with the faintest hint of a smirk.
“Well. You see that he’s real. And I’m alive. Feel better now?”
“He doesn’t seem like your type,” Sophia points out. “Where did you two meet?”
Joy coughs and I drape my arm across her shoulders, pulling her close. Of course, her aunt would ask the thing Joy was most worried about first. I can tell Sophia is the type who hates bullshit and can spot it from a mile away. So, I opt for a version of the truth. I don’t want to tell her we officially met at a bar.
“We met at the rodeo, ma’am. Actually, that’s not true,” I say, correcting myself. “Technically, we met in the parking lot where she works.”
Sophia looks between the two of us and sits forward expectantly. Shrugging, I look to Joy to tell the story, figuring I won’t do it justice.
“I was on my way to meet Rayna for lunch, andsomeonewasn’t paying attention to what he was doing and backed into my car.”
The old woman gasps in horror, so I raise my hands in defense. “She’s fine. Her car is fine. I wasn’t going that fast. But she’s right. My mind was somewhere else. And I’m glad it was.”
“You’re glad you backed into my niece’s car?” she says, incredulous.
“Yeah. If I didn’t, we might not have met. And that would be a damn shame.”
Grinning, Sophia holds my gaze for several long moments before flicking her eyes to Joy. “I like him. Now, what’s this about the rodeo?”
Chapter 36
Joy
Perfect.IknewIcould count on Aunt Sophia to ask me the one thing I wished she would avoid as soon as she got the chance. I was hoping to have her as in love with Tate as I am before slipping in that small detail. If we lied, she’d probably never know. But I’m not going to do that. I really want her to like him, and that’s not the way to do it. She’d know something wasn’t right.
“Well, Tate is a bronc rider. He was leaving the doctor’s office after having his hand looked at and that’s when he backed into me. I didn’t know who he was, and I let him have it for hitting my car. It was opening night of the Cole County rodeo, and the arena was the first time I saw him again after knowing who he was. Eventually, we talked, and I discovered he was actually nice. Not just some big jerk who backed into me.”
Tate’s shoulder bumps mine as he laughs. “You thought I was a big jerk?”
His eyes bore into me, and the sexy smirk on his face nearly makes me forget myself. “The biggest.”
My gaze drifts from his eyes to his lips and back. I want to kiss those lips, but the sound of my aunt clearing her throat reminds me where we are. Heat rises to my cheeks at my wayward thoughts, but I’m less anxious than I had been a few minutes ago. I’m not sure if it’s Tate’s presence that calms me, or my aunt’s reaction.
“So, a bronc rider from the ranch you work at?” Sophia clarifies.
