“Yeah, of course. She always loved you.”
“It was nice meeting you, Beckett. We have a reservation, though, so we need to get going.” Then Gray leads me down the sidewalk, tipping his head in a curt nod to Beckett as if wearing his cowboy hat.
The swanky restaurant hums at a dull roar when we enter, Gray immediately giving his name to the hostess before she leads us to a booth for two.
“Is this okay?” He removes that fucking ball cap he always wears backward, placing it on the seat next to him.
It never occurred to me he might be as nervous about this as I am. We’d connected in the bedroom and even bonded over the both of us feeling like we constantly live in someone else’s shadow, but an actual date is different.
“Girlfriend, huh?”
That shit-eating grin spreads on his face, the pop of a dimple on the right side just deep enough to notice through his dark beard. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Gray…”
He leans forward slowly, his arms crossing on the table in front of him. “Baby, you wore my hat. That made you mine.”
My goodness, my insides are on fire. Why is that so hot? I’ve never had a man just take what he wants and actually want him to have it.
“And how many other girls have you made your girlfriend that way?”
Gray’s hands reach for mine, linking our fingers before those deep whiskey eyes focus on me. “I’ve had a few girls wear my rodeo hat, but not a single one has ever worn my ball cap. Just you.”
I don’t have a response to that. I’ve only known this man for four days, and I swear I’m already nosediving off the steepest cliff because of him. A freefall that’ll either leave me in pieces or encased in the safest arms I’ve ever known.
The moment is broken as our server stops at the edge of our table, fishing in her black apron for a pen. “Good evening, I’m Macie. What can I start y’all with?”
“Whiskey neat. Make it a double.” The words blurted so fast, Gray only quirks his brows at me.
“Same.” His eyes focus on me as he leans back in the booth, his legs just long enough his knees touch mine under the table. Contact I crave. But it’s not enough.
“I thought you were a beer drinker.”
“Oh, I am. But I’m hoping if I join you on the dark side tonight, you’ll take me for another ride.”
This dinner can’t be over fast enough.
Chapter 11
Grayson
Awomanhasnevermademy hands shake before.
Another man trying to claim a woman I already claimed for myself has never enraged me before, either.
It’s wild to think that after five years with Stacy, my feelings for her don’t even come close to how wrapped up I already am in River.
It’s something I can’t explain.
A phenomenon I thought was meant for those holiday Christmas movies and chick flicks.
How is it possible to want someone so much after a single night? To need them near you all the time, so they never leave.
“Stay there,” I tell her, parking the truck as close to my porch steps as possible. The rain hasn’t stopped, and those heeled boots she’s wearing will only get stuck in the mud.
Opening her door, she only grins at me, snatching my hat from my head and putting it on hers. “Better.”
Leaning in close, my nose runs along her cheek, my lips inching toward her ear. “You can wear the damn thing every day if you want, but for now, hold on.”
