His eyes were earnest, his mouth seductive as he said, “The people here are pretty damn cool. Especially… well, I’m enjoying getting to know you, Gwen.”
“Me?” my voice squeaked out.
He chuckled lightly. “Yeah.You.”
With a tiny smile on his lips, he turned the truck back on and flipped the heat to the highest setting. “I kept you out too late. Let’s head home and get you warmed up. Plus, I want to see if Emerald and Eric are back from their appointment yet.”
Chapter 12
Knox
Emerald’s news from the doctor’s office must have been good, because I heard the two women whispering happily in a corner about it while Eric and I geared up for a hunting trip.
Emerald seemed to be relaxing around me, just like Gwen was.
And Eric and I had found our groove together. He’d stopped talking about anything army-related, and we had a surprising amount in common besides that. We’d eased into a friendship now.
The sawmill was going well. I could see that being a long-term fit.
The only trouble now was that Gwen appeared to have caught my eye, and the passing of days wasn’t lessening my interest in her.
Every day I asked myself, could we be a thing?
My chest twinged uncomfortably. Iwantedit. But she’d been so clear that I wasn’t the kind of man she was looking for… other than for a quick night in the sack.
I just kept wondering if I could turn that one-night stand into atwo-night stand. Or maybe a three-night stand. And from there, was it really such a big jump to dating?
We could take it day by day and see what happened.
I shook off the image of Gwen and me playing house together, married. Maybe even with a kid running around.
The Army Rangers felt like a lifetime ago. I had anewlife now. And maybe that meant it was time to do things I hadn’t done before.
Like turning Gwen into my girlfriend. Maybe even my wife.
But how could I show her that I was a good choice? I wasn’t even sure why she didn’t think I was marriage material. Was it because I’d been aloof when I first got here? Had her opinion changed?
It was time to find out.
Emerald looked up from her phone and told Eric, “There’s a sale on diapers at Herman’s Foods. Would you be willing to go with me to stock up before you guys go hunting? I want to buy every pack they’ve got.”
They’d both confided in me about her pregnancy after the doctor’s appointment. And I’d taken that as a sign that they were starting to trust me more. It felt good. Like I was developing anewpack.
They took off after announcing they’d be gone for half an hour or so, and damn if I couldn’t help myself. Thirty minutes alone with Gwen?
Either Emerald or Ericalwaysseemed to be here.
Right now the house was empty, and I couldn’t stay away. I was hungry for that woman. My need reaching a fever point.
She was in the laundry room running a load.
Slipping into the room, I studied her from behind. She had on a pair of loose sweats that would be so easy to tug down.
I wonder if she’d let me.
It was time to find out.
Gwen had her back turned as she dragged wet laundry out of the wash, preparing to transfer it to the dryer. And I snuck right up behind her and settled my hands on those glorious hips of hers. They were the quintessential definition of child-birthing hips.
