The way he said it had her toes curling with anticipation. His low, husky voice had a way of slipping past every one of her defenses and making her question why it would be bad to agree to his pact. He wouldn’t have offered if he didn’t like her. And her attraction for him had steadily increased since the wedding.
Their eyes locked with one another, and they continued to sway to the music even though the next song started, and its beat was a bit faster.
Her heart thrummed to a similar tempo, demanding that she take note. Noah was something else. He was sweet and observant. He was handsome as all get out, and those muscles?She couldn’t deny how nice he’d looked when they’d been sorting the donations in the supply room.
That smile?
It could melt her from the inside out.
Her eyes dipped lower to his mouth, and she bit down on the inside of her cheek.
Sotempting.
Andsonot what she needed right now.
Even still, his attention snagged on her focus, and he inched closer. He was going to kiss her, and that would be that. They’d destroy the fun banter they had going right now, and she’d have to push him away. She couldn’t let this happen no matter how curious she was.
Dang it! Why couldn’t she separate herself from his embrace?
At that very moment, a couple collided with them, knocking Jane off balance.
Their linked gazes broke, her arms falling away from his neck as the couple apologized profusely. When they hustled off, Jane met Noah’s eyes with amusement. “You know, it’s getting late, and I have to be at the office earlier if I want to make it to the ranch tomorrow afternoon.”
He nodded, and she could have sworn she saw disappointment flickering in his eyes.
Noah covered it up quickly and gestured to the door.
If she was right, then she’d have to do better at ignoring reactions like that.
CHAPTER NINE
Noah’s dreamshad been plagued with what could have been. He’d never had such a restless night in his life, and all because when he closed his eyes, he saw her.
If what he had before was a crush, then what he had right now was bordering on an obsession. Jane consumed him. From the moment he woke up to the time he climbed beneath the covers.
He wouldn’t have been able to come up with a reason to dislike her if he tried. Jane was an angel. She was perfection. And the fact that no one had managed to sweep her off her feet was a miracle.
They’d made progress when they’d gone out. He could feel it in the marrow of his bones. The way she’d been looking at him? It set his soul on fire. He’d nearly kissed her, for goodness’s sake. If it hadn’t been for that couple that bumped into them, the spell would have never been broken, and she would have seen just how good they could be together.
Jane would be here this afternoon, and the anticipation was killing him. He was tempted to go see her for lunch, insist on taking her out, but they’d already done their celebrating.
Easy.
He had to take it easy if he didn’t want to backpedal the progress they’d made. They had time, and he’d waited this long to get close to her. What was a couple more weeks or months, even? However long it took for him to win her over completely, he’d do it.
Jane had said that she’d be at the ranch after her shift at The Wounded Heroes Project. By Noah’s account, that meant she’d be arriving close to three o’clock.
It was five minutes to three, and Noah already knew how he was going to play this. He’d gotten Bo to agree to let him give Jane the grand tour and show her what she’d be asked to do. It would give them some time one-on-one without making it feel like he’d pushed himself into her life—even though that was exactly what he’d been doing. What she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her. He had no intention of her finding out that he’d pulled the strings to get her that promotion. As far as he was concerned, she’d earned it. He would have requested it eventually, anyway.
So what if there were going to be a few secrets between them? She didn’t have to know about his wealth, either. When she finally fell for him, he’d tell her. By then it would be too late for her to walk away from him.
It was the perfect plan.
When her car pulled up about ten minutes later, his heart practically stalled in his chest. She was beautiful. Clad in jeansand a t-shirt with the logo of his charity printed across the chest, she was the epitome of his dream girl.
It was as if they were the only two people in the world—the way her eyes connected with his. They were far enough apart that neither one of them would have been able to hear the other, and yet with the way she looked at him, he felt he knew exactly what she would be saying to him in this moment or at least how she felt.
A smile pulled at her lips, and she shoved her hands into her pockets as she moved toward him. “Hey, cowboy,” she purred, “finishing up for the day?” She took a swipe at his hat and placed it on her head.
