One side of his mouth quirked upward, and he reached out to trace a finger along her jaw before he tapped her nose. “You’re already making a difference. You just can’t see it yet.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“Are we done yet?I’m pretty sure Bo is going to be expecting us to finish brushing down the horses before it gets dark,” Noah said, leaning against the bookshelf at his back.
Jane’s eyes darted up from the book she was skimming. “One more stop, I promise.”
He nodded to the book in her hand. “And why did we have to stop here after we were done sorting stuff back at your work?”
She wiggled the book in her hand with a broad grin. He couldn’t even be annoyed that he’d been dragged along for her errands before she showed up at the ranch. When she was in a good mood like this, his whole world seemed to brighten. And she’d asked him to tag along.
Granted, that might have only been because he’d shown up to help with sorting today, and he’d offered to drive her out to the ranch so she didn’t have to waste gas.
“This book just came out yesterday, and it’s the last one in the series. I totally forgot about it and didn’t preorder it.”
“That good, huh?” he said, his tone flat but his attitude anything but.
She smirked and pushed the book into his chest. “You could learn a thing or two about girls from a book like this.”
He pulled the book away from his chest and gave it a once over. “Lassoing Her Heart.” Noah arched a brow. There was a couple on the cover, pulled together with a rope around the two of them. Noah snorted and turned the cover so Jane was forced to look at it. Then he wagged his brows. “You want this?Icould do this for you.”
The depth of red that seeped beneath her skin wassoworth it. The way Jane’s eyes practically bulged out of her head and the way her mouth fell open was utter comedy. It didn’t matter that he meant every single word he’d said. He chuckled at her reaction as he moved closer to her and placed the book back into her hands.
To add insult to injury, he lowered his voice as he murmured beside her ear, “You know, fantasies aren’t just meant to stay between the pages of a book.” With that, he brushed past her. If he looked back to see her reaction, he might have completely lost it. This back and forth they had was getting more intense with how much time they’d been spending together. Sometimes she caught him off guard, but more often than not, he was the one who had the upper hand.
“Jane? Is that you?”
He slowed then turned around to find Jane stopped a few feet away from him. The woman who was speaking to her had thrown her arms around her.
“It’s been forever. I can’t believe I’m bumping into you.Here.”
“Tif! Yeah, I live here now. What about you? Last I heard, you’d moved down to Texas.”
Tif sliced a dismissive hand through the air. “Just passing through. My cousins live here.” Her eyes slid over to where Noah stood a few feet away, and a sly smile touched her lips when she set her gaze on Jane. “And who is this tall drink of water?”
Jane stiffened and turned to him. He watched as Jane battled out how she wanted to introduce him. He could practically read her thoughts on the matter. What were they to each other? They’d gotten closer to each other lately, but did that mean they were more than just friends?
“This is Noah. He’s my friend.”
Friend.
There wasn’t a single word in the English language that could cut deeper than that one. Friends. They werejustfriends. No matter how hard he’d tried at getting past her defenses, he hadn’t managed to get her to change her mind on the subject. She didn’t see him as anything other than a guy she could joke around and flirt with without the risk of making things weird.
Noah held out his hand with a tight smile. “Yep, we’re real good friends. Dating back to when we were teenagers.” He didn’t bother looking at Jane as he said the words. She’d agree with his sentiment based on the label she’d put on them herself.
Tif took his hand with a giggle. “It’s too bad I’m not staying longer. I would have loved to get to know you a little better.”
Jane moved closer to him, her arm brushing his. “He’s really busy these days—helping out with the charity and working hisfamily’s ranch. I don’t know if he’d have time for the kind of fun you like to have.”
Was she… jealous?
Noah shot a look in Jane’s direction. He was probably hearing things. The way she stepped forward didn’t mean that she was trying to lay her claim or anything. She was simply letting her friend know that their schedules wouldn’t match up, so she shouldn’t waste her time in trying to plan something.
Tif’s eyes bounced from Jane to Noah. If Noah didn’t know any better, he would have believed that Tif saw something in Jane’s demeanor, too. She smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I get it. My cousins work from sunup to sundown most days. It’s not an easy life, but it’s totally rewarding.”
Noah nodded. “It sure is.”
Jane and Tif spent a few more minutes catching up. Jane told her all about the promotion she’d been given and how inadequate she felt about the whole thing, but Tif’s sentiments were similar to Noah’s. Jane needed to accept just how capable she was.
