Now, I began to wonder whether Nolan was the freak.
And as the heat that flashed through me turned to butterflies, whether it would be so bad if he were?
“What happened to being a gentleman?” I asked.
“Everyone deserves a day off.” His smile dropped. “I promise I won’t do it again. We can make the plan together over breakfast, but I’m telling you now, there are more than fifteen things I want to do with you.”
Huh. “When you say ‘things’…?”
“In the morning.”
Nolan headed toward the barn, and I hurried after him. “But…but…”
“But you’re impatient?”
“No.”
“What did we say about honesty?”
Sometimes, Nolan was a pain in the ass. Which, coincidentally, was what I’d changed Jay’s email signature to after the “sheets” incident.
“Fine. Yes, I’m impatient.”
“And you’re also irked because you aren’t in complete control?”
“Did you secretly go to college? Get a minor in psychology and a major in being annoying?”
“I’ve just spent enough time with you to see the real Alexa. The one you keep hidden under three layers of porcupine and an armadillo shell.”
“I am not a porcupine.”
He ignored that, but his voice softened. “Someday, you’ll let down your defences.”
“But—”
Nolan held out a hand, and I hesitated for a moment before I took it.
“You will.”
You know what? Maybe I would.
CHAPTER 20
ALEXA
“Try this one.”
Dinner was cold. I was drunk. Nolan had punched down the wine, and damn, it was a beautiful sight, all those muscles working in unison as he shoved grape skins under juice with a giant potato masher. Just because I’d never dated didn’t mean I couldn’t appreciate a hot man when he was right in front of me.
And apparently, we were dating.
My lips still tingled.
Perhaps it was the wine?
“Let’s find a bottle to have with dinner” had turned into “Why don’t we try a few different kinds?” and before I knew it, I was enjoying a private tasting with a half-naked Nolan who kept looking at me as though I were a sweet, vintage Muscat. He’d kept his word about not kissing me again—slightly disappointing—although he had carried me to the gold mine when I complained about the walk.
Mental note: complain about walking more often.
