Sitting at my desk, I stare out the window and watch as he straddles his horse, his gaze focused on me and only me. We stare at one another for a moment, then he does the sexiest thing I think a man can do. He lifts his hand, dips his chin, and tips his hat.
Wow.
I don’t know how a push from Shandy to respond to this man could have ended up this way, but I’m glad it did. Once he rides away, I decide that I need to get to work. When I flick my gaze down to my desk, I see it.
A note with another drawing. This time, it’s a barn.
You went from a stranger to someone I can’t stop thinking about.
-Cowboy
Hot.
I stare at it for longer than I should, a smile slowly consuming my face. He went from a stranger to someone I can’t stop thinking about, too.
A stranger who consumes every thought that rolls around inside my head.
A stranger I dream about touching me, being inside me, and all the things he can make me feel.
Tugging the sticky note off the pad, I stick it to the side of the computer monitor beside the other two. I love that he draws me a little picture along with his sexy little note. I never imagined that taking this job and starting a whole new year in a new town would change my entire world.
My phone buzzes beside me, causing my thoughts to shift away from Harlan and from the notes. Picking up my device, I expect to see Shandy’s name on my text app, but that’s not who has texted me.
It’s Maisie.
I haven’t heard from her since we went out to Bluebonnet’s that night. Not that I’ve reached out to her, either. I haven’t. I’ve been too busy being completely consumed by Harlan… every single part of him.
MAISIE: Hey, girl! Checking in on you. We’re doing a bonfire tomorrow night. Totally laid back. Wanted to invite you.
I think about telling her no without even saying anything to Harlan. I’m not sure he would even want to go. He doesn’t seem to go anywhere. I don’t even know how he gets his groceries. I’ve never seen him leave the property. I don’t even know if he owns a vehicle that isn’t a quad or a horse.
I’m not sure if I should tell her about Harlan, but I decide against it. Instead, I give her a noncommittal response.
That sounds like fun. Do you have an address?
Maisie sends me a happy face emoji, then drops me a pin before sending me another text with the time to show up. Before I can respond to her, there is a knock on the door. Turning my head, I look behind me, surprised to see Harlan leaning against the jamb.
He isn’t smiling, and his grumpy expression makes my whole body melt.
HARLAN
“Mornin’,” I murmur.
Lola-Mae smiles at me. Her smile could melt the coldest heart. Her green eyes could tame the wildest man. The way she looks at me, I could move a mountain, or at least it seems like she thinks I could.
Her phone buzzes on the desk, but she doesn’t make a move to pick it up. Instead, she stands from her chair and closes the short distance between us. I feel her hands touch my chest, the heat penetrating through the cotton fabric of my shirt.
“That was Maisie,” she says, offering the information before I can even ask. Frowning, I think about her leaving to hang out at Bluebonnet’s bar. I don’t like the sound of that one single bit.
“She invited me to come out to a bonfire tomorrow night.”
I’m not sure if I like that more or less than Bluebonnet’s, mainly because I already know where this bonfire is going to lead. There’s only one house I know of that does bonfires every month, and that’s Cooper’s Ranch. Beckett Cooper’s. I already know what he thinks of Lola-Mae.
“We’ll go,” I state.
“We?” she asks softly, hesitantly.
My lips twist into a smile as I lift my hand, curling my fingers around her wrist. Something about this woman sends my heart into a rapid race against my chest. Lowering my head, I touch my mouth to hers, but I don’t deepen the kiss.
