I know that look. I wear it often.
The turnoff for Willow Valley blurs past. “Jax?”
“Hmm?”
“You missed the exit.”
“Shit.” He course corrects without another word.
“Is everything alright?”
“Yeah. Fine.”
“Did I do something?”
Doing a double take, he reaches across the bench seat and squeezes my thigh. The touch seems to scorch through my skirt, down to the very marrow of my bones. I stare at where we're connected—at that beautiful, capable hand. Have I been so touch-starved that every comforting gesture feels monumental?
His low voice interrupts my swirling thoughts. “I’m sorry. It’s not you. Just some bad memories is all."
The rest of the drive passes in silence, and his hand never leaves my thigh. While I know I should brush him off, I can’t bring myself to do it. His thumb traces a lazy pattern over the fabric separating him from my bare skin, and a longing I refuse to give voice to settles heavy in my chest.
He parks in front of the library. The moment his hand leaves my thigh, I miss the contact. Light catches in his emerald eyes as he glances in my direction.
I swallow thickly and look away. “Thanks for the ride.”
“Anytime. I'll be by later to pick you up after work.”
“Actually, Mo’s gonna pick me up today. We have a book club meeting.”
If he knows I’m lying, he doesn’t say anything. Disappointment flashes across his features, there and gone in a blink. He plasters on a forced smile and nods once. “See you at home.”
Home.
His, not mine. I have to remember that.
Mo picks me up after work, five minutes late and more than a little perturbed. She pulls away from the curb, and soon,Willow Valley fades in the rearview. “Why did you make me drive all the way out here to pick you up?”
“My car still isn’t fixed.”
“Right... but I thought you had an arrangement with Jaxon.”
“I did. It’s just…”
I could tell the truth. Admit that I’m starting to have feelings for Jaxon, and it scares me. Or I could lie and make up something equally believable. Mo saves me the effort of doing either.
“You’re having too many grown-up feelings about the nerdy cowboy.”
“Why do you have to say it like that?”
“So, you admit it then?”
I shift in my seat and tug at a stray thread on my tights. Not unlike the rest of my life, the small tear becomes a run, and I silently curse my stupidity. “Honestly, I don't know what I’m feeling. Sometimes he’s cocky and way too assertive, but there are moments when he’s gentle and attentive. I don’t know what to do with that.”
“Are you asking for suggestions? Because I hate to break it to you, babe, but if Jaxon Hayes is into you, you’re living a fantasy a lot of people would kill for.”
A small spark of jealousy ignites, but I tamp it down. I have no claim over Jaxon Hayes. The emotion spills out of me anyway. “Never expected you to be into him.”
“I wasn't including myself on that list. I see Jaxon as a long-term nuisance, but that's because I grew up with him. I knew him in his high school days before…”
