His response settled over her like a warm blanket. Which reminded her… “You mind if I turn on the fireplace?” she asked. “I usually keep it going until I go to bed.”
“Not at all,” Trenton said.
She was quick to dart over to the wall and flick on the switch. Only this time, when Andie came back to the sofa, she sat a little closer. On the far edge of the middle cushion this time, still facing him.
“So, you keep it on until you go to sleep,” Trenton started while reaching for the small stack of books on the side table. He picked up the top book and inspected the cover. “Isthiswhat you do during your downtime? Read?”
The book on tophadto be a romance, didn’t it? And the one about cowboys, no less. A blast of heat filled her face. This would seriously inflate his ego if she didn’t explain. “I do read, yes,” she said, “but I usually don’t read fiction. I just found those in the library and, you know, decided to see what all the fuss was about.”
He tipped the book to inspect the top edge. “Is this your bookmark here?” he asked with narrowed eyes.
Another wave of heat moved in as she noted how very close to the end of that book she was.
She considered lying about the bookmark and saying it didn’t belong to her, but she wasn’t sure why it mattered. So what if the read had made her think of Trenton and how similar his qualities were to the hero? He didn’t have to know that. “I’m a quick reader.”
“Hmm.” He rested the book back on the stack, then proceeded to trail a finger down the spines of the other books. “These all look like fiction books to me,” he pointed out. “Romance, to be exact.”
“That’s because I didn’t bring any of my books from home,” she said defensively. “I had a big collection of them. Motivational reads, biographies…”
“Okay,” he said. “So how would a man go about impressing a woman who’s so well read?”
“Impress?” she echoed.
He grinned. “Yeah. What kind of men did you date back home? You said you were engaged once, right?”
Whoa. Such a straightforward question. Andie had already rehearsed her answer to this, but now, as she sat in the warmth of Trenton’s gaze, she wasn’t so sure she could pull it off.
“Um, he was a politician, actually. You wouldn’t know the name since he hasn’t gotten anywhere yet, but he was laying the groundwork.”
“I’m about as opposite of a politician as you can get,” Trenton said, his raspy drawl making it all the more so.
She giggled. “I kind of like that about you.”
“Oh yeah?” A spark of mischief glowed in his eyes.
“Yes,” she admitted. “I think it’s fair to say that—where my ex is concerned, at least—we each had ulterior motives. His, for what I could help him accomplish with financial pull and support for his campaign. Mine, for what he could help me accomplish afterward.”
Trenton seemed to consider that as he shook his head, a baffled expression scrunching his features. “And here I thought relationships were all about falling in love and silly stuff like that.”
“You were wrong all along,” she assured with a laugh.
“I reckon I was.” He held her gaze as a sense of longing swelled between them. “I’d like to take you on a date tomorrow,” he said in a whisper, as if he were testing the words as they came.
A massive thrill rushed through her body. “Okay.”
Her response earned her a triumphant grin. “Okay.” He gave her a quick glance over. “Wear something like you’ve got on today. That should be just right.” And then he was coming to a stand.
It took Andie a moment to catch up with the action. She’d been assuming he’d stick around for a while. But as Trenton started heading toward the entry, Andie got to her feet as well and followed him to the door. “Um, you’re leaving?”
“I think that would be best,” he said with a nod. “You go ahead and get some rest. I’ll be here to get you around ten in the morning.”
She’d made it to the door in time for him to pull it open, but Trenton paused before stepping through. Andie held very still while he slid a hand behind her head, moved in close to her face, and pressed a soft, heated kiss to her forehead.
“Goodnight, City Girl,” he breathed against her skin.
Andie basked in the tingles flittering through her as she replied. “Goodnight.”
Chapter 12
