She nods, taking a huge mouthful. “Exactly.”
CHAPTER 5
Bailey
I didn’t mean to linger around, wanting to talk to Brett again, but I’d had enough liquid courage to do just that, encouraged by my friends, of course. Apparently, I’m a bit of a pill to be around, and they figure this handsome cowboy might just be enough to take the edge off.
I didn’t come over here to flirt or attempt to sleep with him, but I’m also not a prude…
“If you go home with him, text us and let us know exactly where you’re going,” Sadie insists.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not going anywhere with him. It’s one drink, and maybe a slice of pie.”
Of course, that’s enough to set them both off giggling.
“You’re so mature,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Seriously.”
“It’s just, you’ve not really smiled since nineteen ninety-six,” JB tells me.
I poke my tongue out. “Ha, ha, I wasn’t even born then, smarty pants.”
Some friends those two are.
But as the night wears on, I realize that I don’t actually hate people like I thought I did. Justsomepeople because I’m not naturally a people person. Brett’s different. He’s interesting. Funny. And yeah, he’s easy on the eyes, so what? A girl can flirt with the new guy in town. As soon as the other single girls around here get wind, poor Brett will be heading for the hills.
Brett also makes all kinds of sexy noises while he eats the pie, clearly enjoying it. I try not to imagine what kind of noises he makes in bed, but that is proving a little difficult. I wonder if he’s noisy…
“Hands down the best pie I’ve ever had,” he declares, his fork clanging in the dish as he finishes before me. “Is that ice cream homemade?”
“Duh, everything here is homemade,” I say. “Another perk of living in a small town.”
“I’m sure there are many.”
I nod to his cowboy hat. “Do you ride?”
“Since I was knee high to a grasshopper.”
“Horses are my life,” I tell him. “Sometimes when I get sick of people, I just go visit my horses.”
“I know the feelin’,” he says, surprising me. “Sometimes animals are better than any therapist.”
“Plus, they don’t talk back.”
We laugh companionably. Our eyes meet again.
“Thanks for sharin’ your time with me.”
Wow, southern men really do know how to talk. “I’d love to stay and chat, but I have work in the morning. I get up early to feed the animals.” Why I feel the need to tell him that I’ll never know. I’m not usually an over-sharer by nature.
“Let me walk you out. I’m done.” He didn’t even drink all of his beer.
“It’s alright, I’m gonna grab an Uber and get my truck in the morning.”
“I don’t mind drivin’ you. If you’d like.”
I don’t usually get into cars with strangers, but to be honest, I know I could take him if I had to. Plus, I carry a gun in my truck, not that it’ll be any help if we go in his car. I open my mouth and close it again.
“I’m not makin’ a pass at you,” he says, his face serious. “I have a little sister, and she always tells me about how unsafe it is for women these days, especially at night.”
