“You look amazing, Darcy.”
“You do too,” she said.“I missed you.Is that weird?I know we texted when I had breaks, and talked during lunch, but it was just notenough.”
She pursed her lips like she thought she might have said too much, but he didn’t think she had at all.He stepped close and put a hand in the small of her back.He pulled her gently to him, her soft curves to the hard planes of his body, and whispered, “It’s not weird at all.I missed you too.”
With a soft sigh, she tilted her face to his and he kissed her.
And the whole world dropped away.
* * *
Dinner had gone better than Ford had hoped.Crew and Zara had recommended a steakhouse that wasn’t fancy, but was warm and welcoming, with candles on the tables and big windows that overlooked the street.They’d both had steak and baked potatoes after sharing mozzarella sticks, which turned out to be a mutual favorite.They laughed over the meal, sharing stories that didn’t feel like small talk, but like two people earnestly wanting to know more about each other.
By the time he paid the check, he was thinking about the rest of the evening and how he didn’t really want the night to end.
“I have a thought,” he said, as he offered her his arm and escorted her from the restaurant.
“Do tell,” she said.
He unlocked the truck and opened the door for her.
“One of my friend’s girlfriends is really good at baking.Like she could have a bakery.And I asked her to make a special dessert for us.It’s at the farm, if you’d like to come back with me for a while?I really don’t want the evening to end just yet.”
She smiled up at him.“I was going to invite you back to my place, but I got a text that Cruz only worked a half shift and is already home, which means we wouldn’t have any privacy.I don’t want the night to be finished yet either.”
“Farm?”he asked, his stallion galloping for joy in his head.
“Absolutely.”
Grinning like a fool, he helped her into the truck and shut the door, then got behind the wheel, discreetly waving at Crew and Zara in the truck a row behind them.
On the drive to the farm, he told her more about his friends and farm life, the few cattle, the coop of chickens, and Daisy the goat that liked to get into everything.She shared about how her friend Rhomi had met Mercer at the park in the security office when they’d gone to the park with their other friend Reagan on a whim.
“And now they’re having a baby and so happy,” she said, sighing wistfully.
“Mercer’s a good guy.I’m sure he’s over the moon to be with her and starting a family.”
“They both are.”
When they drew close to the farm, he used an app on his phone to open the metal gate that kept the driveway private.
“Oh, fancy,” she said, sitting up a little straighter as the gate opened slowly.
“We had a jackass trying to claim he was the rightful owner of the farm,” he said, measuring his words carefully so he didn’t alarm her while explaining the security features, “and so we’ve done some things around the farm to keep us all safe.”
“Is he still bothering you guys?”
“We haven’t seen him for a while, but he’s just a nutjob who thinks he should be able to take over what we built.And we said hell no, of course.”
She chuckled.“Of course.Well, I hope he steers clear of the farm.”
“Me too.”
He parked next to the storage barn and came around to her side to open her door.The November night was cool with a light breeze, and he was glad he’d thought to turn on the heat in the barn apartment.
“We’re going into the barn?”she asked.
“Yep.The farmhouse can be busy with everyone who lives here, but there’s a studio apartment in this barn that the former owner built for his son.Our caretaker—Tris—used to live here until she got together with Khyle.They live a little bit down the road.”He’d told her about working for Dexter and Khyle with the construction company when he wasn’t busy working on the farm equipment.
