Lila Mae disagreed, because anything that pulled her away from rest and relaxation could be considered stressful, and Trap carried his stress physically in his shoulders and mentally all the time.
She finally found the silver sandals she wanted, and she sat on the edge of her bed to put them on. She hadn’t closed her door, so she simply left the bedroom nook and headed down the stairs, feeling very much like she was on display as Trap watched her every move.
“Whoa-ho-ho,” he said. “You’re stunning.”
Lila Mae reached up to tuck her hair in a flirty gesture and realized she hadn’t pulled it out of her ponytail. Mortification moved through her. “I haven’t even done my hair yet.”
He extended his hand toward her, a clear invitation for her to go to him instead of around the corner to the bathroom. “I think you look great.” He grinned at her, a soft smile that gave away more than he said. “Beautiful.”
“My hair’s in a gross ponytail from working all day,” she said.
“It’s gorgeous.” He wiggled his fingers at her. “Come here.”
She finally moved toward him and slid her fingers along the length of his. “We’ve got a few minutes,” he said. “I thought I might sit with Cleo, but you’re ten times better.” He tugged her gently, and it became obvious he wanted her to sit on his lap.
Lila Mae did, feeling warm and wonderful as he leaned in and pressed his face into the hollow of her throat. “You smell amazing.”
Lila Mae wasn’t sure how that was possible, as she hadn’t showered, and she’d been working with cats all day. “You got done early today?” She traced her fingernails along the curve of his earlobe, and then the side of his jaw, right where he kept his beard so neatly trimmed.
“Yeah, I sent Sawyer out to the Barnes’. He really wants to be an expert in all kinds of flooring, and they’re laying carpet today.”
“Mm.” Lila Mae put one arm around his broad shoulders and the other across his body, where she held on to his bicep. He closed his eyes and rested his head against her shoulder, and Lila Mae enjoyed this slow sense of being comfortable with him.
“How’s Laurel feeling?” she asked, because his younger sister had been fighting a cold for the past week.
“I think she’s doing better today,” Trap said.
“How many new projects did you sign this week?” she asked.
That got Trap to open his eyes and look up at her. “Just three.”
She nodded. “That’s a lot. You guys are working on what? Seven or eight now?”
“I think these three will bring us to nine,” he said. “And it is a lot, but they’re all in different stages of completion. It’s not like we’re starting at zero with all of them.”
Lila Mae smiled at him and ran her fingers down the side of his face, her heart firing concern for him. “You look tired, Trap.”
“I’m a little tired,” he said.
“We don’t have to go out,” she said. “We can order something, or I can make us something.”
He shook his head before she even finished speaking. “I don’t want you to have to do any work.”
“Then let’s order something, and we can take the UTV down to the south side of the ranch and sit by the river. It’ll be easy and peaceful.” She smiled at him and raised her eyebrows.
Trap played with the end of her ponytail, and the simple action sent shivers through Lila Mae’s bloodstream. “Is that what you want to do?”
Lila Mae nodded. “Yeah, that’s what I want to do. Plus, there’s no service down there, and it really is like a total break from everything.”
“That does sound nice,” he said.
“I haven’t been down there in a few weeks,” she said. “But I remember there being trees.” She snuggled into his chest. “Do you need to text your momma before we go?”
“I don’tneedto,” he said. “But I should, then she won’t send the entire police force out to find me.” He spoke in his grumpy tone, but Lila Mae knew he wasn’t really upset about his mother monitoring his outdoor activity. The weather had returned to a more normal temperature for August, which meant it was stillblazing hot but not as bad as it’d been for those few weeks in July.
“What can we order?” he asked. “I don’t want anything fried because it’ll be soggy by the time it gets here.”
“Yes, I know how you are about your fried food being crispy.” She smiled at him, and Trap rewarded her with a smile of his own.
