Smart kid.
I open her door myself.
She slides into the passenger seat, smoothing her dress down over her thighs, and for a second I just stand there looking at her.
Mine.
She fidgets with her purse once we’re both inside, nerves flickering across her face now that the adrenaline of the dance floor has faded.
“Where are we going?”she asks softly.
“My place,” I answer, meeting her eyes.“That okay?”
She doesn’t hesitate.
“Yes, J.T.”
The way she says my name nearly undoes me.
Low.Certain.Just a hint of breath in it.
Christ, I want to hear her say it again.
I want to hear her whisper it.
Cry it.
Moan it.
I grip the steering wheel tighter than necessary and start the engine.
The headlights cut through the dark mountain road as we pull away from the Elks Club.
My pulse is hammering.
She said yes.
Not to dinner.
Not to a date.
To me.
And as the road curves toward my house, I make one thing perfectly clear in my own mind?—
This isn’t a game.
This isn’t leverage.
This is a vow.
And damn right I mean it.
Because if there’s one thing I know how to do in this world, it’s stand up and be the kind of man Kelly deserves.
And no one—no one on this planet—is going to get in my way.
Not this time.
