“Well, my mother died a long time ago and my father was worthless before he left this earth. I’m the only one you have to worry about, besides my idiot brother, and I don’t give two shits about his opinion.”
His grin widened. “Do you give one shit?”
She struggled to keep a grin of her own from taking over her face. “Nope. Not one.”
“Then I guess I’m in luck.”
“Maybe, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want an answer. Besides, you said before that the conversation about what’s happening with us should be between you and me, not you and Lane.”
Huffing out a sigh, he tossed his hat on the seat and shoved a hand through his hair. “He kind of forced that on me, but you’re right. You’re what matters. Your opinions, your feelings, your heart. I can’t promise you that I’ll never inflict an ounce of pain on you, but I’ll never do it on purpose. I think we could have something real special, and I’d be no smarter than a horse’s ass if I didn’t do something about it.”
“Well, we both know you’re smarter than that. So tell me. What are you going to do? Let whatever bullshit my brother spewed get in your head? Or toss that aside and put your energy into something a hell of a lot more exciting?”
He slid over on the bench seat until their knees touched. He cradled his palm along her jawline, swiping the pad of his thumb along her cheekbone. “Oh, I’d love to do something more exciting.”
Heat licked inside her belly. She wet her bottom lip with her tongue, her gaze shifting to his mouth. “Are you sure you can handle it?”
He smirked and leaned in, his face hovering close to hers. “I don’t know, but I’d sure like to try.”
Unwilling to wait a second longer, she leaned forward and pressed her mouth to his. She closed her eyes and fireworks flashed against her eyelids. Desire melted her insides to molten lava, and she looped her arms around his neck to bring him closer.
Duke’s lips moved against hers, his tongue pushing into her mouth. He roamed his hand from her jaw to the back of her neck, his grip tight and possessive, his mouth demanding. He hooked his arm around the small of her back, applying just enough pressure that her breasts pressed against the hard muscle of his chest.
Her mind went blank, her heart full, and her body demanded she find a place a lot more comfortable than the front seat of Duke’s truck to finish what they’d started.
He broke away, his warm breath skimming her face as he rested his forehead on hers. “Yeah, I can handle it.”
She chuckled and smoothed her palms on either side his neck. “I’m not so sure about that. We just got started.”
“That’s right. We did. And as much as I want to keep going with this, we should really grab your stuff and head back to myhouse. Before we take this any further, I want to talk more. Cook you dinner. Take you on a proper date. Would that be all right?”
“Sounds perfect.”
And even with the world unsteady at her feet, she’d never felt luckier.
Maneuveringthrough the throngs of people milling about the town square, Duke held tight to Suzy’s hand. He kept her close. Partly in case danger was near, partly because the memory of her body pressed to his wasn’t enough.
He wanted to kick his own ass for stopping their kiss in his truck. But as much as he wanted to discover every inch of Suzy, she deserved more than a quick bang in a random parking lot. She deserved a room lit by candlelight and a dozen red roses.
She deserved the whole damn world.
And one way or another, he planned to give it to her.
Rounding the corner that led to Main Street, Duke stopped and his eyes went wide. “Holy shit. This is chaos.” He pointed at the giant tree in the middle of the square being adorned with bright red ribbons.
Suzy chuckled. “I told you. The Winter Rodeo is a big deal around here. Locals wait all year to eat roasted chestnuts and the Gurlys make this special hot chocolate you can only get at the rodeo. It’s so good.”
“Is that a Christmas tree?”
She grinned. “It will be. This marks the beginning of the holiday season. The tree in the square gets decked out in multi-colored lights and everyone brings ornaments to hang on the branches. The stores have a competition to see who can have themost creative front windows. I know it sounds like such a cliché, but it really is the most wonderful time of the year.”
Her excitement was infectious. “What’s your favorite part?”
“Besides the food?” she asked, wiggling her eyebrows.
“Yes,” he said on a laugh. “Besides the food.”
Stopping on the sidewalk, she waited for two men to carry large pieces of plywood past before facing the grassy square. “The tree lighting. People are encouraged to put up ornaments any time they want, but most people come to the lighting. It’s a big production with music blaring. Everyone circles round the tree, and after the lights turn on, they clamor to help decorate. My grandpa used to bring Lane and me when we were kids. After he died, and Lane left, I’d come by myself. I hope not to be alone this time.”
