“Are you getting nervous?”
Colton took a deep breath, making the buttons on his shirt stretch. “I mean, this is almost the furthest I’ve ever gotten, so a part of me is always waitin’ to wake up from a dream. Doesn’t feel real.”
I reached across the table and grabbed his big callousedhand. “It’s real, soak it in.”
He squeezed my hand. “You talk like you know this life.”
Shoot. Reel it back in. I laughed and shrugged awkwardly.
Luckily, the waitress made it just in time to save my butt. We released our hands to make room. She set our food in front of us, passing forward ketchup for our fries and steak sauce. “Y’all just holler if you need anythin’, but I’ll come check on you in a bit,” she said as she walked away.
I eagerly cut into my steak, my mouth watering. I dunked it in the sauce and shoved a bite into my mouth, closing my eyes to savor the flavor. “Oh my gosh,” I mumbled.
“Good?”
I opened my eyes to see Colton grinning at me, his eyes soft. “This is the best steak I’ve ever had.” He didn’t respond, just continued to look at me. I wiped my mouth with my napkin. “Do I have sauce all over my face?”
Colton shook his head. “No, you’re just so beautiful.”
I put my hand over my mouth, embarrassed to still be chewing at such a sweet moment. I finally swallowed. “You’re just a sweetheart.”
“I seriously can’t stop lookin’ at you.”
My cheeks were in pain from how hard I was smiling. I couldn’t believe he had just said that.
I couldn’t deny it.
I was falling for a rodeo cowboy.
I was screwed.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Sowhere’d you learn to dance like that?”
I was so full I thought I was going to burst. Truly, there was no way I could’ve eaten another bite, but I managed to finish the entire mouth-wateringly incredible steak, earning a high-five from Colton.
When we finished, and he paid the bill, he glanced back at the dance floor. The vibe in the restaurant had changed when the band announced it was time for some “country love.”
Colton hadn’t said a word. He got up and held his hand out, throwing his neck toward the dance floor. I slid my hand in his, happy to do anything to be that close to him again. He led me to the middle of the floor, surrounded by cowboy hats, fringe, and big Texas hair.
His hands hadn’t wasted time sliding down to my hips. I slung my arms around his neck, and we slowly began swaying to the old country songs the band was playing.
“Oh, I mean, I’m from Texas, so I think it would be a sin not to be able to line dance,” I teased.
“Ally, you can’t fool me,” he said with a teasing smile.
It’s okay, Allegra. You can tell him something honest, you’re not going to explode.
I chuckled and looked at our feet. “This place was my stomping ground in high school. I came here with some friendswhenever I got the chance. We had a good time learning the line dances and drinking cherry sodas.”
His thumb was under my chin, pulling my jaw up to look at him. “Well, those practices paid off. You’re a sexy dancer.”
I resisted the urge to look back down at my shoes. “So are you, cowboy. I didn’t expect those kinds of moves from a bronc rider.”
He shrugged, pretending to be nonchalant. “You know, bronc riding requires some intense hip thrusts.”
I snorted. “Oh?”
