He shuffled in and sat on the edge of the bed. “I definitely woke you up, didn’t I?”
In the light of the lamp, I finally got a good look at him.
His hair was damp and clinging to his forehead. His arms, oh my gosh, his arms, they were chiselled from gold, and each muscle was toned to perfection with veins straining against his tan skin. His shirtless look with all those abs was making my head spin.
“My eyes are up here, Miss Ford,” Colton said, giving me a teasing nudge.
I reddened, realizing I was completely staring at his chest. I forced my eyes back to his face, his crooked, huge smile and bright green eyes staring right back at me. He had a few freckles I hadn’t noticed before, but now, in the intimate lighting, I could count just a few scattered across his face, giving him a boyish charm. “I’m sorry, Mr. Nash, your body is incredibly distracting.”
Now he was blushing. “Oh really?”
I nodded. “I’m really glad you came to say goodnight.”
We were both whispering, trying to keep Jimmy from hearing this wildly embarrassing conversation.
I shuffled over and patted the bed beside me. He rolled on his back to his stomach and put his head on his hands, his legs kicking in the air behind him, doinga great impression of a girl at a sleepover, ready to gossip. I did my best not to laugh out loud. “You look comfy.”
He laughed with me. “I just wanna look at ya.”
“Thanks for the date,” I said, bringing my knees to mychest. “That was a lot of fun.”
“My pleasure! I would love to see you dance again sometime,” Colton winked. “Tomorrow?”
“If you buy me another steak like that, I’ll dance.”
“Deal.”
We were both quiet for a moment, simply looking at each other. Finally, he scooted his body up and sat beside me on the bed, not hesitating to grab my hand. “It means a lot to me that you’re here,” he said with obvious authenticity.
I shrugged. “You guys are saving me from lonely hotel rooms and airport security. I appreciate you letting me tag along.”
He shook his head. “I know we can be…a lot, and I just am grateful for your patience.”
He had no idea how happy I was to be surrounded by this much constant love, so I just nodded. “Have you heard which horse you’re riding tomorrow?”
Colton’s face transformed into the usual small smile that he got when he talked about the rodeo. “Yeah, got a message an hour or so ago. I’m ridin’ ‘JitterBug.’”
I snorted. “Well, be sure to wake me up, before you go-go.”
He laughed with me. “I hope he holds up to the ‘Wham’ reputation. I need a few more points to slingshot me enough to be comfortable until the next round.”
He was stressingout again. I didn’t want him to worry aboutwhether or not he’d make it to the finals this year. I wanted this to be his chance to relax.
I brought his hand to my lips and kissed the back of it.
“Can I ask you for a favor?” he said suddenly.
I nodded.
“Can I take a picture of you to keep in my hat?” He seemed nervous to ask me the question and jumped in to explain. “It’s anoldrodeo tradition, like my gramps did it. He kept a picture of my grandma in his hat and looked at it right before he rode, every time. Then my dad did it, with my ma, and I think it’s still in there. The pictures getreally sweaty, and so I’d understand if-”
“I’d be honored,” I interrupted.
He smiled. “Really?”
“You want to look at my picture before you ride? That’s like, the biggest compliment a rodeo cowboy can give a girl.”
He let out a sigh, like he’d been wanting to ask that for a while. “You’re pretty much the most amazin’ woman I’ve ever met.”
