His jaw tightened as he glanced down at my hip like he’d personally offended it.
“I should’ve been paying attention,” he muttered. “I wasn’t thinking. I—”
“Cormac.” I cupped his face, forcing him to look at me. “It was an accident.”
But the curtains had already fallen, the heat that had been building cooled in an instant. Cormac looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here.
“We should get you home,” he said after a beat, voice rough but controlled. “Make sure you clean it up like Giselle said. Keep it covered.”
I searched his face. Part of me wanted to argue. To pull him back into that softness and pretend the world didn’t exist beyond this lake.
But the responsible, protective set of his shoulders told me he’d already made up his mind.
“Okay,” I said quietly.
He helped me off his lap and onto my feet. I took his hand to pull him up and didn’t let go. He twitched and gave a half-hearted pull, but I shook my head, so he gave up trying to get away from me. Threading my fingers between his, I held on the whole walk back.
The restaurant lights glowed behind us as we crossed the parking lot. Cormac opened the passenger door, his hand automatically finding the small of my back again, gentler than before.
I climbed into the truck, and Cormac leaned in, buckling me in himself. I almost snagged his lips when he was close, but he was back to frowning again, and now that I’d tasted his smiles, that was all I wanted.
Satisfied I was safe, he closed the door and circled to the other side.
When he hopped in, I asked, “Should I fasten your seat belt for you? Is that a thing we do now?”
He sighed but couldn’t hide the slight curl of his lips. “I’ve got it.”
The mountains faded in the side mirror as we drove, the lake swallowed by trees and distance. The sky stretched on forever above us, daylight fading fast.
Cormac kept his eyes on the road, hands gripping the wheel. The passing landscape blurred in my vision, and my fingers drifted to the sore spot at my hip. My lips still tingled, and my mind couldn’t quite believe Cormac was the reason.
Beside me, he shifted, like he wanted to say something but didn’t.
I didn’t know what to say either. Was this something we needed to talk about? I wasn’t sure. But from how stiff Cormac sat beside me, now wasn’t the time.
Once the gates to the ranch came into view, I’d come to a conclusion: if this was the only time we kissed, at least it was the sweetest kiss of my life.
Chapter Twenty-three
Cormac
Myheadlightsfannedacrossthe guesthouse as I pulled up. It had gotten dark on our drive back, and out here on the ranch, the only lights came from the stars and my family’s houses in the near distance.
Putting the truck in park, I turned to Zara. “Thanks for coming with me today.”
“Thanks for bringing me. I had a really good time with you.”
I nodded. “I did too.”
She reached across the cab and brushed her fingers over my scruff. My heart vaulted into my throat. It wasn’t a thought, leaning into her touch. It just happened.
Her palm flattened on my cheek, and I closed my eyes, moving my face back and forth.
“You want to come in?” she asked. “We can hang out, watch a movie or something.”
“Hell yes,”was on the tip of my tongue, following her anywhere she went always my first instinct. Sitting too close on her couch. Breathing her in. Pretending this didn’t feel like walking barefoot across hot coals for a few hours.
But that kiss by the lake still burned against my mouth. It hadn’t been casual for me. It hadn’t been nostalgic. It had been the kind of kiss I was going to spend years trying not to think about.
