“Men!” she finally got out past her frozen throat.
Knox chuckled and went on. “What does that mean?”
“You did that to prove to him that you’re not worried about him moving in on me. I’m no man’s territory, so you don’t have to do that,” she answered. “Let’s eat these on the way back to the lake. I’m ready to see Prissy.”
“Got to disagree with you. I can’t drive and eat this at the same time.”
“Messy eater sure takes away from your sexy persona,” she told him.
“I’d like to see you eat something with a spoon and drive at the same time,” he shot back at her.
Bantering was first on the list when it came to all the things that she liked about Knox Callahan. She’d never dated a guy in reality who was so exciting, and it was all because he listened to her and always came back with a smart-ass answer.
“This is not about me.” She giggled. “It’s about you having a fault.”
“If you think I’m perfect, then you are the only person in the whole big state of Texas who does,” he said.
“Yeah, right,” she countered.
He wiggled his eyebrows and grinned. “Are we fighting? If so, do we get to make out when we come to an understanding?”
“Only in your dreams,” she told him.
Knox reached across the table and laid a hand on hers. “Will you be my for-real friend? I like spending time with you.”
She was shocked speechless. Was he serious? Was he kidding? Did she even want to be friends with him when, down deep inside her heart, she might want more? Questions upon questions with no answers came floating down from the big, fluffy white clouds in the sky.
“Well?” he finally asked.
“I don’t know where the teasing and banter stops and realism begins,” she answered. “Are you joking?”
“No, ma’am, I know all this romance is fake, but I really do like you. Even though we can’t be anything more, I would love it if we were friends,” he replied.
“Okay then, we can give it a try for the next five weeks at least. Then you’ll go home to your new house and land, and I’ll go out to El Paso. We’ll text a few times and then forget all about each other.”
Knox spread his arms out. “You can forget something this sexy?”
Lottie finished the last bite of her snow cone, stood up, and struck a pose. “Can you forget this?”
“Nope,” Knox answered. “You will haunt my dreams forever.”
Lottie had trouble keeping the giggle at bay. “That’s the worst pickup line I’ve ever heard.”
Knox took the empty cups to a nearby trash can. “How many have you heard? If it’s only five, then it’s not so bad. But if it’s a thousand, then maybe I better work on my game.”
“More than ten, less than five hundred, so youshouldwork on your game.”
“All kidding aside, are you going to be my friend?”
“I said I would, and it seems like the least I can do since you agreed to be my boyfriend for the next few weeks,” she answered and headed across the parking lot. “Are we ready to go home now? Prissy really is probably missing me.”
Knox followed beside her. “That was an abrupt change of subject.”
She opened the truck door before he could even reach for it. “Did you have something else to say about us being friends?”
He walked around the back of the truck and got into the driver’s seat. “Not really, and to answer your question, I’m ready to go home too. This has been a busy weekend. Do friends cuddle up together for a nice nap?”
“Not friends who’ve only known each other a little while,” she answered. “Besides, Prissy gets downright hateful if…” She let the sentence hang.
