Page 39 of Protect and Serve

“I thought they would never leave.”

“Me too.”

He fell silent and waited until she looked up at him before he said, “I’ve been thinking about this weekend a lot.”

“Me too.” She knew she sounded like a parrot who had only bothered to learn one phrase, but her brain wasn’t cooperating. At the moment, being clever and suave was beyond her.

He kissed her again, but this time on her nose, which she recognized as code for, we should talk. She hated we should talk kisses. “I just want to make sure we’re both on the same page here. I don’t want to, you know, jump to conclusions.”

She remembered what Lisa had said about the importance of communicating her feelings, so she nodded. “Okay.” She blinked when he remained silent. It occurred to her that he might be just as at sea as she was. “And what conclusions were you planning to jump to?”

He went pink to his ears. “I am planning to seduce you.”

He was alarmed by her laugh, judging by the way he lurched back. “I was planning to seduce you. Oh, what a conundrum. Whatever shall we do now?”

She liked the way he smiled. With a wicked cant. “We could seduce each other. Make it a contest, if you will.”

“Oooh. I’m very competitive,” she said. “It’s only fair to tell you that.”

“I’m competitive too.”

“Excellent.” She hooked her arm in his and led him to the kitchen. “We’d better eat. I suspect we will need the fortification.”

He chuckled. “Good idea.”

Claire pulled the casserole she’d made from the oven and set it on the table with the salad and fruit. Then she went back for the wine. They were just sitting down when the front door opened and Cody came barreling in. He stopped short when he saw them at the table. “Oh,” he said, as though he couldn’t think of anything else to say. Then, “What are you doing?”

Claire gestured to the meal. “Eating dinner.”

“Oh.” Her brother’s gaze flicked from her to Charlie and back. He seemed terribly put out that he hadn’t caught them in a clinch. “Okay.”

“Did you forget something?” Charlie asked, barely holding back his smile.

“I, ah… Yeah. My, um… My wallet.” But then he headed back for the door without it, leading Claire to suspect that had hardly been the case.

She sighed and scooped some of the casserole onto each plate. “I swear. Sometimes those two drive me nuts.”

“They just love you, Claire.”

“Oh, I know. But really. How am I ever going to live my life with them meddling?”

He lifted a shoulder. “You could move out.”

She gaped at him. Though she’d used it as a threat, she really couldn’t bear to leave the ranch. “I’ve lived here my whole life.”

“Right, but at some point, your brothers will have wives and children. The house will be full.”

Which led to another point. It was probably too early to ask him, but she needed to know. “Do you want kids? I mean, someday?” Heat crawled up her neck at her boldness.

He picked up his glass and sipped at the champagne. “I love kids. I always wanted a big family. How about you?”

“Yes. Yes. A lot.” She had to add, because the heat had spread, “But not yet.”

“No. Not yet.”

“And it has to be right. You know. The right man.” She couldn’t hold his gaze.

“I agree. My father always said a man’s wife can make or break his happiness.”