Been There Done That (Leffersbee #1) - Hope Ellis Page 0,37
fancy new butterfly wings.”
He had the good grace to look sheepish. “You mean all the women.”
I traced the bridge of his nose, shaking with laughter. “Yes, Deputy. All the women.”
“Awww, Zora. I would try for you, though. I can do better.”
I shook my head. “That’s just it. I don’t want you to do anything differently. I want you to have as much time as you need to find yourself.”
“So what do you want?”
“I don’t want someone who needs to change in order for us to fit. I want someone who is already right, just as they are, and thinks I’m right, just as I am.”
“You want the fairy tale.” He turned his gaze to the sky. Orion and other neighboring constellations were faintly visible in the approaching darkness. “Happily ever after.”
I shrugged. “Something like that, I think. One day, when I have time. And I don’t want one of your conquests to brain me with a can of peas in the middle of the Piggly Wiggly and post the footage online.”
He bit back laughter. “I’m always up front with ladies. Although, I prefer it from the back …”
“Uh-huh,” I laughed. “You still sticking to Nashville for your pickups?”
“Yeah. I may have, uh, over-hunted a bit here in Knoxville. I need things to die down a bit. Especially given our relationship.”
“I’m surprised it’s lasted all this time. We’ve done pretty good so far, fooling everyone. You think maybe it’s time to give up the charade?”
His arms fell from around me. “Are you asking now because of Nick?”
“No. Not at all. But I don’t want our little farce to get in the way of you finding true love. It works for me because I don’t have my family breathing down my neck—”
“Same here. My dad is so happy that I’ve settled down, and with a catch like you. He loves you, Zora. And yesterday I overheard my mom on the phone telling one of her friends she hoped we had a fall wedding. Something about a rust-colored mother-in-law dress she found. She’s been telling everyone how smart her future daughter-in-law is.”
I was torn between amusement and distress. “Oh no. This isn’t good.”
“Jess told me she was proud of me, and glad that I pulled someone with both brains and boobs. She says I haven’t had the most discriminating taste.”
I shook my head. I loved his sister, and her candor. “That’s not really fair to the women you’ve dated. I’m sure they all had a good supply of both.”
“I told her I liked your boobs well enough. Don’t get me wrong, they’re amazing from where I’m sitting.” Unabashedly, he craned his neck to get an eyeful of my chest in the light knit sweater I wore. “But I’m more of an ass man. Luckily for me, you’ve got both. You know, you’re like that old lady, Sophia something? The one that’s still sexy at seventy-something? My mom is always going on about her.”
I closed my eyes. “There’s about five things wrong with what you just said, Jackson.”
He grinned. “That’s what’s so great about us. We’re exactly ourselves. You think you could go on a date and eat a lamb chop the way you just did if I was any other man?”
I reared back. “What are you suggesting? That I should daintily pick at a salad—”
“Nope. I’m saying that when you’re yourself, when you’re not uptight—”
“That’s the second time you’ve called me uptight—”
“Pay attention,” he said with great patience, and I shut up because I could see he was serious. Serious Jackson often had great insights.
“You’re sexy as hell. And you don’t even know it. Now, I’m not one of those folks who find that attractive, like ‘she doesn’t even realize what she has, it’s part of her charm.’ Screw that. I wanna see you embrace that shit. Be confident. You had me turned on over here just from eating that lamb chop.”
“That’s because you’re a horndog, Jackson. It wouldn’t take that much to turn you on.”
“There’s some truth to that, okay. But that’s not all of it. You were sliding the bone back and forth between your lips.”
“Oh, Jesus,” I said, and pushed off of him. “I’m going back to my side now.”
“Listen to me. You’re more than your brain. You’re working with great material here.”
I rested a hand against my not-quite-flat stomach. “No, I—”
“Nope.” He held up a hand. “Don’t wanna hear it. I wanna see you getting ready for our battle of wills with Nick.”