take his hand and jump in and forget the consequences, but there’s too much of me that remembers what it felt like to be a fool. I’m too scared. And I’m too aware that sometimes a little fun comes with a price that’s too high.
“I can’t,” I say. My heart protests, but I don’t know what else to do. Going with him would be like stepping into a minefield.
His smile drops and he adjusts his weight from one foot to the other.
“Why not?” he asks.
I push an imaginary strand of hair behind my ears. “I told you. I’m busy,” I say. I’m also too chicken to tell him the truth.
“Bullshit,” he says. “You’re terrified.”
I look up. He’s not supposed to call me on it. He’s supposed to just say that’s too bad and walk away.
“I am not,” I say, lying like a dog. “If the inventory doesn’t get done, we won’t know what we need to order tomorrow morning. It’s as simple as that.”
“I’ll have you know that Knox is already at the bar working on the inventory.”
My shoulders tense. He’s also not supposed to take away my excuses.
“Who told him he needed to do that, huh?” I put a hand on my hip.
Colton is completely unfazed by my anger. The right side of his mouth curls into a smile. “I was trying to do something nice for you, but if you honestly would rather sit in this house and let life pass you by without ever experiencing anything, I guess I’ll leave you to it, then.”
He turns and walks toward the truck, and I can’t believe he’s just going to leave.
I go after him, stomping every step of the way. I grab his arm and spin him around. “I experience things, thank you very much.”
“Like what?” he asks. He motions toward the bar. “You go into work nearly every night and then you go home. You cook in your kitchen and you stay wrapped up so tight in your little comfort zone that you refuse to acknowledge what you’re really doing.”
“Oh? And what’s that?”
“You’re hiding,” he says. “You’re hiding from life, Jo, letting every day pass without ever taking any risks or stepping into the unknown. You have to have every little thing exactly as it was the day before, and I’ll tell you what I think.”
I clench my teeth, my breath coming faster. “What?”
He takes my arms in his hands and pulls me closer, the memory of last night’s kiss rubbing up against my consciousness and spinning my world upside down.
He leans closer. “I think you’re missing it,” he says softly. “You’re missing life, because you’re too scared of what might happen if you actually lived it.”
His words knock the breath right out of me.
“Haven’t you wanted to know what it would feel like to just jump into the deep end for a while?” he asks. “Forget the past for a while and just enjoy this moment. This time in your life. This person standing right here in front of you.”
I can’t look away from his eyes. They have a hold on me that’s too strong to release. And he’s right. There’s a part of me that wants those things so badly, I’m almost willing to risk my heart just to get them.
And there’s no way he can know just how much that scares me.
I relax my shoulders, my mind made up.
“Well, if we’re going to have some fun, don’t just stand there staring at me like a lost puppy,” I say, pulling away. “You’re killing the mood.”
His face breaks out in a huge smile, and as I run back to the house to grab my things, I feel more alive than I have in a very long time.
Chapter Fifteen
I feel like the champion of the world when Jo finally gets into my truck. I walk around to the other side and see that her father is standing in the kitchen watching us from the window. He lifts his mug and smiles, and I nod and wave.
I got up early this morning, because I couldn’t get my mind off this woman. I wanted to do something fun that would give us a chance to step away from the bar for a while and really let loose outside of work. When I saw those old fishing poles leaning against the side of the garage, I got the idea of taking her out on the river for the day.
Coming up with a plan was the easy part. Getting her to