tonight.”
Kate hung up the phone and put it back in her pocket. Less enthusiastic than she should be she pushed uneasiness aside. She should do this. It might even be fun.
“What’s wrong?”
Chapter Nineteen
What was wrong was that she was going on a date with some other guy. He had finally convinced himself he was ready to ask her on a proper date. They could work through any of the complications of the ranch, but first he wanted to see if there was a future for them as a couple.
For the past three days, he hadn’t been able to get her out of his head. She had taken root in his thoughts and he couldn’t get rid of her if he’d wanted to. Her presence in his mind had nothing to do with work. His fist tightened along with his jaw. Shaking his head, he didn’t meet her eyes. “Nothing’s wrong.”
“But you said you needed to tell me something.”
“Did I?” He lifted a brow and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. The breeze tugged at her hair, making the strands dance around her worried face. He shook his head. “No, I said don’t go anywhere.” He returned his focus to the pastures on the other side of the property. If he didn’t look at her, he might have a chance at moving past this. He’d waited too long. It was his own fault. He’d known as early as Wednesday that he wanted to have more of her—whatever that might be. So why was letting go of the possibility of a relationship so hard?
AJ could just go with his original plan and be her friend. His brows lowered and he scowled. He knew better than that. Friendship was for suckers, especially with the way he was feeling about her now. There was no way he could just be friends.
“So why did you want me to wait?” She peered at him, a frown on her face.
“My dad is going to tell us the details of the next part of the competition tomorrow. Are you sure you don’t want to drop out?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Okay, enough, AJ.”
The corner of his lips lifted.
“I don’t know what your game is, and I really don’t care. You want the competition, then you don’t, and then you’re not going to go easy on me. Well, which is it? Pick a side and stick with it. This back and forth stuff is for the birds.”
He took a deep breath and blew it out through slitted lips. Turning, he fixed her with a steady gaze. “You really want to know what’s going on?”
She bit down on her lip but didn’t answer. Her body subtly leaned toward him. Kate was hanging on his every word.
AJ’s eyes narrowed and his nails dug into his skin. “No, I can’t do this right now, it’s not fair—to either of us.”
Her features pinched and she glanced away before meeting his eyes once more. “Just get it out, whatever it is, AJ. We can deal with it.”
His fingers raked through his short hair and dragged down his face. His eyes were closed as he took a deep breath and let it out in a rush. “Okay then. This is the deal.” He took one step to close the distance between them and took her face in his hands. Her eyes widened then fluttered closed as he covered her mouth with his.
AJ moved a hand to the back of her head, his fingers weaving through her hair as he tightened his hold on her.
She moaned and her arms came up around his neck as she deepened their kiss. She’d reacted so quickly to him, a thrill shot through his body making all his nerve endings light on fire. His pulse quickened. Hands lowered to her hips and he hoisted her up onto the rail behind her. The last thing he needed was for her to go limp.
Her kiss was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. His own lightheadedness caused him to pull back and take a breath. AJ pressed his forehead against hers, his eyes still closed.
“AJ,” she breathed. “What are we doing?”
His hot blood went cold. Had he misread her? Maybe she wasn’t inviting him to share his feelings with her. He might have just made the biggest fool of himself. Eyes opening, he met her confused gaze. “Whatever you want to do.”
Kate pushed him back and slid down from the rail, her eyes dropping to the ground. “You can’t play with