to the other. His Stetson hat slightly askew, he looked adorable.
“AJ, you’re being ridiculous. I’m sure everything will be fine. Dakota knows him.”
“You told him about your ankle, right?” He stopped in front of her.
“Well, yes.”
“And he still insisted he wanted to take you out tonight.”
Kate rolled her eyes and folded her arms. “Yes.”
“Something’s off, Kate. I can just feel it. You know what I would have done if a girl I was going to take out told me she was hurt?” He began his pacing again.
“Take her to your place and put on the moves?” She attempted to make the statement with a straight face but when he froze and shot her a disgusted look, she couldn’t help but laugh.
“No. I would have rescheduled.”
She cocked a brow at him. “Really. You’re telling me you’d cancel a date with a girl just because a foot is out of commission? I’m not paralyzed or in a coma, AJ. We’ve had this date set up for a week. I’m not going to cancel just because I have to use these.” She pointed to the crutches leaning against the wall.
His brows lowered and he came close to her. She lifted her chin so she could meet his eyes. “You could have been hurt a lot worse during that storm. The fact that you’re even as mobile as you are is a blessing. Don’t throw that away by going on a date with someone who you know nothing about. If he tries to hurt you, how are you going to get away?”
For the first time during their conversation, her heart stuttered. AJ had a point. If John was some kind of seedy character, it wasn’t like she could lift her skirt and take off sprinting down the street. Kate shook her head and met his scowl with one of her own.
“You’re being paranoid, AJ. I’ll make sure we go to a public place. I will always have my phone with me too. If you want to check in with me every thirty minutes, be my guest.”
He folded his arms over his broad chest. “I still don’t like it.”
She poked him just above his arms. “You know what I think? I think you’re jealous.”
“Darn straight I am.”
Kate almost gasped. She’d expected him to argue with her and brush off her accusation. “You are?”
“Of course, I am. I lost out on a lot because I didn’t have my eyes open. I’m fully aware if you two hit it off, that could be the end of any possibility for me with you.”
The beating in her chest intensified. “Why are you saying these things to me, AJ?”
He took a few steps to close the distance between them and lifted her chin with his finger. “Because they’re true. I’ve had a lot of quiet time to think for the last few days and the more and more I do, the more I realize where I went wrong.”
Kate blinked a few times and licked her lips.
His eyes dropped at the movement and he shook his head. His voice lowered. “You need to be more careful with how you react around me, Kate. Doing things like that when I’m so close to you is bound to get a reaction you’re not prepared for.”
“Maybe you’re assuming things you ought not to.” Her hoarse voice breathed out between her partially open lips.
A smile played at his lips. “Does that mean what I think it does?” Slowly, he lowered his face so their noses nearly touched.
Kate swallowed. “What do you think it means?”
AJ groaned. “Enough mind games, Kate. Do you want me to kiss you?”
She opened her mouth, a small smile spreading it wider. She took a breath and a knock sounded at the door.
Kate jumped and turned her head. AJ growled and dropped his hand. Her hand wrapped around the knob and she pulled it open.
“Kate Pruitt?”
Kate’s jaw dropped slightly as her eyes raked up and down the man before her. He was a few inches taller than AJ. Not as muscular, but still lean and fit. He had deep blue-grey eyes that accented his black hair perfectly. A short layer of facial hair wrapped around his jaw and above his lips.
AJ had shaved all his off when Kate had cut his hair. She imagined if John were to kiss her the way AJ had earlier in the day, she’d come away with some kind of burn around her mouth. And yet the idea didn’t interest her in the slightest. Was she making