The Cowgirl's Chosen Love - Vivian Arend Page 0,70
side table. “Check your to-do list.”
Confused, Julia settled, her back toward him. She flipped open her journal to where a brand-new bookmark had been inserted. It had a shiny surface, with a pastoral scene displaying a ranch and mountains and deer in the middle of a field. The shiny golden tassel pooled across her fingers.
She turned it over to see what was becoming a familiar messy font. Zach’s handwriting.
One day at a time. Look for the special moments.
She was about to turn and thank him when she realized he’d put the bookmark in on the RULES page. He’d made adjustments and added some notes.
The no sex rule had an asterisk beside it. Below, the note said *Unlimited hugs. Unlimited kisses.
Her third point on the opposite page had two asterisks added, and the defining note below that said: **once a week until further notice.
The hell? Julia twisted instantly. “What kind of rule is that?”
Zach glanced over the top of his glasses. “What’s that?”
Suddenly aware she’d spoken rather loudly, she lowered to a whisper. “Once a week? I thought we said last night we didn’t need to add fooling around to the schedule.”
His expression remained bright, but a more serious undertone slipped into his eyes. “I was wrong.”
16
Somewhere between the conversation with his parents and watching the entire Whiskey Creek clan band together to make the evening go smoother, Zach had come to an astonishing conclusion.
His decision to say yes to absolutely everything Julia wanted required an addendum.
The only way they could build something lasting was if they put down a firm foundation, and while the fire between them was damn hot, he wanted so much more. A little bit of anticipation would only make things better as far as he was concerned.
In the meantime, he needed to do his best to convince her they were together for far more reasons than to save his finances or because they were having fun in the bedroom.
Although last night had been fantastic, and he couldn’t wait for round two, however and wherever that happened.
But now Julia was staring at him, two spots of red on her cheeks, a crease folded between her brows. “Go on.”
He shrugged. “I got to thinking. While there are some things that are fun to do every day—and yes, sex every day at some point in our relationship would be fun—right now I enjoy having something to look forward to. Also, we’re going to be around each other a lot, especially once you start working on the ranch. We’re still figuring out expectations and how to spend time together. Knowing pretty clearly that nothing will happen tonight means we can both relax and not start what if questions in our heads.”
She twisted completely to face him, notebook abandoned. “Like, what if we get too noisy again tonight? Am I going to feel absolutely embarrassed, and then what if I want to tell you to stop, but then worry that you think I’m telling you to stop because I don’t like what you’re doing, and then what if that worry makes it so I can’t have a good time?”
Wow. He blinked. “Okay, that was a far more on-the-nose description than I could’ve possibly come up with.”
Julia smiled wryly. “Vivid imagination. I spend a lot of time wondering what if.”
He waited as she put aside the notebook, carefully arranging it to be even with the edge of her side table. She dragged a finger over the ribbon then crawled under the covers and twisted until she was looking up at him. Big brown eyes, hair loose against the pillow shining in the light from the side tables.
She wore another one of his T-shirts. Not the same one as the previous night, which meant she’d stolen into his drawers and taken what she wanted.
He smiled at her. “You headed straight to sleep?”
“I can’t read before bed in case I get caught up in the story. I’ve spent far too many potential sleeping times reading. Not a good thing with my line of work.”
Zach put his own book away, and his reading glasses, before turning out his light. That left them bathed in the moonlight shining through the window.
He twisted to face her, reaching for her fingers where they rested on top of the covers. “Are you mad?”
“No.” There was enough light to see her frown. “A little confused, but honestly? Mostly relieved. I was pretty embarrassed this morning and any time I remembered George Coleman probably overheard us last night.”