eyes on you. I don’t want to own you. I don’t want to smother you down or make you be something you don’t want to be. I just want to be with you.”
All the tension in Amy melted. She watched as he fussed with the brim of his hat, his hands clearly nervous. This was hard for him to say, she knew. It was obvious in the tight sound of his voice, the way his hands pressed and crimped the edge of his hat.
“I . . . thank you.”
He nodded. “I’m just letting you know where I stand. So if I say dumb shit from time to time, remember that I’m also patient. I’ve waited months and months for you. I can wait longer if you need more time, but I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere. You take as long as you need to get used to the idea, but I do want to marry you.” Caleb looked down at his hat, grimaced at the mess he was making of the brim, and then put it on his head. “But for now, I’d like to ask you to be my date for dinner at my uncle’s party. I think it’s kinda formal. He told us to dress nice and do our chores early so we could shower.” He looked pained at the thought. “It’s dinner and an ugly-gift exchange.”
She blinked. It was a lot to take in, what he was telling her. A declaration of intentions. Not a marriage proposal, just letting her know where he stood and how he felt, because that was who Caleb was. He was steady and solid and he didn’t change his mind like the wind. She knew where she stood with him . . . and it reminded her again that he was nothing like Blake. “I’d love to go to the party, but I don’t have anything to bring as a gift.”
“It’s an ugly-gift exchange,” he repeated. “The more hideous the better. You could always wrap up Humpy Santa and his wife.”
“I kinda like Humpy Santa,” she told him, chuckling.
That brought a smile to Caleb’s face and he was so handsome he took her breath away. “I kinda do, too.”
“I’ll think of something,” she told him quickly. “What time should I be there?”
If it was possible, his smile grew wider. “I’ll check.” He moved forward and put his arms around her waist, pulling her against him for another kiss. “You should know,” he murmured just before he put his mouth on hers. “This is me inviting you to meet the family.”
Oh shit. So it was. “You do move fast,” she breathed, dazzled by his nearness.
“I just know what I want.”
His confidence was impressive . . . and sexy. Now she was the one flustered and unsure. How had her tongue-tied cowboy gone from silent to seductive so quickly?
Her heart was in soooo much trouble.
* * *
* * *
If there was one thing Amy’s life prior to her divorce had prepared her for, it was attending a party. She picked through her party dresses before settling on a sparkly green number with a high neck and a completely open back. Unfortunately she’d pawned a lot of her shoes at this point, so she was going to have to wear her usual nude pumps, but that was all right. Hopefully no one would be looking at her feet. She pulled her hair up into a tight bun, and for jewelry, she put on a pair of dangly plastic Santa earrings—a gift from one of her students and his parents that she’d gotten earlier that day. She didn’t care if they were cheap or if they didn’t match her dress—she loved them.
She studied her form in the mirror once she was dressed. Her skirt barely came to her knees, and the back was open from the neckline to the curve of her spine. Was it a little overly sexy and potentially too dressy for a small Christmas party? Yes and yes. But she wanted to see Caleb’s eyes light up when he looked at her, so she wasn’t changing for anything.
The last week had been magical. Each date they went on felt more comfortable than the last, and it was clear that he’d put a lot of thought into each excursion. More than the snowman making or going to dinner together, though, she loved the letters. They were rambling and funny and heartfelt. Unpolished, yes, but she vastly preferred a heartfelt message to