She couldn’t tell him that his hands on her bare skin were sending little shocks all through her body. “No, it feels fine. I’m going to put my weight on it now.”
He stood up and held her shoulders while she gingerly pressed her foot down. “See, all better,” she said, and she stepped in another hole and pitched forward a second time.
Jackson caught her just like before and laughed out loud. “Darlin’, we’ve got to stop meeting like this. If you want a hug, just ask for it. I’ll be glad to oblige you.”
“Then I want a hug.” She hung on to him, amazed at herself for being that bold.
“Ask and you shall receive,” Jackson teased as he brought her even closer. “Have you ever hugged a guy on a first date?”
“Sure, and a few times I even kissed a guy on a first date,” she admitted, “but you and I haven’t been on a date.”
“Yet.” He grinned as he took a step back. “Maybe I’d better walk you all the way to the porch, just in case you need someone to catch you if you fall again. They say the third time is the charm, and you might really break something the next time.”
“But I might get another hug if I did,” she flirted, even though she knew she shouldn’t.
He looped her arm in his, and the instant electricity between them was like nothing she’d ever experienced before. She reasoned that it was the result of her not having gone out with anyone in almost a year, but her heart told her it was something more than that. She’d been with men, both in a fairly serious relationship and on lots of platonic dates, but none of them had affected her like Jackson did.
It didn’t take long to cover the distance from the fork in the road to the porch since it was only about thirty yards. When they reached the bottom step, she pulled her arm free. “Thanks again,” she said as she leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek for saving her twice.
The next few seconds became a blur, and yet everything felt as if it moved in slow motion. Tex came from the back of the house in a dead run and reared up on Jackson’s leg. Jackson turned to push him away at the same time Nessa leaned in to kiss Jackson on the cheek. Instead of landing where she intended, the kiss landed square on his lips. He wrapped her up in his arms for the third time and kissed her back—long and slow, sending tingles all the way to her toes.
When the kiss ended, she took a deep breath and said, “That’s to thank you for saving me, but I really only intended it to be a sweet kiss on the cheek.”
“I’m glad it was more,” he said. “I guess this was a date since I got a goodnight kiss at the door. Maybe we’ll go out again sometime.”
“You’ve got the number here at the O’Riley house.” She figured he was joking, but down deep inside she hoped he wasn’t.
“Night, Nessa.” He waved over his shoulder as he and Tex disappeared into the darkness.
Chapter Thirteen
April was watching a rerun of NCIS when Nessa came into the house. Her cousin had a glow about her that begged for answers, so April asked, “What have you been doing? You look like you just kissed a frog, and he turned into a prince.”
Flynn came down the hallway and stopped at the edge of the living room. “You’ve been with Jackson, haven’t you? He said he was going to the falls when we knocked off work today. You been out there making out with him? Don’t you dare lead him on and then dump him, Nessa. I like working for him, so don’t ruin it for me.”
“Are you judging our cousin by your own half bushel?” April asked.
“I’m not talking to you,” Flynn smarted off.
“You are now, and you didn’t answer my question,” April said.
“I saw him at the falls, and we talked,” Nessa admitted. “You really are thinking of yourself, aren’t you?”
Flynn raised a dark eyebrow. “Yes, I am. I’m a work in progress, and I really like my job. So fess up and tell us what happened.”
“I believe it was you who said you didn’t know us well enough to tell us all about your private life and past. Well, darlin’ cousin”—she dragged out the