unhappy about it. He’d gotten his land, and in the process had found one hell of a woman he wanted to learn a whole lot more about. He wanted so much from her, and the more he saw her, the more he wanted to know her, about who she was, and why she’d cast such a spell over him. He’d never been so drawn to a woman before.
This might not be a fling.
That thought was quite humbling to a confirmed bachelor. This might actually turn into a real relationship. He honestly couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a girlfriend. As he drove away, his smile faded. There was one thing for sure he didn’t want to catch — and that was the damn marriage flu that had infected three out of four of his brothers.
He might need to tread a bit more carefully . . . if he even could at this point.
Or he might just throw all caution to the wind and go with what he was feeling. He guessed that only time would tell what was coming next — time and a whole lot more of Daisy.
Chapter Seventeen
Daisy climbed from the shower when persistent knocking sounded on her front door. There wasn’t a lot she could do about it, so she ignored the sound as she dried off, wrapped her hair, then applied lotion and body spray. The person knocking wasn’t giving up.
With a huff, she wrapped herself in her favorite purple terry cloth robe and marched through her small house. She didn’t look before unlocking the door and swinging it open, a scowl on her face.
“Good morning,” Hudson said, looking far too cheery as he held out a bag in one hand and a coffee in the other. “What took you so long to answer?” Even as he asked, though, his eyes traveled from her towel-wrapped hair, across her perfectly covered body, and down to her bare feet where her bright pink toes stood out.
“I was showering,” she said. His eyes flashed with desire hot enough to make her feel scorched right there in front of him.
“Need any help finishing?” he asked as he took a step forward. She shook her head.
Daisy automatically stepped back, and he pushed his way into the house. “I didn’t see Bubby’s car, but yours was in the driveway so I didn’t think you’d gone anywhere.”
She looked at the clock. “It’s eight in the morning,” she told him, having no choice other than to shut the door and turn to face him. He’d set the bag and what she assumed was her coffee on the table, sipping from his own cup. “I didn’t think you got up this early.”
Hudson laughed, the sound just as infectious as the first time she’d heard it. She didn’t want to justify his behavior by taking the coffee he’d brought, but she hadn’t had a cup yet and she knew how good it would taste. She tried to act nonchalant as she moved over to the table and picked it up.
“It’s my turn to try to change your mind today. I want to get an early start,” he said. He sat at the table and opened the bag, pulling out a cinnamon twist and eating a third of it in one bite. She looked inside the large bag and found six other donuts. She took a maple bar, hating that she didn’t have the willpower to resist.
“What if I already have plans?” she pointed out.
“Do you?” he asked.
She wanted to tell him she did, but Daisy didn’t lie. “No, but that’s not the point. You have to call first and set things up, not just show up unannounced at my house.”
“Okay, I’ll remember that next time.” He finished his donut and reached into the bag and grabbed an apple fritter. “Block off the whole day. This will take a while.” He sipped coffee as she finished her donut. “And wear comfortable shoes and clothes since we’ll be doing a lot of walking.”
“Fine. I guess it is your turn, but it’s pointless. I’m not going to change my mind,” she told him.
“We’ll see,” he said, not seeming fazed by her words. She wondered if he was more stubborn than she was. She couldn’t lose, that wasn’t an option.
She didn’t say anything more as she left him in the kitchen with his goodies and went to get dressed. He’d said to be comfortable, so she grabbed her favorite pair of worn jeans, her college hoody from Washington State,