the road conversation. But I didn’t think this was an in the truck conversation either. This was a shouldn’t ever happen conversation. But that didn’t stop me from putting my hand in his and stepping up into his truck. My heart thudded almost as loudly as the door when he shut it. It was still pounding when he climbed into the driver’s seat.
I wasn’t sure why I’d made the admission I had, but as we pulled away I was trying to figure out what I could tell him I’d meant by it. If I told him the truth, he’d know how much I felt about him and that was not something I felt like revealing. Or did I? Was that the worst thing that could happen?
My eyes closed as I tried to process all of the thoughts in my head. My personal life was in shambles, my professional life was in flux until my contract was signed which wasn’t looking good from the feedback Hannah was giving me, and instead of focusing on any of that, all I could think about was the man seated next to me with the deep voice, whiskey colored stare, and a touch that made my body sing.
After a few minutes of an internal freak out, the truck came to a stop. I opened my eyes expecting to be in front of Beau’s house but instead I saw a large body of water, with a trail of moonlight shimmering over the dark surface.
“Where are we?”
“Emerald Cove Lake. I like to come here to clear my head and it seems like you have a lot going on in yours.”
I did, but the last thing I wanted to do was talk about it. I looked around and saw that we were cocooned in dripping willow branches. With the water in front of us and the trees around us we were totally secluded from the rest of the world.
“If I was a location scout this would be the perfect small-town teen hook-up spot,” I observed.
“It is. On weekend nights there are at least a dozen cars parked out here.”
“Did you come here a lot?” I wanted to add, with Rachel, but I didn’t.
“When you were a teenager?”
“No.” He shook his head. “Having seven brothers meant that I had to get a lot more creative than this if I wanted privacy.”
That made sense.
“What about as an adult?” I suddenly wondered if this was where he brought women instead of to his home. Harmony had mentioned tonight that her brother never invited women back to his house. She made it seem like it was significant that he’d asked me to dinner there. Maybe this was his spot.
He turned to me and when our eyes met all the noise in my head quieted. It was a phenomenon that I should expect with Beau by now, but still took me by surprise. “You’re the only person that I’ve ever brought here.”
If that was a line, it was a good one. His words and the inflection of his voice wrapped around me like a warm blanket in a blizzard making me feel secure, special, and seen. It was something I’d never felt before.
When I was a kid, I felt like a prop in my mom’s life. Whatever she needed me to be to fit into her story, was who I was. I carried that skill into adulthood. I’d built a career around being people to serve a storyline and that had carried over into my personal life. Quite literally when it came to Drake who’d been my onscreen love interest.
“Now it’s my turn to ask questions.” He turned to me and I was struck, again, with how sexy he was. Moonlight drifted over his strong jaw and long lashes. “Why did you leave the bar?”
“When I came out of the bathroom, I saw you with Rachel. I didn’t want to…interrupt.”
“She was drunk. I had to make sure she got home safe and then I came looking for you.”
“Oh.” My response came out in a whisper. I could barely speak over the arousal choking me.
“What are you thinking, feeling, and wanting that you shouldn’t?” He gritted out.
His gravelly tone sent my body into overdrive. Any self-control, or self-preservation I had evaporated.
“Right now?” I swallowed over the lump in my throat. “I want you.”
His jaw ticked as I climbed onto his lap. My skirt floated across my thighs as I lowered down. I rested my hands lightly on either side of his face and repeated,