Nash Brothers Box Set - Carrie Aarons Page 0,15

a ballbuster, and it’s interesting to find that her humor is growing on me. I’ve normally dated quiet, sweet girls.

“Oh, I think we can probably find some common ground.” I lean in a little closer and watch her gaze drop to my lips.

She pulls away a little, catching herself.

“Don’t worry, Presley. I’m not going to kiss you on this Ferris wheel. You’re not a cliché moment kind of girl, that much I can tell. And we haven’t even gone on a date yet. You should know I’m a gentleman. A gentleman who doesn’t play games. When I kiss you, we’ll both be ready for it.”

9

Presley

As usual, there were fourteen discarded outfits on my bed, two hair tools heating on my dresser, and enough makeup to fill a tractor trailer, spilling from the drawers of my nightstand.

And to think, the male on the other end of this date probably took a shower, brushed a piece of hair off his forehead, threw on jeans and a shirt and called it a day.

The absolute madness of being a female and getting ready for a first date was both exciting and extremely awful. My stomach was in knots, I couldn’t get my eyeliner to wing the right way, and I was between two outfits that I didn’t even really like.

My phone chimed on my rumpled comforter, and I snatched it up.

Ryan: Wear the blue skirt with the lacy white tank, and a simple, flat sandal. Cute but casual, and if he takes you cow wrangling, you’ll have decent footwear.

Presley: Cow wrangling? Really?

I let out a nervous giggle.

Ryan: *shrug emoji* I don’t know, I’m just trying to envision what small-town dating looks like.

Presley: We’re not living in an eighties western movie. This isn’t Footloose. They have Wi-Fi here.

Ryan: Whatever. Go get ready, and text me all the dirty details later. That is, if you’re not knocking boots with the sexy vet.

Presley: *eye roll emoji*

There definitely would be no knocking boots with Keaton Nash. For one, I wasn’t even sure I wanted to go on this date …

Okay, I definitely wanted to go on this date. So much so that my palms are sweating as I wait for him on Grandma’s front porch. But I also don’t want to go at the same time.

In the city, I went on dates. They usually ended in one-night stands, or the guy never calling me again. I didn’t form attachments because I was too busy for a boyfriend, and my life is always up in the air as it is, so why add another complication to the mix? There wasn’t really a tragic breakup in my past or something like a daddy issue that made me chase bad men. No … I just had never really wanted a long-term thing, and now that I was older, I almost didn’t know how to have a boyfriend.

Keaton’s charm was silent but deadly; the whole good boy, being direct thing had thrown me for a loop and now here I was, about to get in his car for a night of … romance? That sounded so cheesy. But he was someone I could actually see myself having a nice time with, so there would be no knocking boots. I was going to be a grown-up about this, even if I had no grown-up job, a bunch of debt, and didn’t even own my own car.

Plus, in a town like Fawn Hill, I’m sure half the town would know about my sexcapade before I have my morning coffee tomorrow.

A newer model Toyota truck pulls into Grandma’s driveway, and Keaton’s long limbs climb out of the driver’s seat. He’s in a fitted T-shirt and jeans, a much more casual look than I’d seen him in previously. The man still looked gorgeous even in street clothes, with his dirty blond hair slightly gelled back, and his chocolate-colored eyes smiling right along with those full lips. There was some five-o’clock shadow on his jaw, and damn if that didn’t make him even more attractive than when he was clean-shaven.

“Hi.” He leaned in when he reached my spot on the front steps. “You look amazing.”

Those full lips were warm where they pecked quickly at my cheek in greeting. I caught a whiff of his cologne, something earthy with a little citrus that added unexpected spice.

“Thank you. You look … different.” My stupid mouth was failing me already.

Keaton chuckled. “You’ve seen the boring doctor side. I thought I’d show you how I really am. No wait … I