more, which made Liv feel like swallowing again. “I think I may feed Craig and leave him here to watch his Star show.”
“Great,” she said, reaching for the ignition and turning it, even though the car was running. The nasty grinding sound startled her and color washed over her face. “Damn,” she muttered.
Matt laughed. “I’ve done that,” he said, and she liked him more because of it.
“I better go,” she said. “Before I do something else to the car.” Matt stepped away, and she put the car in gear, being careful that it was the correct gear, then turned a tight U-turn and headed back out of his driveway.
Okay, she wasn’t smooth, but truthfully, she didn’t regret the invitation. Dinner with a guy who’d been there when she needed a shoulder. That was all this was. She wouldn’t let it be anything else.
* * *
MATT SHOWED UP for dinner with a bottle of wine and a deep curiosity as to how the evening was going to play out. Liv the aggressor was something he hadn’t expected. Not that she was exactly aggressive once he arrived. No, she hid behind the ritual of cooking, stirring sauce, draining pasta, refusing all help.
Matt sat at the kitchen table, sipped wine and watched, letting her orchestrate the evening. She fed him an excellent but simple meal, complimented his wine and talked to him about her work.
They did not talk about roping, or Beckett or her father—other than her brief announcement that all was still well and she was grateful.
Matt watched the one-woman show with a touch of amusement and a touch of awe. Liv wasted no movements. She glided from one task to another, making them look effortless. Liv would have made a decent calf roper.
Matt smiled a little and Liv cocked her head. “What?”
“Just...admiring.”
“Yeah?” The reply was offhand, but her color rose.
They ate the dinner and Matt insisted on doing the dishes. Not helping, but doing. It didn’t take long, since Liv had been cleaning as she went in a way that would have made Craig proud.
Then she turned off the kitchen lights and they went into the living room, where they sat side by side on the sofa staring at the opposite wall.
“Well, this is awkward,” she said.
“How so?” Matt asked innocently.
Liv smirked at him. “Have you ever in your life felt awkward? Do you have a clue?”
He half turned toward her on the sofa. “You’re talking to a man who’s been knocked off his horse in public more times than I want to admit, has taken facers in the mud, been kicked in the nuts by a squirming calf in front of a woman he wanted to impress...need I go on?”
She laughed, hugging her arms around herself. “I spent a good deal of my life feeling awkward. But I have never been kicked in the nuts by a calf.”
“You don’t know what you’re missing.” She leaned her head back against his arm, as she’d done the other night, and after a few silent, not totally uncomfortable minutes, he asked, “Why did you invite me over?”
“To say thanks.”
“And?”
She met his eyes directly, though he had a feeling it cost her. “You have to ask?” she asked lowly. Her voice was husky, filled with meaning.
Matt felt himself begin to rise to the occasion.
* * *
SHE’D DONE IT. For the first time ever she’d flat out told a guy what she wanted. Oh, she’d hedged a bit with the dinner and all, but she’d eventually taken the leap. And then for one long moment, nothing happened. All she could hear was her own breathing. And Matt’s.
Then Matt slid his hand up under her hair and leaned over and kissed her. Only this wasn’t like that first kiss, the one that had taken her by surprise. No, this one was slow and deliberate, a long, thorough kiss that made her want to start shucking off her clothes. But she wouldn’t allow herself to react too soon. Her instinct for self-preservation was too strong. Yeah, she’d said what she wanted, but she needed to take her time, make certain she hadn’t made a mistake.
She smoothed her palms over the planes of Matt’s cheeks, pulled his lips down for another kiss, this one even deeper and longer.
“This is what I wanted to do during the study sessions,” she confessed, smiling against his mouth. Matt pushed his fingers back into her hair, then twisted the strands around his hand, holding her head as he spread his fingers over