away. But it was more than that, and he didn’t want to blow this. He stopped a good two feet away from her, resisting the urge to touch her. “Liv, couldn’t we just...be...for a while? Keep an open mind? Not be so quick to define things?”
She didn’t answer immediately, and the conflicting emotions—fear, desire, curiosity, caution—played openly across her features. “And if I try, but can’t?” she finally asked.
“We pull the plug.”
Her eyes were wide. Wary. “And until then?”
He moved a step closer. “I think you know what happens until then.” What she obviously wanted to happen until then.
He saw her swallow, felt again like reaching out to her, but didn’t. “I want to be fair,” she said. “Tell you the truth...about me.”
“You’ve done that. Now what else do you want?”
She sucked a breath in through her teeth and then slowly planted both hands, one still holding the damp towel, on his chest. “I guess I’d really like to make the most of the last night my father isn’t going to be home.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
HAVING LIV IN his life—even on her rather strict terms—was a distraction that Matt probably didn’t need, but one that he enjoyed all the same. During the two weeks that they’d been together, she both drove him crazy and helped him stay sane. An odd situation, but when he was around her, he didn’t think only of roping, of beating his brother to start his comeback, of how long his knee would hold out. He thought of all those things and Liv, too.
Hard to believe this woman who was all but eating him alive was the same girl too shy to talk to him about anything except for the area under curves when she’d tutored him.
He had no idea where this relationship was going, but he had no doubt at all that they did have a relationship, no matter what spin Liv wanted to put on it. They were not simply screw buddies, because if they were, he wouldn’t be wondering what he could do to make her happy. He would be satisfied with an evening of hot sex here and again. She wouldn’t be on his mind when he wasn’t with her.
Craig wouldn’t be giving him that people-in-love-are-disgusting look every time she came over to the place—which she did fairly frequently.
So was he in love?
This wasn’t what he’d felt for Trena. He’d cared about her, been blown away by her beauty and sensuality, but the protectiveness he felt toward Liv hadn’t been part of the deal. That didn’t mean he hadn’t loved Trena, because he had. An immature love, but love all the same. This was different. Liv was different.
One thing was certain—he didn’t need to be in any hurry to answer that question, because the instant he said anything at all that smacked of being a couple, Liv backed off. Sometimes she practically left skid marks. But she was not indifferent. Of that he was sure.
Patience.
And since he was practicing such patience with Liv, perhaps his impatience was spilling out in his professional life. Now that he had Snigs, he could practice more. Snigs one night, one of the practice horses the next, so he didn’t overdo it with her. But although Snigs was a fine horse, she wasn’t the horse Beckett was. He’d come to a place where he could live with that. Beckett was never a subject of conversation, and the few times that Liv had mentioned him, the moment had felt awkward and she’d quickly changed the subject.
The fact that he was leaving the matter alone was another reason he knew he had it bad for Liv. Anyone else and he would have probably kept pushing. He would have been subtle, but push he would have. A testimony to his feelings, although he didn’t know if Liv knew, or would acknowledge it if she did.
Patience.
“Hey, Matt!” Craig’s voice came through his closed door loud and clear.
Patience.
“Yeah?”
“Don’t you think you should start practice?”
Matt threw back the covers. Of course. It was almost 7:00 a.m. Of course he should start practice. Craig just loved opening the chute and giving him pointers he picked up off of YouTube training videos.
“Be right out.”
Craig had the toaster waffles on a plate by the time Matt came down the hall, tucking in his shirt.
“You’re walking better,” Craig said offhandedly.
“Feeling better,” Matt replied.
“Maybe you won’t have to get fake knees after all.”
“Maybe,” Matt said, truly hoping he didn’t. All he wanted was one more season, one more win. One