The Rancher and the Event Planner - By Cheryl Gorman Page 0,29
over every inch of her body. Before he could unscramble the thoughts from his brain she began smoothing more sunscreen on her arms then handed him the tube. She turned her back and lowered her chin almost to her chest. “Would you do me, please?”
He swallowed. “Do you?”
“My neck. I need more sunscreen.”
“Right.” He squeezed some of the lotion onto his palm then laid his fingers on her skin. Touching her nearly undid him. Her skin was silky soft. He smoothed the lotion on as she turned her head first one way then the other. She pulled down the straps of her overalls and the shirt she wore underneath so he could rub lotion on her shoulders. Instead of a purr, she sighed and that sigh nailed him right in the groin. He wanted to lean closer and take a good, long sniff while he pressed his lips to the back of her neck. Her skin would feel like a hot Texas night under his mouth. He had to stop these thoughts, he had to stop thinking of Jennifer in that way or he was a dead man. He removed his hands, and handed her the tube. “We’d better get back to work.”
By the time the last swipe of paint was applied the sun was sinking on the horizon, Jennifer was still standing and Rafe knew he had lost. They stripped off the overalls and headed for their vehicles. “So, are you going to tell me what you want? It seems you won the bet.”
She walked beside him to the driver’s door of his truck and leaned against it. “That’s right, I did.” She smiled. “I want a real date. With you. My choice of when and where. You up for it?”
Up, yeah he was definitely up or at least a part of him was. “Sure, but what is your definition of a real date?”
“A real date is holding hands, a kiss or three, dancing under the stars, good food, nice music and conversation. So, how about tomorrow night starting at six. Sound good?”
His gaze flicked to her hands then to her face and mouth. Hand holding and kissing with starlight sprinkling down on her face. He had to try to get out of this. But how? Then it came to him. “You haven’t heard my definition of a real date.”
She shrugged. “Okay, that’s fair. Go ahead.”
“A real date is—let me rephrase that—a first date is a quiet dinner, good food and conversation followed by a hand shake or a kiss on the cheek. See how different our ideas are?”
She started laughing and the sound caused a shiver of desire to buck through his veins. “What’s so funny?”
“We aren’t so different, Rafe.” She straightened from the side of his truck, leaned close to him and placed a palm on his chest. She looked up into his eyes and he down into hers. “We have the good food and conversation. It won’t take much to move from a hand shake and kiss on the cheek to hand holding and a couple of kisses on the lips. Just a matter of compromise and we’ve already proven we’re both good at that.”
Damn, she’s turned the tables on him in short order. He wasn’t going to be able to get out of this date because she was right. He would just have to be ready to deflect each and every one of her advances. He had to make her see that he was wrong for her and maybe a date would begin to help her see his side of things. “Okay, when and where?”
“Tomorrow night. Six sharp. The where is a secret.”
***
Tonight would be the clincher. Rafe would see how much alike they were. She knew that tonight would go perfectly right down to the new soft suede boots on her feet. She’d gone shopping in Dallas after she’d finalized the details on the Senator’s gala and picked up a new outfit. A flowing skirt in shades of blue with a white sleeveless top and a belt that hung low on her hips. She’d pulled her hair back in a silver clip and wore a new silver chain around her neck. She was sophisticated country or at least that’s what the sales person had said. JC tucked her legs to the side on the blanket that Rafe had helped her spread on the ground. The old estate looked beautiful at this time of day with the sun sinking in the sky and throwing sparkles