they’d known each other their whole lives.
When she’d told Walker that he was the first guy who hadn’t seemed to mind talking on the phone for as long as they had, he’d told her that he wasn’t like any of the men she’d dated in the past, and that normally he wasn’t very chatty, but as far as he was concerned, he could talk to her for hours every night and be perfectly happy.
He always seemed to say the right thing, but Gillian didn’t think he was merely saying what he thought she wanted to hear. Their conversation was too smooth, too easy to be faked.
He’d texted on Friday…several times. And each time her phone vibrated, she smiled in anticipation. Then he’d called her briefly that morning to see how the quinceañera had gone and to tell her he hoped her golf thing went all right.
It was a new experience for Gillian to have someone be so attuned to her schedule. Walker was enthusiastic and inquisitive about her job. He seemed to be fascinated by how organized she was and how many different kinds of events she arranged. He’d warned her to be safe and they’d finalized plans for the evening.
Since Walker had said jeans were all right, she took a chance and wore her favorite pair of brown and turquoise cowboy boots as well. She wore a turquoise shirt that matched and had braided her hair in two long braids that hung over her chest. She’d also dug some ribbon out of a drawer and tied each braid off with a piece.
She thought she looked cute…but it might be overkill. She definitely looked a little touristy in her cowgirl getup, but she felt good, so decided to go with it.
Gillian had just walked out of her bedroom when the buzzer sounded, letting her know someone was at the doorway downstairs. She pressed on the button. “Hello?”
“It’s me,” Walker said in his distinctive deep rumble.
Without another word, Gillian pressed the button to open the door and let him inside. She knew she had maybe two minutes before he’d be knocking. She took a deep breath, then another. She was nervous as hell, which was crazy, considering Walker had definitely seen her at her worst…twice.
She’d wanted to look nice for him tonight. To let him know that she was looking forward to spending time with him. The knock on the door came about a minute before she was expecting it. Smiling, happy at how excited Walker seemed to be for their date as well, she peered through the peephole, confirming it was him, before opening the door with a huge smile.
“Hi,” she said brightly. “You got up here fast.”
She barely got a chance to register what Walker was wearing before he was easing her into her apartment and closing the door. He backed her up against the wall next to her front door then reached out and took her face in his hands, tilting her head up. Gillian grabbed hold of his biceps and looked at him in surprise.
He didn’t say anything, which kinda freaked Gillian out. “Walker?”
“Hmmm?” he murmured.
“Are you all right?”
“Good. Great, now that I’m with you.”
She smiled uncertainly.
“Shit,” he said under his breath. “I’m fucking this up.” Then he took a deep breath, grimaced, and took a step away from her.
She shivered at the loss of the heat of his hands on her face. “What’s wrong?” she asked, biting her lip.
His hand came up once more and he tugged her lip out of her teeth, then smoothed the pad of his finger across her lower lip. “Nothing’s wrong. I just…I almost forgot we were taking things slow for a second. Seeing you almost broke through my restraint.”
Gillian frowned. She looked down at her jeans and boots, then back up at him.
“You look amazing,” Walker said softly. He picked up one of her braids and fingered it for a moment. “Every time I see you, you surprise me by being prettier than when I saw you last.”
“Do I…is this okay for where we’re going to dinner tonight? I know it’s a bit much, but I love my boots and thought if you said jeans were okay, they’d probably do. And I haven’t worn this shirt in a while. And after I’d gotten dressed, it just seemed more appropriate to put my hair up like this than to leave it down.” Gillian knew she was babbling, but Walker’s reaction had put her off balance.
“It’s absolutely perfect,” Walker reassured her. “As