Page 41 of The Cowboy Who Looked Again

“You’re my favorite person,” Misty said, and Link dang near slammed on the brakes. The mood in the truck sobered, and he shifted in his seat.

“Do you mean that?”

“Yes.” She slid her hand down his arm to his, and Link laced his fingers through hers. “Don’t go thinking you’re special or anything, though. I only have like, three people in my life that I even like. It’s not like your family, where you have a hundred people I have to weed through to get to the top.”

Link laughed, because one, his family wasn’t quite to one hundred yet, though if he brought in all the cowboys at the surrounding ranches, the way they did for big parties, weddings, or when someone needed help, that number could definitely go into three digits.

Two, Misty had been number one in his life almost since the moment he’d met her. He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed his smile there. “I don’t think I’m special,” he said.

“Good,” she said.

He pulled into the lot at Castleton and went around the truck to open Misty’s door. Being with her felt easy and fun, and since he’d made a reservation, they sat in a booth with a window view only a few minutes later.

The hostess handed them menus, and since Link hadn’t been here before, he actually needed to look at his. Misty had ordered to-go from here before, so she glanced around. “This place is nice,” she said.

“It has a good vibe,” he agreed.

“How are you two tonight?”

Link looked up at the waitress, who shone with starlight. “Great,” he said.

“Drinks?”

He looked across the table to Misty, and she’d picked up the drink menu. “Mm, yes, I’ll take the Sour Cranberry.” She set down the menu and looked up at the waitress. “And what are the chances of having dessert first?” She smiled over to Link.

“I can bring you whatever you want,” she said.

“He wants a Diet Coke with lemon,” Misty said. “The Sour Cranberry for me. And we’re going to need a four-pack of the cornbread cookies to start with. The sooner the better.”

“Wow,” Link said as the waitress nodded and smiled her way away from the table. “A four-pack?” He laughed while Misty simply picked up her menu again. “I suppose I should’ve told you I have dessert plans too.”

She peered over the top of the menu. “Dessert plans? When you knew they had cornbread cookies this week? You know they only have these for one week every year. One. Week, Link.”

“And you forgot about them, because of the electrical fire.”

“That blasted electrical fire.” Misty giggled and shook her head. “But it did make me forget about the cookies.” She sighed and gazed at him the way she’d kissed him. Like she really did like him.

He wanted to ask her about next summer, but something inside him seized. The words dried right up, and he reached for the straw as the waitress returned with their drinks and cookies.

Misty clapped her hands and pulled her mocktail and the box of cookies closer to her. “What’s for dessert? I need to know so I can judge how many of these to eat.”

“Coffee and cookies,” he said.

“Americano and chocolate,” she said, giving him a coy smile. “My favorite.”

He nodded to the cornbread cookie already in her hand. “Really?”

She looked at it and then him. “They’re tied.”

“It’s okay if the cornbread cookies are number one,” he said.

She nudged the box toward him. “Try one.”

He looked at them, the pale yellow cookies with a scoop of frosting right in the middle. It looked like honey had been drizzled over the top of them, and he did love honey. Still, he hesitated. “What if I don’t like them?”

“Then there’s more for me.” Misty took her first bite of the cornbread cookie, her eyes falling closed in bliss. She’d put makeup on tonight when she didn’t for work, and Link liked the darkness around her eyes and the flush in her cheeks. She groaned, and that only made him laugh.

They’d had a couple of serious conversations now. He’d introduced her to his parents. They’d snuck away from the bonfire last night, where she’d then told him how amazing it was to be surrounded by so much family, so many people who cared about each other.

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