Page 36 of Forever Enough

“I can’t imagine the adrenaline rush you must get.”

I nodded. “Yeah. I love it.”

Feeling her gaze on me, I glanced over. “What?”

“You don’t sound like you love it. There was zero emotion in your voice just then.”

I let out a long sigh as I pulled into the driveway of the ranch. Instead of reaching up and hitting the gate opener, I tightened my hands on the steering wheel. I wanted to tell her that I was going to be walking away, but the only other people who knew were my parents and my manager, Lewis. Well Lewis’s daughter Crystal was taking over more and more for Lewis. I needed to tell my family first. Plus, I had made my father and Lewis a promise that I’d make sure this was what I really wanted.

“I think I’m just tired. Which is kind of crazy since I’m only coming up on twenty-four.”

“When’s your birthday?”

“March third. What about you?”

“August thirty-first. Emily’s birthday is New Year’s Eve.”

“Then that’s another reason you need to come to Lincoln and Brock’s party, if your sister’s going to be here. We can celebrate a marriage and your sister’s birthday.”

The corner of her mouth rose slightly in a smile as she replied, “Maybe.”

“Hey, that’s better than a no.”

I reached up and hit the gate opener, and we drove the rest of the way to the farm’s barn in silence. After parking, I walked her in through the barn and up the steps to her apartment.

“I had a lot of fun today, Bradly. Thank you.”

Reaching up, I tucked a light brown curl behind her ear and heard her breath hitch ever so softly. “So did I. I’m sorry it took longer at the arena than I thought.”

“As long as you’re not expecting anything fancy for dinner and don’t mind a later dinner. Say, maybe seven-thirty?”

My eyes drifted down to her mouth, and her tongue darted out quickly to wet them. I nearly growled.

Leaning in closer, I whispered, “That sounds perfect.”

Her warm breath hit my face as she exhaled a soft chuckle. I bridged the space between us and my lips touched hers softly. This one wasn’t like earlier. It was sweeter. Slower. More meaningful.

Mackenzie reached up and grabbed onto my coat as she slowly stepped away. When her eyes closed, a pained expression crossed her face.

Reaching up, I cupped her face in my hands. “Hey, look at me.” Those beautiful eyes opened and met my gaze. “We’ll go slow, okay?”

Pressing her mouth into a tight line, she said, “That’s just it…I don’t want to go slow.”

Damn if I really wasn’t actually falling in love with her.

Smirking, I said, “Seven-thirty?”

She nodded. “Seven-thirty.”

Turning, Mackenzie typed in the code and the door unlocked. The sound of a cat meowing grew louder, and when she turned and started to shut the door, I had to remind myself I’d see her soon.

The soft click of the door had me sighing as I turned and saw a goat standing at the bottom of the steps. “Pickles. I was wondering where you were.”

The goat did a little jump spin as I made my way down the steps. I bent and gave him some attention before he used my leg to kick off and leap over to the corner of the barn, where he proceeded to lay down on his very own bed.

Smiling, I made my way through the barn and out the door to my truck. I climbed in, started it, and began to back up when I saw the first few snowflakes start to fall.

I looked up at the window in the barn, and even though I couldn’t see her, I knew she was there, and that made something inside of me heat up like never before.

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