Page 83 of Fall With Me (Sugarland Creek)

He sighs, and we stand to the side of an aisle. “I’m not supposed to tell you things you can’t remember.”

“But I remembered the broccoli cheese soup…though I wouldn’t eat that. I’m not a fan of soup. Or broccoli.”

He wrinkles his nose. “Who doesn’t like soup?”

I push against his chest but of course he doesn’t budge. “Not the point. What happened at The Lodge?”

“You choked on a piece of beef.”

“Oh my God, how embarrassing.”

“Yeah, almost dying issoembarrassing,” he drawls out.

“This is why I didn’t like you, isn’t it?” I scowl. “Now tell me what happened.”

“I gave you the Heimlich maneuver.”

“Geez. I need a prone to accidents sign on my forehead at this rate.”

“We had a fight beforehand, and I was actively avoidin’ you until I heard you gaspin’ for air. I’d only ever panicked that hard once before in my life. I shot out of my chair and raced over to you.”

My heart swells with tenderness. Knowing we weren’t even friends or on good terms, and he still didn’t think twice about saving me.

“What happened earlier?” I ask, but again he hesitates. “Please…I wanna know.”

He exhales slowly as if he knows I’ll keep asking until he tells me. “We were at the stables and you told Ranger he was agood boy, and I came up behind you and saidoh, thank you. You scowled, I made a joke about it, and then you snapped. To be fair, it wasn’t the first time I’d bothered you when you clearly didn’t want to be, but my desperate ass was greedy for any opportunity to talk to you.”

“What did I say when I snapped?” I plead, needing to hear it.

“Just…that I don’t listen and you askin’ me not to bother you wasn’t an act because you weren’t interested in havin’ any conversation with me. Then I really pissed you off when I compared you to other women who would love the chance to tell a guy why they didn’t like them. Then I apologized and said I’d never bother you again before walkin’ away.”

“Wow, I sound like a bitch.”

“I pushed you a lot if I’m being honest. I flirted with you every chance possible even after you made it clear you weren’t interested. I figured negative attention was still attention from you. You had every right to get upset.”

“You’re just tryin’ to make me feel better. It’s okay. I know I wasn’t the easiest person to be around. Socializing never came easy to me.”

“You’ve been quite social with me since the accident.”

“I know, but it literally feels like I knew you in another life and feel safe with you. Like we were more than friends.”

“I can assure you, we were not, at least in the lifetime from three weeks ago.”

“Very funny.”

“See, it’s about damn time you got my humor.” He pulls me into his chest, and I lift my head to find his lips.

When he presses his to mine, I smile.

I’ve never had this before. It feels nice.

“Remember our new rule.”

“No?”

He smirks, licking his lips. “You kiss the cowboy, you ride the hat.”

Lowering my eyes to his groin, he quickly tries to cover himself, and I laugh. “So much for not wantin’ to walk around with a boner.”

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