Page 33 of Cowboy and the Convict

But neither did her attempt to explain their accidental run-in. They could have parted ways at any time. She could have grabbed her pretzel and gone on her merry little way to freeze her tits off alone.

But she hadn’t.

Alice looked between them before finally settling on Devon. “Still. You need to be more prepared.”

Devon chuckled at his mother’s gentle reprimand. “Yes, ma’am.”

“I mean it.” She finally settled into her seat, tucking her Mary Poppins bag into the enclosed area at her feet. “Maybe if you got that front closet a little more organized, you’d be able to find all your stadium blankets.”

“Actually,” Devon’s face split into a smug grin, “the front closet is very organized.”

Janie found herself smiling along with him. He looked proud of the fact his closet was back in shape, and it made her a little proud since she was the one who facilitated it.

Alice’s brows lifted. “Really.” She dragged the word out as her eyes slid Janie’s way. “You wouldn’t have anything to do with that, would you?”

Janie shook her head, deciding to pass the credit off. “Not me. I think the girls did it.”

She knew for a fact the girls did it because she’s the one who told them to, but that could be their little secret. Devon’s daughters had been working hard to help get their house back in order and they deserved recognition for it.

Alice’s expression warmed. “They are such good girls.” She turned to where the cheerleaders were still stretching and warming up. “They all work so hard.”

“That they do.” Devon shifted in his seat, bringing the bulk of his body closer to hers. “Riley’s working and going to school and Gwen is pushing to graduate a year early. She’s already thinking about the ACT and researching scholarships.”

Devon’s mother clasped her gloved hands in front of her chest. “We’re so proud of them.” She turned to where her husband sat beside her. “Aren’t we, Frank?”

Frank’s thick brows pinched together. “What?”

Alice patted his knee. “Never mind, dear.” She turned to Janie, animatedly mouthing the words, he can’t hear a thing.

The speakers above and behind them crackled to life and the announcer’s booming voice filled the stadium, cutting off any further conversation as he introduced the players. Once everyone was on the field, the teams wasted no time getting to the line of scrimmage. She kept track of what was going on, but mostly kept her eyes on Olivia, not wanting to miss her backflip.

“Does this take you back?” Devon’s voice was low in her ear. His breath warm against her skin. The combination sent a shiver racing down her spine.

His full lips pressed into the frown he’d inherited from his mother. The one she initially read as disapproving, but now knew was concern. “Are you cold?”

She pushed on a smile, a little too affected by the way his question rumbled through her insides. “I’m fine.”

“Liar.” Devon straightened, shucking off his coat. “Here.” He draped it across her legs, the heat of his body sinking straight through her jeans, soothing the goosebumps across her skin.

“Now you’re going to be cold.” She moved to give him his coat back, but he shook his head.

“You need it more than I do.” His lips twitched. “What with your freakishly low body fat and all.”

Janie let her jaw fall open in false outrage. “She didn’t say freakishly. You just added that on yourself.” She wiggled one finger out from under the warmth of the blanket keeping her upper half toasty warm and poked it against his pec. “Not all of us have the time to grow a layer of freakishly big muscles.”

Devon angled a brow at her. “It sounds like you’ve been looking at me a little more than I realized.”

Her face heated in spite of the chilly air. “What? No.”

The denial was weak at best. Especially since her eyes accidentally dipped down his coatless frame, pausing a little too long on the way his henley clung to the width of his shoulders and chest. Her only hope was to redirect. “And stop acting like you’re not cold. I can see your nipples trying to stab through your shirt. They look ready to cut glass.” She loosened her hold on the blanket Alice gave her, stretching it out so she could sling one end across Devon’s shoulders. “Here.”

Devon was still for a minute as she fed him more of the blanket. Then he slowly worked it around his big body. “Thank you.”

She tried to cuddle back into the warmth, but there wasn’t quite enough fleece to go around. Not with the way they were sitting now. Her eyes dipped to the slight gap between them. If she scooted closer, not only could they share the blanket better, they could also share body heat. They’d been that close on Devon’s couch the other night, and that was with no one else around. Here they were surrounded by people. If anything, it would be less weird.

“This will probably work better if we’re a little closer.” Janie scooted her butt toward him, bringing her body right to his.

But there still wasn’t quite enough blanket to make it work. She huffed out a frustrated breath, the air fogging around her.

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