Page 53 of A Marriage Pact for the Cowboy

“Man, I was hoping for an adjective that wouldn’t fit Jamie or Simon. Manly. Handsome.” He paused, but she didn’t fully look at him. He bobbed his eyebrows, hoping she’d catch their motion. “Hot.”

Eryn snickered, and her face pinked, but at least she was looking at him now. “Okay, all of those. How did some woman not snap you up already?”

Maxwell sobered. “A few reasons, I guess. I wasn’t looking for a relationship before, but also, I… I keep pretty busy, which is a socially acceptable way of saying I’m a workaholic.” A long breath whooshed out of him. “My parents — let’s just say I take after my father. Every spare minute goes into my work. That’s why my parents divorced, because my mother refused to put up with Dad’s nonexistent spare time. He had no leftovers for her or for us boys, honestly.”

Eryn studied him. “But you moved to Chicago to be with him after high school.”

“I did. I couldn’t wait to get out of Gilead, to be honest. There was nothing for me there.” He chuckled. “I didn’t know you, even though technically we’ve known each other since kindergarten.”

“No, everyone knew Amelia. Not me.”

“I’m sorry.” He started to reach for her hands, but the server chose that moment to appear with their seafood platter. Maybe it was time to change the subject, anyway.

“I’m not ready for this day to end.” Maxwell tangled his fingers with hers as they exited the restaurant.

“Me, either.” Dinner had been delicious, even the suspicious-looking mussels. They’d talked about lighter topics over the meal, and for the first time in her entire life, Eryn felt seen for herself. It was a heady feeling.

“Since there isn’t a great movie playing, let’s go for a walk.” He nudged her shoulder toward the park across the street.

Eryn reveled in the heady emotions surging through her. She still couldn’t believe that a man like Maxwell had singled her out. She shoved thoughts of her twin’s journals out of her mind. Amelia’s infatuation had been childish. Just because she’d doodled hearts all around Maxwell’s name every time it appeared in her entries didn’t mean… Right. Eryn pushed Amelia out of her head.

Lamp posts in the park illuminated the pathways. They strolled beside the pond, and Eryn imagined children feeding ducks there on summer days. Imagined moms sitting on the benches watching their kids on the playground, chatting with each other.

She sighed. Could this ever truly be her life?

“Cold?” Maxwell whipped off his fleece jacket and wrapped it over her shoulders before she’d had a chance to reply.

“Thanks, but now you’ll be freezing.” Maybe this walk on a late October evening was a bad idea, after all.

“There are other ways to keep warm.” Maxwell slipped his arm around her waist and tugged her close to his side.

And… maybe this walk was perfect. She snugged her arm around him and let herself enjoy the closeness as they crossed the lakefront drive and stepped onto the sandy beach. The lake lapped gently at the shore in the moonlight.

“You didn’t answer my question before.”

Eryn knew she hadn’t. “What question was that?”

Maxwell stopped and turned her to face him, both arms looped behind her back. “Will you be my girlfriend? Because I’m falling for you, and I can’t get enough time with you.”

“What about that whole workaholic thing you mentioned?” She was stalling. She knew it, but she couldn’t help drawing out the moment. She wanted to savor this for the rest of her life, even if things ended badly next week.

“I hope I’ve learned from my father’s mistakes.” Maxwell’s dark eyes were in the shadows, but she could feel the intensity of his gaze even so.

“I’d like to be with you,” she whispered, slipping her arms around his neck.

His hands tightened on her back, slowly pulling her closer.

Was he going to kiss her? Was she ready?

“May I?” he whispered.

Forget her inhibitions, her shyness, her inexperience. Eryn rose on her tiptoes and met his lips with her own.

She’d never been kissed. Not even the guy who’d tried to get to Amelia through her had gone this far.

And she was kind of glad that Maxwell was her first, because the feelings for him that had been building up for weeks now were more real than anything she’d ever experienced before.

He deepened the kiss, his hands roving her back then tangling in her hair.

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