Page 78 of A Sunny Sweetheart for the Cowboy

Paisley stepped out of the Missoula airport and adjusted her backpack straps as she squinted in the afternoon sun. She’d parked her car in the far reaches of long-term parking, and it was a bit of a hike from the terminal.

“Hey.”

She pivoted. Her favorite cowboy straightened from beside the nearby pillar. “Weston!” She flew toward him.

His arms tightened around her as he spun her around. “Paisley.”

She shivered at the gravelly tone in his voice, then her lips found his. This time, she didn’t hold back like she had that night. Had over a week passed since then? Crazy. It seemed like forever ago. And yet, like no time at all had passed.

“Oh, Paisley.” Weston rested his forehead against hers while his hands roved her back. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you, too. Every minute of every day, I wished you were there beside me.”

“I wished the same. Next time, I will.” He swallowed hard. “I’ve never flown.”

She blinked and looked up at him. “Really? Never?”

“There was never anywhere I wanted to go where my truck or my horse couldn’t take me. Until you broadened my horizons.”

“You’re not afraid of flying, are you?”

“Maybe?” Weston wrinkled his nose. “It’s not very appealing to think about miles in the air with only a tin can to keep me from falling and splatting.”

“It’s safer than driving.”

“So they say.”

Paisley giggled, but then Weston’s lips covered hers, distracting her from every other thought but how good it was to be cherished by him. She’d been right to see the cowboy behind the gruff exterior all those months ago. He was worth every minute of the torture he’d put her through.

“Fly with me sometime?” she whispered against his mouth.

“Oh, we’re going to fly, sweetheart. We are so going to fly.”

She shivered at his intense promise. He wasn’t talking about jets anymore. Knowing the kind of man he was, he wasn’t talking about a short-term hookup, either. He was pledging much, much more.

Paisley might have started this whole thing over a year ago when she wouldn’t leave him to his surly existence, but she wasn’t quite ready for how far the pendulum had swung so quickly.

She pulled back a little. “I have my car here, you know.”

“I know. I just couldn’t wait any longer to see you. How about I follow you to Jewel Lake? May I take you to dinner at the Golden Grill?”

“Are you asking me on a date, Mr. Grumpy?”

He nipped at her lips. “Who are you calling grumpy?”

Mercy. Her legs were turning to rubber. “Not you.”

“Yes, a date. I want to be official for all the world to see.”

“You know what they say about Estelle at the Golden Grill?”

“Enlighten me,” he growled.

“She’s into everyone’s business and the town’s biggest gossip.”

“Sounds like the perfect place for a date, in that case.” Weston studied her, suddenly seeming pensive. “I think there’s something I should tell you first.”

Uh oh. Paisley angled her head and lifted her eyebrows.

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