Page 26 of The Cowboy's Unlikely Love

“Of course, I’m in your hands.”

He opened his mouth to make a joke, but clamped it shut again.

She laughed. “I walked myself right into that one, didn’t I?”

“Yep, but aren’t you proud of me for not commenting?”

“Hm. Kind of. I am, but at the same time, this isn’t going to be any fun if you feel like you have to watch what you say.”

She was right, but …

She articulated his thoughts for him before he’d even figured out what they were. “I don’t want you to feel like you have to walk a tight rope. Like, on the one hand you can’t blow smoke up my ass, and on the other you can’t say the line when you see it.”

“Thanks, I do feel like I need to tread carefully, but I don’t mind. I’m just – it’s like I told you, I’m out of my depth here.”

“But I don’t want you to feel like you have to be careful. I want you to feel like you can be … real. Just be yourself. Relax. Treat me like … I don’t know, like your sisters. You seem to get along really well with them.”

He gave an involuntary shudder, and she laughed.

“Okay, so maybe not your sisters, but like Shayna or Callie. You know, women you like and get along with.”

“But it’s not the same.”

He could feel her gaze on him and turned to look at her before turning his attention back to the road. “I know what you mean; I am relaxed with them. We have a laugh. But you’re different from them.”

“How?” She looked so earnest as she asked the question that it seemed like she genuinely didn’t get it.

“Because I’m not attracted to them. You …” He glanced over at her again. “Do you want to know what Ty said when I saw him this morning?”

She frowned. “You’ve already seen him? You guys must get up really early.”

He laughed. “Focus, beautiful. You missed the point entirely there.”

“Oh, sorry. I … go on, what did he say?”

“He told our other brother, Ford, that you knocked me on my ass, that you have my head turned right around – and he’s right. It’s true.”

She gave him a puzzled smile.

“Say something,” he said after a few moments. “Put me out of my misery, would ya?”

“I’m thinking here. I don’t know what to say. Other than, well … I’m surprised.”

“Why?”

“You know why – we covered this last night. I’m not your type.”

“Wrong. You’re not the same as the girls I usually go for, that’s true. But damn, baby, you’re fucking beautiful!”

She blew out a sigh, and he carried on before she could protest.

“Not a line,” he assured her. “Not bullshit. Just God’s honest truth. You’re gorgeous. You were last night; I couldn’t keep my eyes off of you. And this morning?” He let his gaze travel over her before turning back to watch the road. “You’re stunning.”

“Now, that’s definitely bullshit. I’m not trying to put myself down or anything. I’m not bad, I know that. But I’m also tired, and my face is puffy, and I’m bundled up in this coat, and I’m …”

“Beautiful,” he interrupted. “Your eyes are this light hazel color that I’ve never seen before, and they sparkle.” He winked at her. “And yeah, they’re a little puffy, like you didn’t get enough sleep, but that just makes me want to hold you while you take a nap. And the way your nose tips up at the end makes you look a bit like a pixie – a mischievous one, who knows how to have fun. And when you wrinkle your nose when you’re thinking about something, you look … adorable.” He stopped when he realized that he was rambling on, and she was giving him a weird look. “I … You look real, your personality shines out. I’m making myself sound shallow as fuck here – but to be fair, you’re doing the same thing. We’re making it all about how a person looks, when at the end of the day that has so little bearing on anything that’s actually important.”

He glanced over at her again and was relieved to see that she was looking at him differently than she had before.

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