Page 74 of Charlie Takes a Chance

“I hate to break it to you, but they’ve already been asking lots of questions. I’ve been looking forward to walking in there holding your hand,” I say as I smile at him.

His eyebrows scrunch together. “I just don’t want you to feel uncomfortable. I’m happy to shout it from the rooftops, but I don’t want you to feel trapped in this just because it’s a small town.”

He looks so adorably unsure. I unbuckle my seatbelt and lean over to kiss him on the cheek. He has a little scruff growing again, and it’s at the scratchy stage. “I mean what I say. I want to be with you.” I lean back and give him a mock glare. “And if you keep acting like I don’t know my own mind, I might just throw a snowball at you.”

He grins. “I don’t think you need an excuse to do something ornery like that.”

I lean back, intending to check my makeup in the mirror, but Max reaches out faster than I can dodge and grabs the back of my neck, pulling me close for a hot and heavy kiss.

He’s thorough as he plunders my mouth, slipping his tongue past my lips to toy with mine. This isn’t a slow and savory kiss. It’s a complete and immediate takeover.

He reaches a hand down to grab the back pocket of my jeans and pulls me across the cab of the truck until I’m sitting on his lap.

He never breaks the kiss.

Reaching up, I thread both hands through his hair, twisting it around each finger. His scratchy beard scrapes against my cheek as he grasps my chin, tipping my head so that he can kiss me deeper.

I sigh and lean into it.

Kissing Max is becoming a favorite pastime of mine. I didn’t know I had been missing out on something so amazing the first few weeks I was here. And now? Now I know I never want it to end.

“Maybe we could just stay in the truck all night,” Max suggests in a husky voice when I pull back to catch my breath.

Lights cut through the back window as another truck pulls into the parking lot. I scramble off Max and back onto my side of the truck. A few seconds later, there’s atap tap tapon Max’s window.

Max rolls the window down, and Zane looks at me with a lazy grin. “Everything all right in here? It was looking a little steamed up from the outside.”

Max has the gall to chuckle. “Everything is just dandy.”

They both snicker like they’re still in middle school.

“Well, I’m glad things are working out for you two,” Zane says with a laugh as he pushes his cowboy hat back. “For what it’s worth, I’ll be here waiting if Max does something stupid.”

Max grunts something that sounds like a threat, but I just laugh. “It’s okay, the person Max should be most worried about is me.”

I smile sweetly at Max, who looks at me with a devious grin. “Is that so?”

He reaches for me, and I scramble to open the door and jump out of the truck before he can get me. I barely make it out between the snow and laughing so hard.

I end up on my ass in the snow. Max and Zane walk around to my side of the truck.

“Wow,” is all that Zane says.

I’m laughing too hard to stand up again, and Max solves that problem by bending down and picking me up himself.

“Stop! You’re going to hurt yourself,” I manage to say between laughs as he just deadlifts me from the ground and carries me, bridal-style, toward the building. Zane holds the door open for him so he can carry me inside.

“Do you think anyone will notice my wet butt?” I ask Max as I loop my hands around his neck.

“No,” he says with a laugh as he looks down at me. “I think they’re too busy wondering why I’m carrying you.”

I jerk my gaze away and look around the room. Oops. That’s right. Not a lot of room to hide at the Willow. And we’re late, so we’ve made a heck of an entrance.

There’s music playing and still some chatter from the people trying to be polite and not stare…but about half of them don’t mind staring.

Henry is nudging Darlene’s arm and pointing at us. Bliss’s mother is angry again. Billy Madden looks disheartened. Sharon from the Pine Star Café is watching us with a big smile on her face.

“Now might be a good time to put me down,” I suggest.

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