Page 50 of The Cowboy's Surprise Return

“Which one?”

“Both. All of them! I can’t act like I don’t get Jell-O knees when I kiss you.” She laughed, suddenly embarrassed. “You’re a really good kisser. I’m affected, and I don’t want everyone to think I’m falling in love with you. Most of all you.” She pressed a hand against his chest and leaned in slightly. “We have to keep this light.”

He nodded. “But I thought we were acting like this was a real, committed relationship and not some fling.”

“I’m not acting like this is a fling!”

“The jokes, Jackie. Quit acting like you’re scared of something deep, and this is just some itch we’re scratching.”

Right. She’d done that.

“I just don’t want everyone thinking we’re a super serious thing heading toward true love, because otherwise when we break up they’re all going to be like ‘Oh, Jackie! Are you okay? You just failed at the love of your life!’ You know?”

The evening had grown cold, and Jackie pulled her coat tight around her body, like a shield. Her voice was shaky again when she said, “And in there it felt like we were dancing too close to pretending this is the real thing, when it’s not. You’re very caring and sweet.”

“And you don’t like that?” Cole gently unfolded her arms, then zipped up her coat. She felt frustrated and cared for at the same time. His head was still lowered, his hat blocking his face, as he said, “So you want to show everyone that we’re in a relationship, but it’s fun and light and you’re never going to fall in love because I’m actually a big meany who doesn’t know how to treat his girlfriend?”

His serious, flat tone made her pause. She felt the hurt in her heart when she said, “Yes.”

He nodded slowly and stepped back, hooking his hands in his jeans pockets. His wounded expression speared her.

“I mean, no. I just… This is harder than I thought it would be.”

“So you have to act cool and unaffected?”

“I don’t—” He made her sound like a crazy person.

“Even though my kisses make you want to rip my clothes off and worship me for the rest of your life?” His lips quirked, his eyes dancing in the light coming from the barn.

“You…!” She gave him a playful shove. He was doing what she did! Making light of the moment, turning something serious into a joke.

But she knew he understood. They were inching along a precarious high-wire, with no safety net below.

He pulled her under his arm with a chuckle. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, I have that effect on women. I’d be worried if you were immune to my seductive nature.”

She snorted and tried to slip free, but he tightened his hold.

“I promise I’ll go easy on you,” he murmured.

She had a feeling he understood the power of their kisses and the impact. It was deeper than anything physical.

“You’re going to ruin me,” she said, thinking how all future men would pale compared to this one, who was steadying her world with a simple embrace.

“Maybe you should get out while it’s easy.”

“That would be cruel.”

“It would?”

“If I left you now, you’d be crawling back to me by next week. It’s best we carry on until you’re good and tired of me.” She slipped her arms over his shoulders, warming her fingers under his collar, against his skin. He didn’t shiver, just took the cold like it didn’t impact him.

He spun her up against the side of the barn and pressed his body against hers. “Not unless you crawl back to me first.”

“And why would I do that?” she said with a breathless laugh.

Suddenly, his lips were on hers, one hand gliding down her hip to pull her snug. She kissed him back, working her fingers under his jacket and yanking the hem of his shirt from his pants. She placed her cool hands on the heat of his lower back, marveling at the muscles, and the slim channel of his spine. He groaned into her mouth, shifting his hips to meet hers better.

“Hmm. That is a good reason,” she said, her earlier worries melting away. She wanted nothing more than to enjoy this moment, in the arms of the man she’d dreamed about for many, many years.

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