Page 25 of Cowboy Crush
She nods, and I follow the motion. He’s sitting in our booth over by the jukebox while the song “Hurt” by Johnny Cash plays low over the speakers. He’s holding a half-empty glass of Jack and Coke between his two hands as he slouches down in the booth. His eyes are fixated on that glass. Seeing him like this, sad and broken, it tears a hole in my heart while my stomach knots up. Although a part of me is still mad about how he acted last night, all I can think of is taking his pain away.
I slowly walk up to his table, and he doesn’t pull his eyes away from the glass. He’s lost in his own world.
“This seat taken?” I ask, causing his eyes to jerk up to me. They’re bloodshot, practically filled with unshed tears. He pushes himself up, and before I know it, he’s pulling me against him in a lip-crushing kiss. I wrap my arms around him and kiss him as hard as I can, breathing him in and burning every second to memory.
He pulls back but keeps his hands on either side of my face. “What are you doing here?”
I smile. “I couldn’t leave.” I shake my head. “Not without seeing you.”
His grin spreads across his face, and he pulls me in for one more quick kiss. When he pulls away, he catches my hand in his, and he pulls me over to the table where we both sit, side by side. “I’m so fucking sorry for last night, Hannah. I went to the cabin today, but you were already gone. I thought you left. I thought I fucked everything up. God, I’m sorry. Say you forgive me,” he pleads.
I pick up his glass, needing the liquid courage. I finish it off and turn to face him. “You hurt me last night, Jameson.”
He looks ashamed. “I know,” he breathes out. “I just thought that if I was angry, I wouldn’t feel the pain of losing you. I’m sorry that I hurt you in the process. That’s something I never wanted to do.”
I wet my lips. “Did you mean what you said?”
“When?” I see his eyes dash around like he’s thinking back.
“You said that you never fell in love with me. Was that true?”
He lets out a long breath. “Hannah, that was the biggest lie I’ve ever told in my entire life. Honestly, I fell in love with you the first time I laid eyes on you, and getting to spend a whole summer with you…well, that sealed the deal. I’ve never been in love before. I’m sorry…I just, I told you I’m not good at this.” His head dips forward, his eyes moving to his lap.
I reach over and place my hands on his jaws, directing his eyes back to mine. “I love you too, Jameson. I’ve never been in love like this either, and I don’t know if it’s wrong or if it’s right, but all I know is that I love you, and I can’t picture my life without you in it. I don’t care if I throw away everything I’ve ever worked for. This, this is what I want.”
He shakes his head. “I can’t let you do that, Hannah. I lost everything I ever wanted. I know how that feels. I know how…hard and bitter it can make you. You can’t do that. Not for me. I won’t let you.”
A giggle bubbles out of my lips. “Don’t you see? There’s a difference between losing it and giving it up. I don’t need that anymore ’cuz I’ve got you.” I swallow when he doesn’t answer. “I mean, if you’ll have me.”
His brows lift with surprise. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” He studies me. “You…you want to stay here? For me?”
I smile and nod. “You’re more than I ever thought to ask for, Jameson. You’re all I need.”
He pulls my mouth to his, kissing me hard, then stands with me in his arms and carries me out of the bar and to his truck, where he presses my back up against the side. His hands roam my body, and I’ve never felt so alive in all my life. My heart is racing, making my blood pump quickly around my body. It makes me feel light-headed like I may just float off if he didn’t have ahold of me.
He slows the kiss and pulls back enough that I can clearly see his face. “Are you sure you want to do this? Give up everything to be with a broken, bitter man like me?”
“Nothing about you is broken,” I tell him.
“Not anymore,” he replies, moving his mouth back to mine.
Our kiss grows deep and needy, and when I think I’m going to explode if I don’t have him inside me soon, I push him back. “Take me home, Jameson,” I whisper.
His blue eyes darken, and that smirk appears. “Yes, ma’am.”
EPILOGUE
JAMESON
It’s absolutely crazy to think that Hannah and I have been together for nearly three years now. Three years? Where has the time gone? I bet we spent most of it in bed. That thought makes me chuckle out loud, and it causes her to look at me from across the room. I wave her off, not wanting to distract her from her big grand opening that we’re minutes away from.
She may have given up New York for me, but she didn’t give up her dream. I wouldn’t let her. She managed to design her own clothing line like she’s always wanted to do. Sure, she isn’t doing it in New York, but thanks to online sales, her stuff can still sell around the world. Not too bad for a little bitty town in Colorado.
She walks over, and I can see the panic and worry in her eyes. I take her hands in mine and pull her into the dressing room, shutting the curtain to give us some privacy from her two staff members. “Calm down,” I whisper as I move my lips to her forehead. “Take a deep breath. Everything will be fine,” I tell her.
She closes her eyes and focuses on my voice, and I can almost see the anxiety fall away. Her hands move up to cover mine that are on her face. “How do you do that?”
I smirk and shrug. “Pure talent, baby. Pure talent.”
