Page 51 of Sweet Music
She let herself be led down the porch steps. By the time they got down to the snowy grass again, her cheeks were hot with embarrassment. What had gotten into her? She wasn’t some silly fangirl, kissing a man who wasn’t hers.
“You’re going to love dinner,” Cash said, not letting go of her hand as they walked. “My dad is making his famous roast chicken. And West’s wife, Dulcie, is helping out. She loves to cook.”
“Dulcie,” Bella said. “She’s the one who crashed into a snowbank last year.”
“Yeah, she crashed into my brother’s heart too,” Cash chuckled. “He’s always been the serious one. When his wife left, we just figured he and his little girl would go it alone.”
“He’s a good man,” Bella said. “He did free flu shots for seniors at the library one time, and insisted on giving them to all the librarians too.”
“That sounds like West,” Cash said, nodding.
“Will Allie be there tonight?” Bella asked.
Allie was the Lawrence boys’ little sister. She was a kindergarten teacher over at the elementary school, and she stopped by the library all the time forfresh books to read to her kids. Her optimistic energy was contagious.
“Yeah, I think so,” Cash said. “She has weekends off, at least.”
“She brings a lot of work home with her?” Bella asked.
“Oh yeah,” Cash said. “I’ve barely exchanged two words with her since I got home.”
Bella nodded. That made sense.
They had almost reached his parents’ house again when Cash stopped in his tracks and turned to face her.
“We can’t keep ignoring this,” he said, his deep voice so intimate that her eyes flashed right to his.
“Of course we can,” she told him firmly. “Whateverthisis, it could make things harder for Cody.”
“Do you really think so?” Cash asked, looking taken aback.
“He doesn’t need to feel like I’m taking your focus away from him,” she said. “Or that you have some kind of ulterior motive for spending time with him. You’re finally in his life. You can’t make it about anything but him.”
“But he loves you. He might like to see someone make you happy,” Cash said. “And it might take the pressure off him a little.”
“What do you mean?” she asked. “What pressure?”
“I just mean that it might actually be nice for him if he’s not the only one I’m there every day to see,” Cash said, shrugging. “He’s a teenager, so he’s not going to want me breathing down his neck.”
Every day?
“Come on,” Cash said. “You can think about it later.Right now, we have to concentrate on dinner. My family’s never going to forgive me if I keep you all to myself.”
He didn’t let go of her hand though, so she had to slip it out of his when they headed up to the house.
She stole a glance at him, wondering if it would make him mad.
But there was a knowing smirk on his handsome face, like he knew very well that she wanted to be holding his hand, even if she wasn’t.
She couldn’t keep in a little burst of laughter.
“What?” he asked.
“You,” she said, shaking her head. “The industry has made you cocky.”
“Some might say rightfully so,” he teased, arching a brow at her.
She wanted to giggle like a schoolgirl. He brought that out in her, made her silly instead of so serious all the time.
