Page 38 of Wild and Unruly
“Yeah.” Her eyes wander off, and I’m left staring at her, wondering if studying a woman was any indication that you were falling hard. If the constant stream of thoughts that all revolved around this woman on the other side of the phone were all showing me what I was terrified to know.
I want to memorize every bit of her. From the freckles acrossthe tops of her cheeks to the way her big eyelashes curl up to the multiple colors of her irises.
“So, do you have a return date in mind?” I ask.
She smiles at me and nods. “I’ll either come back Saturday or Sunday.”
“How about Saturday?” I suggest, attempting to keep a mild tone about it. I don’t want to be pushy, but I want her to be in close proximity to me again.
“Hmm, I suppose I would need a reason to come back a day earlier.”
I grin and nod. “I can think of a few.”
14
bonnie
It was late,and it probably would have been better if I had just gone to The Lodge and gone straight to bed, but I let hope guide me on the off chance that Stetson was here tonight. It seems like half the town was enjoying a night off. Drinks were clinked, songs were sung, and the beat from the dance floor was making the room vibrate under my feet.
I skip the bar, knowing that if I have even one drink, I’ll start to feel my eyelids droop heavily before I can even turn on my truck. Heading straight to where the crowd was cheering, I smile when I see Stetson up to take his turn throwing darts. He pulls his arm back, aiming.
From this angle, I can see his tongue sticking out just slightly, and I giggle at the sight of it. I’m still blending in with the crowd enough that he doesn’t see me. I take a step forward just after he throws, and the crowd around him cheers as he hits right next to the bullseye.
His arms go up, and he does a subtle but proud victory turn, and that’s when his eyes connect with mine.
I smile shyly, hoping that my showing up wasn’t too eager of a move. He told me that he wanted me to come back up here as soon as I could, which told me that he was as into me as I was into him.
It makes my palms sweat and my heart race at just the thought.
But once he finds me in the crowd, he stalks across the floor, politely weaving around the few people that separate us, cups my jaw in his strong, calloused hands, and kisses me right in front of everyone. My worry and fear of being too forward dissipates within seconds.
Shouts and cheers erupt around us, but my sole focus is on the man in front of me and kissing him back with an intensity that I didn’t know I could possess. This whole relationship is frightening. It is terrifying to let myself get swept up in it, but even if I could, I wasn’t sure I’d want to slow it back down.
“You came home,” he breathes against my lips after he pulls away, and I nod. “I’m glad you did.”
I fumble for words and spit out the first thing that sounds right in my head. “You would have been just fine without me for a few more days.”
That wasn’t so bad. Maybe I was getting better about putting my foot in my mouth.
“Hey, Stets.” I turn and see the bartender, Annmarie, I think, coming up to him and high-fiving him. “Nice win.” She nods at the board, and I feel my hackles rising.
I step closer to him, and he puts his arm around my back. “Thanks, it was close, but I pulled it out. Hey, what are the chances we could put up a corn hole area out back?”
Annmarie looks to me and smiles, holding out her hand. “Ignore the rude idiot for not introducing me properly.”
I shake her hand, confused. And not really loving how she’s talking about him. “It’s fine.”
“Oh shit, sorry. Bo, this is Annmarie, my best friend. Annmarie, this is Bo, my girlfriend.”
I turn to him quickly, caught off guard by his statement. “I’m not your girlfriend.” I turn back to Annmarie. “I’m not his girlfriend.”
She shrugs and purses her lips. “All right. Been there.”
I frown and step closer to him. “I mean, we’re seeing how it goes. He doesn’t know me that well yet. He doesn’t know I can snore like a lumberjack and be cranky as hell if I don’t have my morning coffee.” My cheeks heat as mortification washes over me.
Why am I still talking?
“I mean, hell, we’ve only known each other like two weeks.”Just shut up, Bonnie.
