Page 60 of Wild Eyes
Yesterday we brushed the horses together, but today I saw neither hide nor hair of her. I assume she went to Ford’s to come up with a plan and get the lay of the land. But other than that, I have no idea what she’s been up to. I know she slept in the house. She snuck in late to “not invade my space” as she called it, and I left early to work the horses before it got too hot.
“Are you stalking me? Should I be concerned?” she says with a smug smile on her face as she pops one hip out.
Fuck, she’s hot.
I lick my lips, internally reminding myself again not to act starstruck around her. It would be easy enough to do, and it would shut her right down. She doesn’t need another fan.
“Is it considered stalking if you like it?”
I get an amused eye roll and take a moment to peek at her cart. It’s fully stocked. Which means when I asked if she wanted to stay for dinner last night and she told me she had a full fridge and would be fine, she was lying.
“Full cart you’ve got there, Sky. Didn’t realize you had room in your full fridge for all those bags of salad.”
She deflects by teasing me. “If you were any good at stalking, you’d know exactly how much room I have in my fridge.”
I give her my bestgive me a breaklook.
“Listen, West. I like you. You’re a good friend, considering I’ve known you for all of four days. But if I want to sit alone, eating the stale Pop-Tarts that were left in the bunkhouse with your sister’s mouse, all while drinking an entire bottle of wine I found in the cupboard, that’s what I’m gonna do. And I will not explain myself or apologize. And I don’t need you to save me.Again. I needed to have a pity party and treat my body like a dumpster fire because I was never allowed to, and it felt freeing. Got it?”
“That sounds like a really tragic version of a bucket of ice cream and Hallmark movies.”
“The only thing tragic about it was the way I felt this morning. Feeling free has consequences, it would seem.”
“Hence the salad?”
She nods. “Hence the salad.”
I gesture my chin at her. “How’s the nose?”
Her hand moves up, fingers tapping gingerly along it. “Still a little tender. Felt fucking fabulous after a bottle of wine, though. I’ll give the experience that much.”
I maneuver around my shopping cart without even thinking. With only a few steps, I’m standing right in front of her, my fingers nudging the brim of her hat back so I can see her face. She doesn’t flinch or move away. She only tips her head to stare up at me.
There’s something heart-stopping about a woman who is so low on trust looking up at me the way she is right now. Fragile and fierce all at once.
I admire the hell out of her. But I don’t say that. I settle for, “Let me see.”
Her lips roll together and she nods slightly as I lift my hands to cup the back of her head. My gaze follows the path of my thumbs as they trace her cheekbones, the sides of her nose, and the top line of the bridge.
My tongue swipes out as I take a quick glance down at her mouth.
That fucking mouth.
“You look good, fancy face.”
“Yeah?” she breathes, and I feel the rush of air against my damp lips.
I take the liberty of tracing the elegant swoop of her nose once more. “Perfect as ever.”
It’s too fucking far, saying that out loud. But the truth slipped out anyway. Her eyes widen on mine and my head inclines.
I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. I meant to check her nose, and here I am, in the middle of the grocery store, admiring her openly.
Luckily, it’s the loud clearing of a throat that startles us. We pull away from each other like two teenagers caught by their parents.
It’s ridiculous. We’re two single, consenting adults. If we want to kiss right here and now, we should.
Except we shouldn’t.
