Page 29 of A Montana Secret Admirer
That wasn’t exactly what he’d been hoping for. But then, what had he wanted her to say? That she was deeply in love with him, and she had been since the day they’d met?
No, of course not.
Sort of.
He smiled at her, anyway. To be her safe space was better than a pity date. And if that was what he had to start with, then he’d be glad for it.
Then again, the way she was shifting in her seat at the moment, he wasn’t so sure she was being truthful. “Are you sure about that?”
She shot him a questioning look.
“It’s just that you seem a little… nervous.”
Her laughter was stilted. “I haven’t been on a date since Finn—” She cut herself off and swallowed hard. “It’s been a long time.”
Reese rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb, small circles against her soft skin. “It’s okay,” he whispered.
She nodded. “I know.”
“I’m not going to ask you to do anything you’re not comfortable with.”
Once more, she nodded. “I know.”
“And I want you?—”
“Reese,” she laughed out. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to suddenly ask you to take me home. This is just… It’s going to take some getting used to.” Her eyes cut to his again. “I only ever dated Finn. He was my high school sweetheart and the man I married.”
And there it was. The unspoken words that seemed to hang in the air like a poisonous gas. There were so many things he could take from that admission. Guilt. Nerves. That she was betraying her husband somehow—or the memory of him, at least.
Reese’s thumb had stopped tracing against the back of her hand for a moment, then he started up again. “I won’t bring it up if you don’t want me to.” It was all he could offer her. There were no other words he could say. The truth was, he didn’t know what it was like to lose someone—and someone so prevalent in her life. No one else. She’d only ever dated that guy, and he’d been perfect enough to win her heart.
He had some pretty big shoes to fill.
And he was going to start it off right tonight.
“What about you?” she asked, as if she wanted to avoid acknowledging what he’d said.
“What about me?”
She shifted again. “How many women have you dated?”
He laughed. “More than one.”
Serenity flushed again. “I figured. Okay, so how many serious girlfriends?”
It was his turn to fidget. “I never thought about settling down. That meant that none of the girls I came across… I never thought about pursuing any of them seriously.” When she didn’t respond, he shot her a look. “I’ve never had a serious girlfriend.”
Her lips parted in surprise, and he couldn’t help laughing again. “We make quite a pair, huh? I’ve dated a lot but nothing serious. You fell for one guy and never looked back.”
She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and chuckled with him. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
They made it to the lookout, and he brought her hand to his lips once more before he shut off the engine. “Let me get everything set up real quick. Stay here.” When she nodded, he jumped out of the truck and set to work putting the blanket out on the flattest space he could find. Then he gathered all the materials they’d bought along with the supplies he’d gotten from home.
Once everything was set out, he took a step back and gave it a once-over.
The sound of the truck door closing had him startling, and he turned to find Serenity approaching.
She gasped but it wasn’t his work she was staring at.
