Page 204 of Boots, Bucket Lists & Bad Ideas
“It’s creepy when you say it, by the way.” Defense seems like my only option, but even as I say it, it feels like the wrong approach.
Something is different.
I feel it.
I think I’ve felt it this entire trip. Maybe even before. Possibly all those phone meetings when I hung up on him abruptly. Or the silent moments between our bickering. The ones I passed off as each of us trying to control another’s insult. Maybe we were trying to prevent these words.
He chuckles. “I know it was creepy, but I was young and stupid.”
“What’s today’s excuse?” Did that come out lacking my usual annoyed flair?
“Stupid.” He grins at me then, and there’s the boy I remember. “I just saw you, a forbidden Fox, and I was curious. So damn curious.”
“Are you talking about now or back then?”
“Both.”
I swallow and turn back to the sun.
My stomach is doing that thing it always does when I think about him—tightening and twisting into knots. But now, he’s right here beside me, opening up, and it’s different.
“I wasn’t curious about you.” It’s my truth. “I wanted you to leave so I could read my book alone.”
He chuckles again. “You said as much.”
“You didn’t listen then either. You met me in the same spot the next day.”
He shrugs. “I couldn’t help it. I was mesmerized.”
I slant my head back to look at him, leaning the side of my head on my knee. “Mesmerized? Me, in my jeans, T-shirt, and ponytail, was not mesmerizing.”
He meets my gaze. “There’s so much more to you than what you wear.”
“That sounds like a backward compliment.”
He shakes his head. “Don’t get me wrong, you look mighty fine in jeans and a T-shirt.”
“I wasn’t fishing for a compliment.” I tap my fingers on my jeans, needing something to keep me composed. “So you were mesmerized by my charm, huh?”
He shakes his head. “You were not charming.”
I laugh by accident. It comes out and shocks me to my core. But it’s true.
“I suppose I’ve never had the gift of charm. I was quiet and boring.”
“I needed that quiet and boring in my life.” He breathes in deep. “Trust me, it’s not quiet, nor boring, with six brothers, a big ranch, and tending cattle all day, every day.”
“You’re right. It’s never quiet or boring when your brothers are around.”
“Now, take the adult out of them, and give them bad judgment.” His head slowly moves up and down. “They were unmanageable back in the day.”
I chew on the inside of my cheek. “I’ve always enjoyed calm and quiet. That’s why I sneak away early in the morning for me time.”
“Are you going to tell me to be quiet?” There’s a glint of flirting in his cedar eyes.
“Are you going to listen?” Am I flirting back?
“Believe it or not, I’ve gained a note of patience.”
