Page 36 of Hello Handsome
“Wow.” I helped her down the steps so she wouldn’t trip in her heels and then put her bag next to mine in the back of my truck.
The sight of our suitcases side by side made this trip that much more real. We’d be spending the night together. Chills raced down my spine at the realization. And then I turned back to Aggie, seeing her reach for the door handle.
“I’ve got it.” I rushed to open the door, and our fingers brushed, lighting me up like the last time we danced. Feelings like this were supposed to fade.
But with Aggie? It felt just as intense as the first time.
Wondering what that meant, I carefully tucked the skirt of her dress into the truck, making sure it wouldn’t get shut in the door. And once she said she was ready, I shut it, giving me just a moment to gulp in the cool spring air to refresh my mind before I was in the cab with her, breathing her soft vanilla perfume.
All too soon, and somehow, not soon enough, I was driving away from her house. She fiddled with the radio, finding a station she liked while I steered us to the highway leading out of town.
Once she was satisfied with her ’90s country playing on the radio, she sat back with a happy smile. “Perfect.”
I gave her a wry smile, thinking about the fight we’d gotten into years ago. She thought Tim McGraw was better than Garth Brooks. Nonsense. But she had what it took to change a man’s mind.
“Have you been to a gala before?” she asked me.
“He’s had this one for a few years,” I replied, glancing at her before staring at the road ahead. The sun shined high enough not to get in my eyes as I drove, and puddles of blue reflected on the highway.
“Is it fun?” she asked.
I tipped my head toward her. “It’ll be better with you.”
She looked down at her hands in her lap, twirling a big silver ring with a black stone around her middle finger. Some spot in the back of my mind wondered what it would be like if she wore a wedding ring. What kind she would like.
And I had to take a deep breath to steady the shaking of my hands on the wheel.
We’re just friends,I reminded myself, and after our starts and stops over the years, I doubted she’d ever want more than that with me again.
“Are you okay?” Aggie whispered. She knew me too well.
I pressed my lips, knowing there wasn’t a good way to sayI’m trying not to scare you away.“It’s a tough night,” I eventually said. “With Ford’s charity being inspired by his mom...” That was part of it, for sure. Right?
“Ah,” she said softly. Aggie always seemed to understand me in a way others didn’t.
I kept my eyes on the road ahead as I spoke, following the path of a rabbit sprinting across. “I’m proud of him for turning his pain into something good—he’s a better man than me.”
“He’s the man he isbecauseof you.” She reached over, placing her hand atop my thigh.
I froze at having her hand so close to my cock.Calm down,I mentally berated myself.You’re not a teenage boy!
“I know you don’t believe me, but sometimes an outside perspective can help,” she said, misreading me for the first time in a long time.
Covering her hand with my own, I gripped her fingers, holding her hand between us. It felt nice and a little more than friendly. Or maybe that was wishful thinking.
“An outside perspective can help,” I echoed, trying to draw my mind to the present. “Actually, I’ve been seeing someone.”
She froze. “Seeing someone?”
“A therapist,” I clarified. When she instantly relaxed, my heart soared a little too high. Had Aggie been… jealous?
“Wow, that’s big for Mr. Cowboys Don’t Cry,” she gave me a teasing smile and released my hand. I wished she’d kept ahold of it.
I shifted in the seat, putting my left hand on the steering wheel and my other in my lap. There weren’t many cars on theroad, and with cruise control, all I had to do until we hit Dallas was keep it between the lines. “Fletcher set the appointment for me,” I admitted. “And when Dr. Benson asked if we should meet the next week, I said okay.”
Instead of judging me, she seemed genuinely happy for me. “That’s great, Gray. I’m proud of you.”
Wow…
