Page 29 of His First Baby Rodeo

They pulled up in front of the house. Mac lingered before getting out of the car, knowing that if he got out before her and walked up to the front door, it could easily break the spell. Everything felt so fragile.

El looked over at him. “I had a good time,” she said quietly.

That could mean a couple of different things, and her words sounded laden with meaning. He nodded slowly. “I did too,” he said.

And now the moment was upon them. She would tell him that she wanted to go to bed. She would tell him that this was the end of the night, and they would go their separate ways, and—

“Do you feel like a drink?” she asked him.

It was like striking gold. It was like fireworks exploding in the center of his chest.It’s on.

“A drink sounds great,” he said. “I’ve got a nice bottle of scotch I’ve been saving for a special occasion.”

She didn’t question the fact that he’d referred to this night as a special occasion. She just nodded. “That sounds awesome.”

They got out of the car and went into the house. The air around them felt thick with possibility and tension, and Mac was already thinking about the bottle of scotch, already measuring in his mind the small pours he would give each of them so they could make sure to keep clear heads. This whole thing would be ruined if either one of them got too drunk for reliable decision making, and that was the last thing Mac wanted.

Inside, El went to her room to change out of her fair clothes. Mac got out the scotch and poured a small measure for each of them, then went into the living room to wait for her. A part of him wondered if he should have changed too. He was still in his jeans, and the cuffs were dirty — but then, she was used to him in dirty jeans, and if all went according to plan, they wouldn’t be wearing clothes for very much longer anyway.

He frowned. He wasn’t used to this. Not entertaining women — he did that all the time. But trying to impress them was something else altogether. He could usually take it for granted that the woman would be impressed with him. He wondered why it was that he felt so uncertain about El. She had already shown that she liked him No one could kiss like that and not mean it.

And besides… this was El Moyle. He’d known her all her life. It wasn’t as if she was some fancy, out-of-his-league woman that he was meeting for the first time.

But that thought felt wrong. And it made him wonder —wasshe out of his league? Maybe he was thinking about this all wrong. Maybe he was reaching, trying to be with her. Maybe—

“Mac?”

She’d appeared in the doorway in a simple blue sundress, and for a moment he felt breathless. It fit her well, highlighting every curve of her body, and the color made her eyes seem to shine.

She was beautiful.

And for a moment, the spell he had been under since they’d left the fair broke. Just a little, but it was enough.

He was wildly attracted to her — more than he had been to anyone in a very long time. But also, he liked her. He valued her friendship. And if they let themselves get in too deep here, there would be no way back for them.

She held out a hand for one of the glasses of scotch, but he didn’t pass it to her. Not yet.

“Is something wrong?” she asked him.

“I’m not sure we should do this,” he admitted.

And in a very telling moment, she didn’t ask him what he meant. She didn’t pretend not to know what it was he was unsure about. She walked over to the table, pulled out the chair beside his, and sat down, and Mac inhaled sharply at her nearness.

“I’m not sure either,” she murmured. “Do you think we’re making a mistake? You don’t want to?”

“Oh, I want to.” Her knees were bracketing his, and all he could think about was pushing that skirt up and out of the way. “I want to, El. But…”

“Whatever it is, don’t think about it.”

“I have to think about it,” he said. “We both do. I don’t want this to end badly.”

“It won’t end badly.”

“El…”

“Is this about Jeff? Tell me it’s not about him.”

“I can’t just forget about him. He’s my best friend.”

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