Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 143842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 479(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 143842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 479(@300wpm)
I would never let my fear sway me.
I would stand.
No matter what that looked like. No matter what it cost.
Resolved, I turned off the ignition and snapped open my door.
A rush of awareness slammed me. Coming at me like a barrage of arrows I had no time to deflect.
No way to divert or dodge the intensity.
It muddled my mind that something so severe and stark still managed to stir the heavens into tranquility.
A slow warmth stretching out and wrapping me in a fuzzy embrace.
I looked to the left to find Cody sitting on his front porch. He was rocked back in a chair, his legs kicked up on the railing, one boot crossed over the other at the ankle.
A patter of something I shouldn’t entertain skipped through my body. A reckless beat of anticipation.
Steeling myself, I stepped out.
He tipped the neck of the bottle of beer he was nursing in my direction, the sun all around him, bathing him in a golden glow.
“How’s it fair one woman could look so damn good after she worked all day in the stables?”
My instinct was to scowl at him. The way he let his attention drift down my body, like he was reveling in the sight of the tight jeans that I wore, the legs flaring out to accommodate my boots. I’d paired it with a black, western sleeveless top, embroidered with turquoise accents with black pearlescent buttons running down the middle.
I had to resist the urge to cross my arms over my chest.
All his cool and casual was back.
That smirk so easy.
No question, it was dangerous to my sanity.
He chuckled low like he found some kind of twisted pleasure in poking at me.
“How has work been treating you?” Those penetrating eyes creased at the edges, like he was trying to peer all the way to the middle of me. Like he might truly care about the answer.
“It is actually…great.” I couldn’t help but be honest with him.
“That’s good to hear,” he murmured.
I should have excused myself and hurried inside, but I stood there in my driveway, the breeze rustling through my hair as I stared at this guy I needed to ignore.
Just looking at him conjured a wave of guilt.
Unfortunately, he had this magnetism about him that I found hard to resist. “How are things going for you?”
He grinned, words rolling like seduction from his mouth. “It’s going great.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“Yeah, the project is running smooth.” Then his head cocked to the side as one of those flirty smiles took to his handsome face. “And you can say my view has gotten really good.”
That gaze swept over me again. Devouring me where I stood.
A shiver curled down my spine and my stomach twisted in attraction.
I tried to gather up my defenses, to put up some boundaries, and I lifted my chin as if it could possibly be enough to shield myself from the onslaught of his heat. “You should probably look somewhere else.”
“Now why on earth would I want to do that?” He took a lazy pull of his beer, his thick throat bobbing as he swallowed.
He slung a muscled, tattooed arm up so it was hooked behind his head, and he rocked back farther in the chair. So smooth and easy and so damned good to look at that I swayed to the side.
It took me a second to realize I hadn’t said anything for at least a minute and was standing there mute, rooted to the spot. Staring through a lulling calm that still thrummed with energy.
He was conflict and peace.
Disorder ushered in by a warm spring breeze.
A paradox.
Clearing my throat, I tightened my hold on the strap of my bag, clinging to it like it might be an anchor. “I should get inside.”
He dipped his chin so casually. Like the interaction was trivial when the man was nothing less than an earthquake. “I’m sure I’ll see you around, Shortcake.”
There was that Shortcake again, and my chest clutched, the memory of him sitting beneath that tree with his boots stretched out in front of him, the man so distraught as we’d shared that cake.
It was the first time he’d allowed me to see him. To see deeper into the intricate layers of his depths. To see more than the careless player I had to believe he was.
Shuttering the thoughts, I hurried up the walkway, put the key into the lock, and swung open the door.
Any tension I’d felt a second ago drained when I stepped inside to find Lolly and Maddie gathered around the coffee table in front of the couch, a game of Candyland spread out between them.
Maddie was on her knees on the floor, and she threw her arms into the air when she saw me. Her plump cheeks dimpled when she gave me that adorable smile that wrecked me every time.