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“Dinner. We couldn’t go out, so dinner came here.”
“You cook?” He shrugged.
“I manage. Just don’t tell Mel.”
“Mel? Troy’s girl?”
“Yup.” He chuckled. “If she found out, hell, anyone found out, they might want me to step foot in the kitchen at the ranchand give her the day off. I like to cook, but I’m more of a cook-for-two kinda guy, not one that’s game to cook for an army.”
“Wow.” I looked down at what seemed to be lemon pepper chicken with a vegetable medley and perfectly cooked rice pilaf. I breathed in, and my mouth started to water.
“You messed up,” I blurted out, and one of his manly brows rose questioningly.
“Oh, yeah?” he muttered, pulling the chair out for me, silently asking me to take a seat, which I did.
“Yeah.” I smiled as I looked at the plate and he sat across from me.
“How do you figure?”
“You cooked for me. I might ask you to help me out at the diner,” I teased, but his bright blue eyes warmed up, and I swear the temperature in my apartment kicked up a couple of degrees.
“I wouldn’t mind that.” He shrugged, like it was no big deal. My eyes dropped because what I saw in his gaze felt a little too good for me. His hand covered mine, and I glanced up at him. He pointed at my plate with his free hand. “Eat,” he ordered, and I blinked.
“Bossy,” I muttered sassily before I dug in.
The food tasted amazing. Flavorful and perfectly cooked. But better than the meal he’d cooked was the company. Conversation flowed easily. He told me about his day, and I told him about mine. It had been a long time since I’d done that with anyone. We cleared the dishes and moved to the couch, where we turned on the TV. Shockingly enough, we both liked old shows and put onMASH.
Between the meal and the long day, exhaustion started to kick in, and Clay noticed.
“I should let you rest,” he offered and leaned in to press a sweet kiss on my forehead. I wanted to ask him to stay, but I wasn’t sure if it was too much, too soon. And almost like he couldsense it, he held my face with his hands, so tenderly it loosened something inside my chest.
“Have breakfast with me tomorrow.” His voice was smooth, but it wasn’t lost on me he wasn’t asking but demanding.
“Are you always this bossy?” I asked just above a whisper, as haughtily as I could, but we both knew I was full of shit.
“Darlin’, I got a feeling by that sparkle in your eye, you like my kind of bossy.” And just like that, suddenly, I didn’t feel as tired anymore.
“Clay,” I breathed out his name, and something flashed in those beautiful blue eyes of his. One moment, we were sitting side by side, and the next, I was straddling his thick muscular thighs.
“I fucking love when you say my name like that,” he rumbled. He leaned forward and rested his forehead against mine. “I gotta tell you something.” I could see the determination in his gaze.
“Okay,” I whispered even though it was just the two of us.
“I like you.” His words and tone made me shiver.
I’d dated in the past. I wasn’t a blushing virgin.
But Clay made me feel like this was a first, and in a way it was.
A man, a grown man, telling me he liked me right off the bat was new. It felt like there were no games or bullshit. And I loved that. It made whatever was happening between us easy despite the way we’d met.
“I messed up. My mouth got away from me when we met, but I swear—” A sound vibrated through his thick chest, and my hands dropped to stroke his flannel-covered shoulders. “I can’t kick the idea of you out of my head. I tried. I tried to ignore how I feel about you, but that was as impossible as asking the sky not to be beautiful when the sun sets.”
“Clay."
“I like you. And I wanna see where this goes. That is, if you think, maybe, you could give me a chance?” Butterflies flapped their wings in my belly easily. Comfortably. There was something exciting and almost hopeful growing inside of me without even trying to coax it.
“What does that mean?” I winced at how stupid I sounded. The man had been almost more than clear enough, hadn’t he? His gaze softened, and his thick fingers stroked the side of my face. It was impossible not to melt into his featherlight touch.
