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“Okay.”
Awkward silence hangs in the air between us before Warrick thrusts the lid of the thermos at me and I take it from him. Sipping the quickly cooling liquid, I think about what I know about Warrick so far. He owns the nursery, though how he’s kept it open with an office like this is anyone’s guess. He tends to fly by the seat of his pants, and he never lacks for female company from what I’ve seen. He’s also funny in an off-the-wall, overly full of himself way.
And I just saddled myself to working with him for the next few weeks while I hold up my end of our deal.
“What should I wear tonight?” I ask.
“Dress warm.”
“What are we doing?”
He cocks his head to the side before looking at me for a long minute.
“It’s a surprise. I get the feeling that you’re not used to surprises, to giving up control, so I’m going to take you out of your comfort zone and show you how much fun surrendering can be.” His voice is deep, quiet, and intimate. I don’t miss the double meaning to his words either. It looks like his seduction game just began, which means my walls need to stay firmly in place.
Even if they’re already cracking.
CHAPTER 5
Warrick
Truck loaded down with supplies, I head toward Chip’s place. Nerves do a jig in the pit of my stomach, which is unusual for me, because I don’t get nervous around women.
I hauled ass today to get the nursery closed down on time. After that, it was a matter of gathering what I needed for tonight and then getting ready. I’m wearing one of my warmer flannels and a heavy coat.
The driveway for Chip’s house comes up, and I turn down it, bumping along the gravel. Once I pull behind her Jeep and park, I take one last look at myself in the rearview mirror and give myself a pep talk.
“You’ve got this, Byrne. Just take it slow and don’t scare the woman off. She’s not likely to give you a second chance after three years of trying to get the woman on a date.”
I push open my door and there’s a chill to the night that makes the air smell crisp. Chip’s porch light is on, and before I can raise my hand to knock, the door opens.
Bright-red hair is loose around her shoulders, begging for my fingers to be buried in the silky strands. She did something different with her makeup to make her eyes look darker, and I want to fall into them until I can’t get back out.
Scanning my eyes down the rest of her, I note the jeans, boots, and sweater under her coat. Nodding at her, I say, “You look great.”
Chip reaches up and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “Thanks. You too.” I can’t be sure because of the lack of light on the porch, but I swear I see color come into her face and take it as a win on pushing her out of her comfort zone.
There’s one thing that I’ve learned about Chip in the time that she’s lived in Mistletoe Creek, and it’s that she likes her life to be in order. From getting coffee at the same time every morning, to her abject horror at the state of my office, it wasn’t a huge jump to assume that for Chip, everything in her life has a place.
Time to shake that up.
My hand rests on her lower back as I urge her toward my truck, and after opening her door and helping her into the raised seat, I close the door and hurry around to the other side.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” she asks before I’ve even put on my seatbelt.
“Nope. You’ll see.”
“Can you tell me how long it’s going to take for us to get there?”
“And give away the surprise? Nope.”
She huffs out a breath. “Can I at least put some music on?”
“Sure,” I agree and hand her the aux cable.
She fiddles on her phone for a minute before “Say My Name” by Destiny’s Child streams through the speakers. I slide my eyes in her direction, and the air in the car evaporates. She’s smiling, the sight of the rare grin on her face enough to make me choke on my tongue.
Good God, she’s fucking beautiful.
