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Oh, right, I shouldn’t even do it anyways, because he gets so freaking snarly about it.
So she pasted a smile on her face. “Hey, there.”
He looked up, and the scowl disappeared. Jules actually rocked back on her heels. Good lord, being smiled at by Adam Meyer is as good as one of those purple nurple shots. Better, even. Adam carefully stepped over the cats and stalked toward her. “Hey, sugar.”
She barely had a chance to process his intent before he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. His lips brushed hers, which should have been PG, but one of his hands was at the small of her back, pressing her fully against the front of his very aroused body, and the other was in her hair, tugging hard enough that she knew exactly who was in charge of this encounter. Her toes curled in her boots, and she went all soft and melty. When he lifted his head, all she could do was blink up at him. “Hi.”
His grin was so self-satisfied that her toes curled all over again. “You said that already.”
“Did I? I think I’m in danger of saying it a third time.” She clamped her mouth shut before she could do just that.
He leaned back a little. “You ready for our date?”
“Yes…don’t I look ready?” She glanced down at herself. She’d chosen a dress from Aubry’s closet that was a mash-up of pinup and country girl—in that it was plaid, which was as country girl as Aubry got. Jules had picked it because it was fancier than anything she owned, and it seemed like she should get fancy for a real date with Adam.
“You look good enough to eat.”
“I hope you mean that in a non–Hannibal Lecter way, or I’m going to have to call the police,” Aubry called out.
They both looked over to where Aubry sat in her usual corner seat with Mr. Winkles in her lap, a cup of coffee in her hands despite the fact that it was well after five in the evening. She speared Adam with a glare over the top of her glasses that would have had a lesser man hightailing it for the door.
Adam just grinned. “I mean it in a flirting way that has nothing to do with cannibalism.”
She glared even harder. “I’m onto you, country boy. Treat my friend right.”
Some of the humor fled his face, but his smile didn’t waver. “Sure thing.” He turned back to Jules and offered his elbow. “Do you need to do anything else before we go?”
She was as prepared as she was going to be. Aunt Lori was watching the café until her cousin Jamie showed up to finish off the shift and close. She crouched down carefully to give each of the cats at Adam’s feet a scratch, though Cujo dodged her reach and leaped onto the counter to get closer to his face. Thanks a lot, you silly thing. She pushed to her feet and looked around. There were half a dozen other things she could find to occupy herself before they left, but anything else she would be stalling. “I think I’m good.”
“Then let’s get out of here.”
They headed out onto the street, and she stopped short at the sight of his truck. It shone brightly in the evening sun, free of any dirt or dust or mud. “You cleaned your truck.”
“My mama taught me that you don’t pick up a lady in a filthy truck.” He opened the door for her, looking as out of place as she suddenly felt.
Jules climbed up, wondering at the awkward feeling coursing through her body and making her want to fidget. This was a date. A real date. It shouldn’t be any different than any of their other dates. She’d never had a problem speaking her mind with Adam, so why was she just staring at him mutely as he started his truck and headed down the road?
The minutes ticked by, the silence only getting stranger as time went on. They hit the town limits, and Jules was ready to scream. “Why is this so weird? We’ve been naked and in more compromising positions than I care to count and suddenly I feel like I’m sixteen and on my first date and don’t know what to do with my hands.”
Adam’s hands flexed on the steering wheel. “I don’t know.”
She waited, but he didn’t say anything else. There had to be some way to fix this, because the thought that she’d ruined them by changing things made her sick to her stomach. It was bad enough that he was leaving town at some unknown date in the future and that she’d likely never see him again—for this to end before he left? No. Absolutely not. She craved him like her favorite blanket and wine and B.O.B. all rolled into one. Except he could hold down a conversation and he really listened to her. Usually.
