"I'll let you know," he said, because he wasn't ready to explain to Jake that he'd fallen in love, and everything had changed.
"Don't wait too long. I need to know if I'm splitting gas and hotel costs or doing this run alone."
After Jake hung up, Dustin sat in her driveway staring at the house they'd shared for three weeks, the house where he'd learned what it felt like to wake up next to someone who mattered more than prize money and eight-second rides.
Tomorrow night. Less than a day to decide between the life he'd always known and the possibility of building a new one.
Except there was no decision to make. He'd already chosen. He'd chosen her the moment she'd opened her front door. He'd just been too scared to admit it.
Now he had to figure out how to tell her that love was worth the leap.
That she was worth everything.
Chapter 9
Vanessa
The consulting firm interview had gone better than expected, but Vanessa barely remembered the details. All she could think about was the way Dustin had looked at her that morning, the way he'd taken his time with her like she mattered more than anything else in his world. The way he'd watched her walk into the building like she was precious to him.
She deleted the temp agency's address from her phone without going inside. Short-term positions wouldn't solve her problems, and she was tired of pretending she had the energy to smile through another pointless interview. The consulting firm would either call or they wouldn't. Until then, she had better things to do with her afternoon.
Like going home to the man who made her believe in possibilities again.
Her phone buzzed with a text:How did it go?
She smiled despite her nerves. He'd been checking on her all day, sweet messages that made her feel cared for in ways she wasn't used to.Good, I think. Heading home now.
Good. I'm making dinner.
You don't have to cook every night.
I want to. See you soon.
Three simple words that made her pulse skip. Everything between them had changed last night, shifted from attraction to love, even if neither of them had said the words out loud yet. She was falling for him, had probably been falling since that first dayhe'd sat in her living room and looked at her house like it was exactly what he'd been hoping to find.
Looked at her like she was exactly what he'd been hoping to find.
His truck was in the driveway when she got home, and she could smell garlic and herbs wafting from the kitchen before she even opened the front door. She kicked off her heels and padded barefoot toward the source of the amazing smells, stopping in the doorway to watch him work.
He'd changed out of the jeans he'd worn to drive her to interviews, trading them for worn denim that hugged his ass in ways that made her mouth go dry. A white t-shirt stretched across his broad shoulders, and when he turned to check something in the oven, she got a clear view of the way the fabric pulled across his chest.
Her cowboy. Her man. Hers.
If only she could keep him.
"Smells incredible," she said, dropping her purse on the counter. "What are you making?"
"Chicken and dumplings. My grandmother's recipe." He straightened and turned toward her, and she saw tension in his expression that made her pulse stutter. Like he was bracing himself for bad news. "How did the interviews go?"
"The consulting firm seemed interested." She moved closer, drawn by the way he was looking at her. "We'll see."
"They'd be lucky to have you."
The conviction in his voice made warmth spread through her chest. He believed in her in ways she'd stopped believing in herself, saw strengths she'd forgotten she had.
"Thank you," she said, reaching up to straighten his collar even though it didn't need straightening. She just wanted an excuse to touch him, to feel the solid reality of him under her hands.
To remind herself he was still here. Still hers. At least for now.
