I'm trying to decide between watching a rom-com versus a gritty crime drama when there's a knock on my door. I startle then stand up, trying to calm the excited thrumming of my nerves as I walk across my living area.
He's just a guy. He's just a guy,I keep reminding myself as I take a minute to check my hair isn't messy before I open the door.
"Farm boy," I say with a smile and a somewhat sultry voice that I’m going to blame on the glass and a half of wine I’ve had.
"Flick." He smirks and looks past me into the cottage like he's waiting for me to invite him in.
"I've got wine if you want to stop me from drinking the whole bottle alone and regretting it tomorrow."
His brow kicks up. "Wouldn't want that now, would we?"
I step aside to let him in, heading straight into the kitchen to get a second glass for him. He immediately walks over to my couch and picks up the book I'm reading and smiles like he's meeting with an old friend.
"Here you go. I hope white is OK. It's all I have," I say, moving over to him.
He sets the book back down to meet my eyes. "Anything you've got is fine by me. I'm just happy to be done with work for the day. Today did not go as expected."
"Lose another sheep and find another neighbor in a compromising position?" I ask, looking at him over my glass as I settle into the couch and take a sip.
He chuckles and makes himself comfortable right next to me as he removes his backward baseball cap and sets it on the table beside him.
"I'd hope not. None of my other neighbors are as easy on the eye as you, Reggie."
My cheeks heat. Every word from this man's mouth is just somehow coated with sugar and I keep eating it up like it's candy. His presence fills the room and being this close to him has me feeling giddy.I don't even know him!
I can't help but let my eyes drop try and hide my blush, but all I manage to do is take note of how his strong thighs strain against the denim of his jeans.Oh my.My heart races as I force my eyes back up and find him watching me like he knows exactly what's going through my mind. And from the twinkling of mischief in his sky-blue eyes, I doubt he'd be half wrong.
"A ewe got caught in the mud," he says, breaking whatever tension was building between us.
"Huh?" My brain is so busy thinking of dirty things thatdon'tinvolve mud that it takes me a moment to catch on. "Oh! One of your sheep got stuck! Is she OK?"
"She'll be fine, but my sister is currently insisting I let a couple of the farm hands go. I hate firing people."
"Was it their fault the sheep got stuck?"
"They aren't so great with numbers, so if they'd counted properly when they moved the sheep back into the barn, she wouldn't have been out there alone."
"Your sister might have a point then."
"She does, but..." Instead of finishing, he sighs then shakes his head as if the action clears his thoughts. "I didn't come here to complain about work."
I roll my lips to fight a smile. "What did you come here for?"
Taking a sip of his wine first, he sets the glass back down before again meeting my eyes, suddenly looking very serious. "There's somethin’ I need to tell you...”
“Yes?”
“The ewe isn't the only thing that got stuck in the mud today."
"What do you mean?"
"The book you loaned me. It was in my pocket and it fell and...well, now it's ruined."
My hand lifts to my mouth as I gasp.
"I know. I know. I've committed the cardinal sin of sticky pages. But I promise you I'll replace it new, and I wouldn't blame you if you never wanted to lend me a book again. But if you ever do, I assure you I won't take it out in the field with me. I'm so sorry, Reggie. I made a promise to you, and I didn't keep it. That’s not the kind of man I am."
Something about the softness of his voice and the pleading in his eyes shifts my reaction from shock to understanding. He seems so contrite that I feel like I have no other option but to forgive him.
