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After all of that, he’d changed too. It hadn’t happened overnight, but gradually, he’d looked for a different future, ready to claim his second chance. Caroline wasn’t there yet and he could respect that.
“You’re right,” he said. “I didn’t know you before. But I know you’re locked into some sort of epic battle with fear. I saw you pull a gun on that raccoon behind Big Buck’s when you first moved to town. Shit, I don’t mind if you’re carrying tonight.”
“I’m not,” she said firmly.
He let his gaze shift away from her dead-serious expression. He lingered over her loose-fitting shirt. “Really? Because I’ve been imagining all the places you might be hiding—”
“Josh.”
Her voice shifted from serious to doom-and-gloom. And he knew it was time to save his first date.
“OK, I’ll be serious for a second. But after this we’re going back to traditional first date chitchat. We’re not on some reality dating show. I hate to break it to you, but I don’t have a rose for you at the end of the night if you spill your guts and put on a good show. And . . .”
He pulled away from her and sat upright in his seat. “Wait for it now, because I’m going to be straight up honest with you right now. I like you, Caroline. You’re straightforward. No games. And that works for me. I’ve spent the past year telling myself that if I show you respect and offer friendship, we might land right here on a date. So how about we go into the winery, grab the picnic basket they prepared for us, and hike out to one of my favorite spots in the great state of Oregon.”
She cocked her head. “I thought most dates started with a rose, not ended with one.”
He pushed open his door. “Do you live under a rock? There’s this reality dating show—”
“I know, Josh. It was a joke.” She followed his lead and climbed down from the truck. “And I promise I’ll save the rest of the heavy conversation for the hot tub.”
“LOOKS LIKE WE got lost on the way to the hot tub.” Caroline added a note of mock despair to her voice.
“I must have made a wrong turn,” he teased as he put the truck in park and cut the lights. The bright, nearly full moon illuminated the pickup’s interior.
“I guess that means the heavy conversation will have to wait for our second date,” she added. “But after hiking through grape vines in these crazy heels—”
“You took them off ten feet into the field,” he said nodding to the shoes resting next to her feet.
“I’ll put them back on if that will win me a steamy make-out session in the front of your truck,” she said holding tight to the brave and bold feelings she’d stumbled on during their walk through the vineyard. She had revealed more about herself, how she’d felt in the aftermath of what had happened to her in Afghanistan, than she’d told anyone else, including her sister, Noah, and her parents.
Though to be fair, she knew her parents believed her former CO. Her father had served in the Marines too and he’d held tight to the ‘good soldier’ defense. Her mother followed her dad’s lead, choosing to believe Dustin’s version of events. So she’d never confided in them.
But Josh had listened and come back with the unexpected I like who you are now. Then he’d taken her out to a quiet, secluded spot overlooking the valley below. He’d poured her a glass of wine and told her about what he’d learned in his wine making course. And he’d made her laugh, reminding her why she’d looked forward to his visits each week.
Because he didn’t look at her and see less of the person she’d been before. He just saw her.
“You know, I usually have this rule about kissing barefoot,” he said. “But for you, I’ll make an exception.”
“An exception?”
“If—”
Her eyes widened. “There’s an if?”
“If you take off your shirt.”
“I think you’ve been misreading all of those ‘no shirt, no shoes, no service’ signs.” She leaned forward, slowly closing the gap between them. Her lips were an inch from his.
/> “You might be right about that.”
He brushed his lips over hers. A soft, gentle touch that set off fireworks inside her. And she slanted her mouth over his and deepened the kiss.
Her tongue tangled with his and her hands begged to participate. She wanted to touch him . . . feel him . . . break her own rules and strip off his shirt.
But then he broke away and sat back in the driver’s seat.
“So do you think I won a rose?” he murmured.
