“I didn’t know you cut hair.” He reached up and grasped her wrist, pressing a kiss to the sensitive flesh on the underside of it.
“I’m not as good as my aunt, but I bet I could tame this for you if you don’t want to go to town to get it done.”
“I think I’d like that.” His voice was low, husky. And the way he stared into her eyes sent fresh waves of electricity through her body. The music was still playing, but it managed to fade to the background. No longer did the alarm sound. It was just the two of them in this moment and the expectation of what could come.
Jacob reached for one hand and placed it on his shoulder. Then he adjusted the one he already held and laced his fingers within hers. His free hand went around her waist and he pulled her into him.
She gasped. “Jacob?—”
“Shh. Let’s dance.”
Biting back a smile, she gave him a pointed look. “You’re hardly in the condition to?—”
“Just let me dance with you, Hallie.”
It wasn’t dancing so much as it was swaying. Jacob could put weight on his bad leg for short amounts of time. He’d still grimace when he wasn’t careful, but right now he appeared determined to get this part of their date right.
And when he looked at her like that, she felt like she was the only one in the world he could see. The only woman he had any interest in spending time with. This was what she’d wanted. From the first moment she realized she had feelings for Jacob, she’d known this was where she wanted to end up.
“What changed?” she whispered.
“Hmm?” he asked, his chest vibrating with the sound.
“What changed your mind? Why now?”
“I already told you, Hallie. I was being an idiot. I didn’t see the potential of what was right in front of me. There were obstacles I wasn’t capable of ignoring or solving.”
Obstacles? What kind of obstacles? Was this his way of admitting that he hadn’t been interested because he was too focused on his career or that he wasn’t interested because he’d never seen himself as the type to settle down? Did that mean their little experiment to see where things could go would inevitably end when he found his path to the rodeo again?
“Don’t,” Jacob whispered, his voice almost soothing.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“I can feel how hard you’re thinking,” he mused, his voice lighter than before. “Your brain must be exhausted after a workout like that.”
She snorted. “Okay, fine. I’ll stop thinking so hard.”
His boyish grin returned, and with it a fresh wave of butterflies. She loved being with him like this. There was more to Jacob Hines than met the eye and he was sharing that side of himself with her. She wasn’t going to take any of it for granted. Even if this fling ended when he was finally all healed up, she’d gracefully accept that this was all she was ever going to get.
They ate their meal, joking around as they did. It felt like they were finally getting back to that place they’d been before she’d messed everything up. Only now it was ten times better because Jacob was giving her every piece of him.
He held her hand across the table as he told her the five different meals he’d learned how to make just to prove to his brother he could when he was in high school. The soufflé had been one of the handful of specialty desserts he’d perfected, but apparently, he was out of practice.
They watched a romcom on their favorite streaming service and she curled up against him. Even though it was dangerous, Hallie could envision a life with Jacob just like this. Where they came home to be together after a long day and just spent time in each other’s company. Nothing sounded more perfect than that.
She wouldn’t have even minded if she was on the road more often than not or if they had to postpone having children.
Heat flushed her cheeks and she shoved that thought deep down where it belonged before Jacob could sense her thoughts had taken on a mind of their own.
The here and now.
That was where she was choosing to stay.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“When is the cast coming off?”
Jacob twisted in his seat to find Hallie emerging from her bedroom. If he was honest with himself, he’d say he was dreading the day Hallie would ask that question. Right now, they’d managed to stay in their little bubble without the pressure of what came next. It had been nice.
