Her knowing smirk caught him off guard.
“What?” he demanded.
“You realize that before you got hurt, you rarely hung out at home, right? I can’t remember a single time when you invited people over to do anything—me included. You like to be out with friends. I always thought it was because you don’t get to seethem as often as you’d like because you’re always traveling, but I also realized that you like your privacy.”
Why did that sound like judgment? There was nothing to indicate she thought it was bad, and yet he didn’t like the way her words made him feel. Was it that he closed people out of his home life? Or was it the statement about not having time to spend with his friends due to traveling?
She kept chattering on. “I can’t say I don’t like the change, though.” That was when she glanced at him then frowned. “What’s the matter?”
Shaking off the discomfort her statement caused, Jacob smiled at her. “Well maybe I didn’t realize that I have everything I could want right at home. Maybe when everything else is figured out, we’ll see what everyone else is up to.”
“Or we could do another karaoke night,” she purred.
He shut his eyes and threw his head back with a dramatic motion. “Anything but karaoke, please.”
She laughed.
And when she laughed, his heart sang. He loved being the person in her life who could make her carefree enough to share that side of her.
“Hey,” he said when they’d both gone quiet. “Do you think I could have one of your pictures?”
She stilled then swiveled her head around to look at him with curiosity. “Why?”
It was his turn to laugh. “I’m not going to judge you if that’s what you’re wondering. I’ve seen your work, remember? And I like it.I was thinking it might be fun to draw one of the pictures you’ve taken of someone at the rodeo.”
Hallie blinked a few times. “Really?”
“Yeah. It’s not like I can get the detail right when I’m sketching from memory. It’s easier to have a subject in front of me. And heaven knows that there’s no way to freeze a scene when I’m there in person. So, yeah. I want one of your pictures so I can draw it.”
A small smile tugged at her lips, and he knew in that moment what her answer would be. When he’d found her up on that hill in the same pen as that angry bull, he never would have thought that this was where they would have ended up.
He’d connected with her in so many ways. They’d bonded over his love of chess, their love of art, movies, and even the rodeo. It was getting easier to watch his old clips with her and even some of the current competitions that were being aired on television.
“Sure, you can pick one out when we get home,” she said in answer to his question. Then she tilted her head. “Would you… would it be weird…”
“Spit it out, Hallie,” he chuckled.
Her face burned bright red. “Would you mind drawing one for me, too? One of the pictures I took of you?”
Stunned, all he could do was stare at her. He hadn’t even considered drawing himself. He’d planned on looking for the most aesthetically pleasing positioning of a rider and his horse. But the more he thought about it, the more he liked her idea. Not only would doing so allow him to practice his drawing skills, but it would allow him to focus on the details of his leg positioningand his posture. What better way to study technique than to draw it?
“Yeah, sure, Hallie. I’d love to.”
Her answering grin only added to his growing excitement.
Even though he’dtold Hallie that he wanted to draw from one of her pictures, tonight he had other plans. She was seated on the couch beside him. They were supposed to be watching the scary movie he’d picked out, but she’d grabbed the book she was reading.
He didn’t care. They were spending quality time together and rather than watch the movie himself, he was watching her. He was sketching her.
She had her legs curled up beneath her and she was chewing on her fingernail as she read. Her hair fell around her face in gentle waves and she wore a tank top with her pajama pants.
Stunning.
Even without the makeup or other things she did to herself to become ‘presentable’ to the public, she was absolutely breathtaking.
Jacob smudged a shadow with his thumb then glanced up at Hallie again to find her watching him. Their eyes locked for endless seconds while they studied one another. He could already imagine what might be going through her head. If she had a camera, she might want to capture this moment for herself.
Her smile was slow and knowing. “Are youdrawingme?”
