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Josie’s hands moved from my zipper to my face, cupping each side before she lowered her forehead to mine. “It might be awkward to you, but do you see me flinching?” Her brown eyes stared into mine with such intensity the breath I was taking caught in my throat. “I still love you. I still want you. In all of the ways I wanted you before.” She kissed the tip of my nose. “So if you need to have your awkwardness, you can have yours, but don’t try to assign any to me, because awkward is the furthest thing from what I feel when I’m with you, Garth.”
The tightness in my chest released, and I could breathe again. I kissed her back but on the lips. “My God, Joze. You’re the best damn woman God had the audacity to go and create. How did I end up with you?” I hadn’t intended to voice that question. Yes, I pondered that more times during the day than I didn’t, but it was something I preferred to keep to myself.
“I ask myself that same question about you every day. So when and if you find the answer to yours, will you let me know so I can find the answer to mine?”
I chuckled and drew my thumbs down her jawbone. “The cab of this truck is filling up with so much sappiness I think it’s about to start breaking through the windows.”
Josie shoved my chest but laughed. “You’re right. We’ve reached sickening levels of sappiness. Fresh air is definitely in order.” Giving the handle a pull, she swung the door open and started to crawl out, but as she swung her leg over my lap, her boot caught on the back of my knee.
“Ah, crap,” she shrieked as she tumbled out the door.
“Joze!” I tried to grab her arm or her hand or something to keep her from spilling to the gravel, but I didn’t move fast enough. I couldn’t move enough of my body to save her.
Splayed on the gravel outside the truck, she lay there, looking at me with a surprised expression before a smile moved into place, quickly replaced by a laugh that didn’t end. She was laughing so hard her stomach was bouncing and tears started falling from her eyes.
“Why are you laughing, crazy person?” I asked as I tried to swing my legs out the door to help her up. Her truck was so lifted that even if I could have leant all the way over and extended my arm to its full reach, I still wouldn’t have been able to reach her. If I tried crawling out of the truck, I’d end up in the same mess she was, so I had to just sit there and watch Josie laid out on the ground from the fall I couldn’t save her from or even help her up from, laughing as though she’d lost her mind.
“Ouch,” she said around her laughter, rubbing one of her elbows.
“Are you okay?” I leaned down a bit farther, but it still wasn’t enough. “Why are you just lying there laughing?”
That made her laugh harder. “I think you gave me one orgasm too many. I’m officially drunk on climaxes. You’d better take my keys and call a cab.” Lifting her arm, her keys dangled from her fingers.
“You are certifiable, Josie Gibson.” I shook my head at her, but even me in all my helpless glory couldn’t keep from laughing with her.
“Josie?” A voice carried across the parking lot from the back of the restaurant before I heard footsteps rushing our way. “Shit, Josie. What happened? Are you okay?”
I recognized the voice before its owner broke to a stop in front of us. Out of all the people in the world I would have liked to come to our rescue, Colt Mason was somewhere at the end of that line. Colt lowered his arms to help Josie up, and his brows came together when she just lay there, still laughing.
“Are you drunk?” he asked.
Of course that only made her break into another round of laughter, so Colt glanced at me for an answer.
“Don’t ask,” I said, not sure how to cross that bridge. Colt and I had figured out how to co-exist living in the same small town after feuding over the girl I wound up with, but that was only because he lived in a different part of the country for half of the year, soaking in the California sun, and the other half, I spent on the road, traveling from rodeo to rodeo. We hadn’t been within arm’s reach of each other since Jesse and Rowen’s wedding. The night I’d essentially confessed my love to his date.
“Josie, come on, let me help you up.” Colt seemed almost nervous around me, as though he was looking for a distraction and peeling Josie from the gravel was it.
When he went to give her a lift again, she waved away his assistance and got up on her own. As she dusted herself off, I was finally able to reach her. Pulling her close, I turned her around to inspect her for damage. She had a few small scrapes on the back of her elbows and a dusty backside, but she’d survive.
“Nice move there, Grace,” I muttered, smacking at her backside to get the dust off and . . . well, because Josie Gibson had the finest ass in this county and the next one over. Ask any guy who’d seen her in a pair of tight jeans, and he’d confirm it.
“Nice save there, superhero,” she threw back, letting me pull her into my arms when we were done cleaning her off.
I pinched at her side while Colt shifted in place, looking as though he didn’t know what to say or do next. For a show pony like Colt Mason, him not knowing what to say or do might have happened once every solar eclipse or two.
“Hey, Black. How’s it going?” Running a hand down his hair, he extended his other hand in my direction.
From the way Josie peered back at me, she was as stumped by Colt’s bury-the-hatchet approach as I was.
“It’s going . . . good, Colt.” I shook his hand, feeling about as awkward as I’d probably have felt if Josie had gotten her way in the truck and had her head buried in my lap. “How are you doing?”
Josie chewed on the inside of her cheek, probably because she knew how I felt about Colt and that this conversation was about as forced as they came.
“I’m good,” he said with a nod, sticking his hands in his pockets. “Thanks for asking.”
Josie sounded like she’d just choked on a laugh. I twisted at her sides so she knew I’d detected her amusement and I wasn’t as amused.
“I’m good too. In case anyone wants to know,” she said, shoving at my hand that kept pinching her.
