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Though she didn’t understand why right now, she was going to figure it out. It would be her way of repaying the favor he was doing for her. Him not wanting to owe her just turned it around so she owed him. What better way than helping him keep his family’s heritage?
In the silence, she shifted her gaze to his ring on her left hand. Twisting it back and forth on her finger, she admired the diamonds and emeralds while thinking of his family. He was right, she didn’t know much about them. His mother had died when Joy was about eight, and she didn’t even remember her name.
Had the ring been given to his mother with love? Like the farm, it had to mean something to him, or she assumed he would’ve sold it already to pay bills.
Logan dipped his head to look back at her, and she quickly covered her hand as she lifted her lashes.
“I should get going,” he said. Then his gaze shifted away from her, to his boots. “But there is that story to get straight. Should anyone want to know.”
“Oh, believe me, they will.”
Joy slid off the hay to stand next to where he was sitting. If she pivoted to face him while stepping to her right, she’d end up right between his knees. He’d lift his head from whatever he found so interesting on the floor and they’d be perfectly lined up—
“How did Luke ask?”
The question caught her off guard. “Why. You want to use that?”
“No. Anything but that.”
He was still studying the floor boards, but his blatant disdain for Luke felt like he was sticking up for her in his own way. It put a little nugget of warmth right in the middle of her chest. “It was a fancy dinner at an expensive restaurant, with the ring in a champagne glass.”
“That’s original,” Logan muttered.
She pivoted, but did not take that step to her right. “Okay then, smartass, what’s our story? How did you ask?”
“In the hayloft.” He glanced sideways at her, the hint of a smile on his lips echoed in his eyes. “During a thunderstorm.”
“That’s right.” She smiled briefly. “With the ever-romantic, ‘Here. Don’t lose it.’”
He laughed as he straightened and slid off the hay to stand beside her. “We’ll spice it up and tell everyone how you said I’m good-looking.”
“No. Don’t.” She shook her head and kept shaking. “Do not let that go to your head.”
“Really good-looking,” he reminded with a way-too-cute smirk.
“Great. Your ego already ate it up.”
“It’s okay, though. I think you’re pretty.”
The surprise of Playful Logan was back. So far, she liked him best of all, especially when that smile warmed his eyes to the color of burnt caramel.
She tilted her head to the side and fluttered her lashes with a pout. “Really pretty?”
His hand rose to brush her hair back from her face, his gaze tracing over her features as his expression turned serious. “Beautiful.”
The single word in his low voice made her stomach cartwheel. Her heart began to beat faster, and a warm tingle spread through her when his gaze focused on her mouth. As he leaned forward, she automatically began to close her eyes, more than ready for a replay of their first kiss.
Sanity returned at the last moment. She planted her palm against his chest and pushed. He halted his advance, but didn’t retreat.
“Um, it’s probably better if we limit…this…to only when we have to.”
“Why? You scared?”
She realized her hand was still pressed against his warm chest and she wanted to explore every hard muscle beneath her fingers. Snatching her hand back, she kept her gaze focused below his stubble-covered chin. “After our last time in the hayloft—yeah.”
Satisfaction filled his smile. “So you did like the kiss.”
Loved it. Wanna do it again.
