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Laura nodded. “Maybe another time then.” She stood right in front of him, and she made no move to leave his office.
Todd’s thoughts raced, trying to calculate the probability of kissing her right here, right now. If he did that, she’d know he’d been crushing on her—hard—since he’d met her. He reached up and ran two fingertips down the side of her face.
Laura didn’t flinch and she didn’t move. Todd watched the progress of his touch, the softness of her skin sending desire through him like lightning.
“Todd,” Sierra said, and his hand dropped to his side.
“Yeah.” He turned that way.
Sierra looked at him with both eyebrows raised, her gaze switching to Laura behind him. “Have you got a minute?”
“Not really,” he said. “I’m taking dinner to Blake, and he’s not in great shape.” He silently begged Sierra to drop this. Leave it. “Can I text you later?”
“Yeah,” she said slowly, her eyes sweeping the rest of the office. “Azure, come on, bud. You can’t get up on my desk.” She marched over to the dog, who carried a bright blue ball in his mouth. She took it from him and put it back on her desk. “That’s not for you.”
Properly scolded, Azure flopped to the ground, his tongue hanging out of his mouth.
Sierra tossed Todd another glare like it was his fault the blue heeler had an obsession with balls. “That’s my therapy ball.”
“Yep,” Todd said.
“Tell Blake to call me,” Sierra said. “I want to talk to him about the harvester.”
She walked toward the door, and since the office was barely big enough for the two of them, she’d left already when he said, “You’re not getting that harvester.”
“Have him call me,” she yelled back to him, and Todd shook his head and sighed.
“We don’t have the money for a new harvester,” he grumbled to himself, finally facing Laura again. He didn’t know how to describe the moment that had been broken by Sierra. He swallowed, his throat working through how to say what blistered his mind.
“You sure you don’t want to come to dinner tonight?”
“I’m sure,” she said.
Before he lost his nerve, Todd asked, “How about this then? How about you and I go to dinner sometime?”
“Just the two of us?”
His fingers squeezed into fists. “Yes,” he said. “Not here at the ranch. Somewhere in town.” He absolutely needed a whole bottle of water to say another word.
Laura’s mouth twitched into a smile. “Are you asking me on a date, Todd?”
He blinked and swallowed simultaneously. “Maybe,” he choked out. “If I was, would you say yes?”
Laura reached up and trailed her fingertips down the side of his face. His eyes drifted closed, and he realized that he’d given away too much by allowing himself to do that.
He opened his eyes again and looked straight into Laura’s. “Laura, I’d love to take you to dinner off the ranch sometime. Maybe when things aren’t so crazy around here.” Which was never, but Todd could hope, pray, and dream.
Her hand fell back to her side, and her eyes searched his. Then she said, “I’d like that, Todd.”
He grinned at her and said, “Great. Yeah, great.” Pure relief rushed through him, almost making his knees weak.
“Great,” Laura repeated, and then she moved to leave the office. “See you tomorrow, Todd.”
“Yeah, tomorrow,” he said. Laura left, and he stood there staring at the empty doorway, wondering what alternate reality he’d entered—and if the ranch had any rules or paperwork about dating an employee.
He could ask Blake about it tonight, over pizza, from the privacy of his brother’s cabin.
CHAPTERTWENTY
