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“I just got glazed because I wasn’t sure and figured everyone likes glazed.” I hand him the box.
“You got me a dozen donuts? Babe, this is too much.”
I hide what hearing him calling me babe does to me. He can’t see my heart fluttering in my chest. “I thought you might want to share.”
“Palmer Setty.” He shakes his head. “What am I going to do with you?”
Love me.Whoa, slow your roll, sister. There will be none of that. “I was grabbing some for myself, and I knew you had a rough day yesterday, and this is going to be a longer week for you than normal.”
“Thank you.” He kisses me one more time. “I need to get back. I’ll text you later when I have time.”
“Don’t worry about that. I know you’re busy saving lives and all that.” I give him a wide smile, and he returns it.
“I’ll find the time.” Another quick peck, and he takes the box from my lap and grabs a coffee from the cupholder. “Thank you for this. It’s… thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Have a good day.”
“You too, beautiful.” He manages to open the door without spilling or dropping anything and climbs out. He bends to look at me through the open door. “Drive safe.”
“Will do.” I wave, and he shuts the door. I don’t drive off right away. Instead, I choose to sit in the confines of my Hyundai and admire the man who has managed to capture my heart. I can at least admit that to myself. Now, what I’m going to do about it, I have no idea.
Once I can no longer see him, I head to the studio. I arrive ten minutes before my first appointment, making this morning's unplanned adventure more than worth it. I’m unlocking the front door when my phone alerts me to a message. I flip the sign to Open and walk to my desk.
Brooks: Thank you again for my unexpected treat.
Me:You’re welcome.
The chime on the door alerts me that my nine o’clock shoot is here. I put my phone away and get to work. It’s another busy day, but that’s a good thing. It’s good for business, and it keeps my mind off my situation with Brooks.
I need to do some serious thinking about where this is going and how deep I’m willing to let myself be invested. Heartbreak is inevitable, but the more time I spend with him, the more it’s going to crush me when this is over.
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
Brooks
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” Palmer asks from the passenger seat of my truck.
“We’re going to start with breakfast.”
“Yum. Where?”
“There’s a small diner over in Garrison. They only serve breakfast foods.” I’m being evasive on purpose, knowing it will drive her crazy with curiosity. I also just want to surprise her. I want to see the smile on her face.
“Seriously? How do I not know about this place? And Garrison, that’s an hour away.”
I reach over and place my hand on her thigh. “I know.” I can’t look at her pretty green eyes to make sure she understands, but she places her hand over mine, entwining our fingers, so my guess is she gets it. I want to spend time with her. Harris is only twenty minutes from Willow River. Sure, we could run into someone we know in Garrison, but it’s less likely than Harris. Short of whisking her away for the weekend, which we can’t do this weekend, this is the best that I could come up with.
“What are we doing after that?” she asks.
“It’s a surprise.”
“I could persuade you.” She lowers her voice to a sexy purr, and it’s tempting me to turn this damn truck around and head to my place, but I don’t. I hold strong. I want to spend the day with her. Sure, spending the day with her naked in my arms sounds fun, but just spending time with her does too. That’s the plan, and I’m sticking to it.
I chuckle. “Probably, but it’s not safe for you to try any of your persuasion skills on me while I’m driving. Let me have this?”
“Fine,” she says dramatically, but I can hear the smile in her tone.
She fiddles with the radio and settles on a country station. Before long, we’re both singing along with the radio, being silly. We talk about our work weeks and my mom’s completed pizza oven. She even retells me about Blakely and her antics when they all took her for ice cream. The conversation never lulls, and there are no awkward moments. It’s just Palmer and me being who we are, and I love every second.
