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Yvonne tilted her head. “Out where?”
Miguel rolled his eyes and threw his hands up. “Jesus, Vonnie. There’s a good-looking guy standing at your door inviting you out. Go run a comb through that rat’s nest you call hair, swipe on some mascara and get moving. If you don’t take him up on the offer, I will. Hot country boy, sexy city cop—sounds like a match made in heaven.”
She stood slowly, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “My hair is not a rat’s nest. And I notice you didn’t tell me I had to put my bra back on.”
Leo laughed. “I’m okay with bra optional.”
Yvonne twisted in surprise. “Damn, Leo. Be careful. That sounded a hell of a lot like a joke.”
“Or flirting,” Miguel said, grinning at Leo.
Leo’s answer was succinct. “Either works.”
When she still didn’t move, he added, “I owe you a dinner after the other night.”
“That wasn’t a payback kind of thing. I like feeding you and the boys.”
Yvonne didn’t miss the curious way Miguel and Finn were looking at the two of them. She didn’t blame them for wondering. She was in the same boat. She’d spent a fair amount of time the last few nights, tossing and turning…and failing to take her own advice to Leo. While she’d told him he didn’t need to overthink wanting to kiss her, she’d been able to think of nothing else.
Leo didn’t say anything, just crooked one impatient eyebrow at her, drawing attention to his bright blue eyes.
She’d had a serious crush on Leo her freshman year, and while that feeling had ebbed and flowed over the years as she fell in and out of love with other guys, her attraction had elevated beyond crush to outright desire after that near-miss the other night. She’d really wanted that kiss.
Miguel was right. Leo was totally hot, his looks only improving with age. He’d gotten his dark brown hair cut at some point in this past week. She loved the way he wore it short in back, but left it a little longer on top. It gave a girl something to run her fingers through.
“Give me a minute,” she said, as she headed toward her bedroom. “Am I okay in these jeans?” she asked, though she knew she’d change anyway. Leo had taken some efforts with his appearance tonight. Typically, he wore faded, well-worn blue jeans and ratty T-shirts that had somehow managed to survive a thousand and three washes. Not that she expected him to wear anything different on a day-to-day basis. He was a farmer, constantly digging in the dirt. It would be silly for him to dress in anything nice, for goodness sake.
But tonight…he was almost dressed up, wearing crisp khakis and a short-sleeve navy-blue polo shirt that allowed her a peek of the ink on his upper arms.
“Jeans are fine,” he said. “I thought we’d hit Mo’s Seafood. You haven’t eaten, have you?”
She shook her head. “Nope. We were going to order pizza later, but I’ll never say no to a crab cake.”
She went back to her room, quickly changing—and putting her bra back on, though she certainly didn’t want to—then she freshened up her makeup and headed back to the living room, where Leo was hanging out on the couch, watching the baseball game with Finn and Miguel.
“I’m ready,” she said, glad to be escaping. The Orioles were already down three runs and Finn was losing his shit, not happy about going down in a bet against Lochlan, who really did take bragging to the next level when his team won.
Leo smiled at her. “You look great.”
“Thanks.”
The restaurant wasn’t too far from the pub and it was a lovely evening, so they decided to walk. She gave him a sideways glance when he reached for her hand.
“Hand holding?” she asked.
“You told me to not overthink it,” he murmured.
She snorted. “Yeah, but I’m thinking one of us should give this a passing thought or two.”
Leo used his grip on her hand to pull her even closer, opting instead to wrap his arm around her shoulders. “Fine. You think. I’ll act.”
“Dear God. That would be horrifying. How the hell would that work?”
Leo chuckled, then placed a quick kiss on the top of her head. “Will my very wise guru give up on me if I confess to struggling with that first secret?”
“Struggling how?”
He stopped walking, twisting her until they were facing each other. “I can’t stop thinking about you. It’s become a distraction.”
