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They were both so different and both so hot in their own way. Boone was a little stockier, but I was pretty sure it was all muscle, while Cade was a little taller. Boone seemed older, but I knew they were around the same age, so I just assumed that losing his wife had taken its toll and given him a few more worry lines across his tanned features.
God, I wanted to reach out and trace those lines with my fingers. Or kiss them. That would be even better.
Cade, on the other hand, never seemed to have a care in the world. I’d only ever seen him frown a couple of times, and even then he was back to all smiles within a few minutes. I loved that about him, but I got the feeling that he used that big, easy smile to hide his true emotions sometimes.
As dumb as it sounded, part of my fantasy was that he would let me in and show me the side of himself that didn’t have to smile all the time. I wanted him to be real with me, but I knew that would probably take some time if it ever even happened at all.
“Why did you get so quiet, Janessa?” Cade’s voice startled me as he brought his horse up next to mine. “Did you see something out here that’s worrying you?”
I shook my head and smiled. I was tempted to tell him that I’d been daydreaming about the two of them, but… that might be pushing things a little too fast. Still, it really was tempting just to see how he might react. Would he just laugh it off? Would he get that heat in his eyes again like he had when we’d been alone on the porch?
Would he kiss me again?
“I was just thinking,” I said, deciding to keep the rest to myself for now.
He quirked an eyebrow and grinned. “Anything you’d like to share with the rest of us?”
I laughed. Was he taunting me now? Could he read my mind? I could feel my cheeks flush with heat as he kept looking at me, his eyes sparkling in that sexy, mischievous way that I couldn’t get enough of.
“I hope you’re both thinking about stopping for lunch,” Boone called back to us over his shoulder. “I don’t know about the two of you, but I’m starving.”
I had almost forgotten that Boone had packed some lunch for the three of us, but my stomach rumbled its approval when he mentioned it.
“Let’s ride over to that little hill,” I said, pointing to the east. “There’s a nice flat spot on top where the ground will be dry. We can eat there.”
The three of us set out in that direction, and this time we were all riding side by side with me in the middle. That familiar heat fanned out through my body as I felt both of them looking at me. God, I would have given anything to know what they were thinking in that moment.
“You’ve got some really good land out here,” Boone said, breaking the silence. “I hate to say that it might even be a little better than ours, but… it might be.”
“It is pretty damn nice,” Cade agreed. “I could happily spend every afternoon riding around like this. It almost feels like a vacation.”
“Yeah, as long as we don’t find anything suspicious,” Boone said, bringing my thoughts back to the actual reason for our ride today.
I didn’t want to think about that, though. I just wanted to enjoy the day and the company of these two hot, sweet men.
And I also wanted some lunch.
“Okay,” I said, sliding off my horse and dropping the reins to give her a little break. “We can let the horses graze around us while we eat. They shouldn’t go too far.”
“I hope you two are ready for a feast,” Boone said, taking a paper bag and a blanket from behind his saddle. “This is guaranteed to be the best lunch you’ll find out here in the pasture today.”
“Way to set the bar high.” Cade smirked. “Seriously, though, I’d probably eat a piece of old shoe leather at this point.”
“I bet it’ll taste better than shoe leather,” I said, tossing Boone a quick wink as I took the blanket from him and spread it out on the ground. “I have some water to share if anyone gets thirsty.”
“No need for that,” Boone said, opening the bag and spreading the contents out in the middle of the blanket. “I’ve got sandwiches, chips, and three cans of soda.” He paused to hand us each our portion of food. “See? Told you it was a feast.”
It was close enough for me. I knew that they were just small gestures in the scheme of things, but the little details—like a can of soda or a blanket to sit on—were reminders of how thoughtful Boone could be. I would have been happy with a dry sandwich and some water, but this felt almost like a picnic for the three of us, and I was loving it so far.
“I’m afraid it doesn’t really compare to the meals you’ve made for us, Janessa,” Boone said, giving me a sheepish grin as I bit into my sandwich. “But I put a little extra deli meat on yours to make up for missing my turn at making breakfast.”
“You didn’t give me any extra?” Cade asked, inspecting his sandwich. “What am I? Chopped liver?”
“Yes.” Boone nodded. “In this scenario, you are chopped liver.”
“Oh, I see how it is,” Cade said. “That’s fine, though. I might not be able to cook worth a damn…” He leaned in closer to me and loudly whispered, “But I promise I have a lot of other good qualities.”
I laughed and tried not to admit that I had already spent plenty of time wondering and daydreaming about those qualities of his. Boone just groaned and kept eating.
