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“Perfectly flawless,” he confirmed.
Rosalie tilted her head and stepped toward him, turning at the same time. She linked her arm through his. “All right, Mister Cooper. I suppose I can stomach dinner at Montague’s with you if I’m flawless.”
Lee continued to shine as he walked with her toward the front door, because she hadn’t sneered out the wordMisterthis time. In fact, it sure seemed like this woman was flirting with him. Lee had been out of the real dating pool for a while, so he wasn’t going to jump into the deep end yet. He was simply going to beam sunshine from every pore in his body.
They both stepped over the gate, and Rosalie pushed the door closed behind her. “What about you?” she asked, sliding her hand along his forearm and sending shivers down his hip and into his leg from her touch. “Have you dated a lot in the past six years?”
“No ma’am,” he said. “I wouldn’t say a lot.”
“What would you say?”
Lee exhaled as he went down the steps. Free from the roof over the porch, he looked up into the brilliant Texas sky, evening still a ways off as summer came closer and closer.
“I’d say I’ve struck out,” he said. They continued toward the truck, and Lee saw all of her imperfections as they approached. He’d never minded, but he suddenly wanted a golden chariot to escort Rosalie everywhere.
She didn’t say anything as they rounded the hood. Not until he’d opened her door for her and stepped back did she even look at him. “I’m not sure what you mean bystruck out.”
“I mean, I’ve been out with three women in the past six years,” he said. “And every relationship was a disaster.”
“Three women in six years?”
Lee ducked his head. “Well, Rosalie,” he said, trying to think of something funny and flirty. He was probably going to fail spectacularly. “We can’t all be flawless, and we don’t all regularly get out into schools to meet surly cowboys who won’t clap for us after a perfect presentation.” He looked up, his hope soaring toward heaven.
Her smile already sat on her face, and she reached one hand to slide along the side of his jaw. “You’re not surly,” she said.
“I assure you, I am.” Perhaps he shouldn’t take her to dinner tonight. Someone was bound to have some problem he’d have to deal with, which would absolutely put him in a foul mood. He couldn’t hide how he felt very well, and most of the time, he didn’t even try.
“I would’ve said handsome,” she said. “There’s a reason I noticed you weren’t clapping. Have you thought about what that was?”
“No ma’am,” he whispered, his skin burning with her touch. Her fingertips touched his earlobe, and Lee wanted to lean into her hand with everything he had. He fought against that movement and stayed very still.
“Hmm.” Rosalie pulled her hand back and stepped to get into the truck. Lee closed the door behind her, released the breath he’d been holding, and told himself not to mess up this date as he went to get behind the wheel.
Over and over and over, he begged the Lord to, “Please help me tonight,” he murmured at the tailgate. “Please.”
He managed to curtail his pleas before he got in the truck, and he gave the old girl a pat the way he always did. She started right up, which was why Lee didn’t much care to get a new one. He was comfortable in this truck, despite the rusting spots and the boxier shape compared to other pickups.
“Did you just give your vehicle a little pat?” Rosalie asked.
Lee’s face burned, and he focused on flipping the gear shift into reverse. “Maybe.”
“Does she have a name too?” The woman was teasing him. Teasing.
Lee had no idea what to do with that. “No,” he said, reaching the road and getting them moving in the direction of Montague’s. “Do you name your cars?”
“I did when I was in high school,” she said airily, as if all girls of such an age did such a thing. Lee wouldn’t know. He’d worked the farm six hours a day in high school, on top of everything he had going on academically. “I had a cute little two-door sedan we named Peanuts.”
“We?” Lee asked.
“My sister and I,” Rosalie said, her voice turning a bit quiet as she looked out her side window. “Her name is Natasha. She and my mother are coming to visit this weekend.”
“You were texting with her earlier,” Lee said. He hadn’t gotten any information about her family from Karyn. Only the bit about the lemon drops and the angry rabbit who liked to bolt the moment the front door opened.
“Oh,” he said before Rosalie could respond. “Your present is sittin’ right there.” He kept both hands on the wheel as he nodded with the brim of his hat toward the package on the seat between them. When he’d dated Martha, she’d scoot all the way over and ride with her thigh pressed against his. Lee wondered if Rosalie could scoot in her dress, and even if she could, if she’d want to sit so close to him.
His jaw tingled where she’d touched him minutes ago, and he steadfastly refused to look as she picked up the brown paper baggie. “This looks like a penny candy bag,” she said.
Lee said nothing, because she’d already guessed what the bag held. He held his tongue as the paper rustled, and then she made a very feminine squealing sound that forced him to look over at her.
