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CHAPTERTHREE
Lee wondered if Rosalie could see through clothing for how long she stood there staring at him. He felt every inch of her appraisal, and at one point, he tucked his hands into his pockets as if that would save him.
His impatience grew with every breath he took, and he was reaching a point where he was either going to explode or stomp back to his truck again. He’d called Cherry, his older sister, from the cab of his truck, because she was the only one who knew Lee had left the farm early today specifically to ask Rosalie to Trav’s wedding.
Lee Howard Cooper, she’d lectured.You get out of that truck right now and do two things. One, apologize. Profusely. Two, ask her to Trav’s wedding!
Cherry had not been happy with his invented reason for stopping by Curious Kids, and Lee had fumed in the driver’s seat, wondering if Rosalie would leave with him parked right there. He didn’t think she would.
Even now, a hint of wariness sat in her eyes.
He lifted one eyebrow, his sister’s words still echoing through him.I asked someone to accompany me to the wedding, Lee, Cherry had said, plenty of venom in her voice.If you don’t ask her, you’ll literally be the only one dateless.
When he’d demanded to know who she’d gotten to go with her, she’d refused to tell him.After you ask Rosalie.
So Lee had hung up with his sister, gathered himself together, and come back inside.
“Well?” he asked now, because he figured that was better than growling or exploding. The impatience in him meowed and settled down. “I’m sorry, Rosalie,” he said, his voice quiet now. He hadn’t apologized upon re-entering the store, and he should’ve. It would be the first question out of Cherry’s mouth. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your day, and then act…grouchy about the game. That was…”
Stupidcame to mind.
Rosalie watched him, her head tilted slightly as if she didn’t want to miss anything he might say.
“That was me just gettin’ in my own way,” he finally said with a nod.
“Mm.” Rosalie took a couple of steps toward him, which sent everything male inside him back to blasting off like a cannon. “Here’s what I think, Mister Cooper.”
“It’s just Lee,” he said, reaching up to push his cowboy hat a bit further forward. She was going to say no. Right to his face. Most women who wanted to go out with a man didn’t start with, “Here’s what I think.”
Lee knew that much. He studied the tips of his boots for a moment, Rosalie’s heels bringing her closer and closer to him. Her feet entered his sphere of vision, and Lee couldn’t help himself. He literally couldn’t keep his head down. He looked up and right into the woman’s eyes, and he felt things he hadn’t felt in years.
His first thought was to kiss her, and he narrowly stopped himself from that humiliation-fest. “What do you think?” he asked instead.
“I don’t think our first date should be at your brother’s wedding.”
Lee’s brow furrowed. “You wanna go to dinner tonight?”
Rosalie smiled and reached up to brush something from his shoulder. Electricity arced through him, and Lee felt sure the shock would render him frozen and mute all over again.
“Dinner’s not a bad idea,” she said.
“My family just eats leftovers on Thursdays,” he said. “Will’s doing this huge thing for Gretchen’s birthday party tomorrow night. We could go out Saturday, or you could come out to the farm for Sunday lunch.”
Lee swallowed, unable to even imagine walking into the farmhouse where he’d grown up with Rosalie Reynolds on his arm. She was definitely right, because his family needed to be eased into the idea of him showing up with her at Travis’s wedding.
Ten days. It was only ten more days, and now that Lee had asked Rosalie, he didn’t feel such darkness hanging over him.
“We’ll come back to a lot of what you just said,” Rosalie said with a smile. “Because I didn’t understand most of it.”
Lee gave her a small smile too.
“Do you eat dinner at restaurants?” Rosalie asked. “Or are we talking a big, family meal every night?”
Lee realized what he’d said, and he shook his head. “Sorry, I…I’ve been out of this dating scene for a while.”
“Ford’s what? Eight?”
“Almost nine.”
