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“Next!” she repeated.
Faye lurched forward. “I’ll take an iced caramel latte.”
Adam loomed beside her, and for the first time she felt very small. She’d managed to turn this nice morning into something incredibly uncomfortable. She was a terrible person. Why couldn’t she just learn how to keep her mouth shut or at least read the room? She was so wrapped up in her self-loathing that she didn’t even hear Adam place his order.
He nudged her, ripping her from her thoughts and nodded toward the side of the shop. “We need to let everyone else order.”
She stiffened. “Wait, you paid for mine? You didn’t have to do that.”
Despite the way he must have been feeling, the corners of his mouth twitched upward. “I told you before. It was my treat.”
“Oh yeah,” she murmured.
“And just so you know, Dahlia is plenty nice. I might not have had more than two conversations with her—”
“I’m sure you’re right,” Faye blurted. “I shouldn’t pass judgment on someone I haven’t met before. She’s really pretty.”
“Yeah,” he said and smiled. “She is.”
“So, what’s your plan? Are you going to ask her out? You’re not seriously considering signing up for something in the next rodeo, are you?”
Adam shrugged. “I suppose that all depends on how well you can teach me.”
For what felt like a solid minute, she thought he was serious. But then that tell-tale sign of his lips pulling into that adorable, crooked grin gave him away. She nudged him. “Don’tdothat.”
“What? Don’t you have any faith in yourself?”
“Of course I do. But I still don’t condone joining therodeo. Do you even know how many peoplediefrom that sort of thing?”
He rolled his eyes. “Do you know how many people die just crossing the street? Besides, I’d rather go out doing something worthwhile than sitting at home twiddling my thumbs, wishing for something to change.”
While his perspective was admirable, she couldn’t bring herself to let him throw his life away. There were so many better options for getting a girl to fall for him. But there was no foreseeable way for her to change his mind. Her best shot would be to gain his respect first so he would take her advice later.
Faye pressed her lips together tightly. “Remember what I said about girls liking you for more than being a cowboy? Just think about that a little, okay?” If she couldn’t get him to forget about competing by pointing out the danger, then maybe she could get him to see that shallow people like Dahlia weren’t worth it.
His gaze bore into her, chipping away at her confidence and making her feel like a fool. What did she even know about love? She hadn’t really dated anyone seriously. All she knew was what it meant to be a girl in this day and age. And she wouldn’t want a guy to go risking anything just to impress her. Stupid stunts like that weren’t attractive at all.
“Adam?”
They both turned toward the barista who held out two cups. Adam stepped forward to retrieve them then nodded toward the door. “Come on. Let’s get back to the shop. We can start draining that oil.”
The conversation was over. That was that. He wasn’t interested in her giving him any advice when it came to love. And why would he be? They barely knew each other.
“Thanks,” she murmured, taking the cup from his hand. Their fingertips brushed against one another, and it felt like a thousand butterflies flowed from his finger to hers and went right up to her heart. She jumped, staring at her hand. That was weird.
When she looked up, Adam was already pulling open the door. She lengthened her stride to catch up to him, barely doing so before he got out onto the sidewalk.
“Hey,” she puffed. “I’m sorry if I said something wrong back there.”
He eyed her briefly. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Then why do I get the feeling you’re mad at me?”
“I’m not mad.”
“You could have fooled me.”
He stopped suddenly and faced her. “I’m not mad. But I do find it a little invasive—what you’re doing. I don’t understand why you even care.”
