Page 28 of Pick Your Spot

When she lifted her eyes again, she saw the answer she wanted. Interest. Desire.

Her move. Why did it have to be her move? She wasn’t experienced enough at this.

Still, she didn’t back away.

Instead she inched closer and heat flared in Knox’s eyes. Her body cheered.

Finally, Thea found her words. “I don’t want to make a mistake here.”

Knox nodded. “I feel the same. What if it’s not a mistake? What if it’s the right thing.”

And what if it isn’t?She didn’t say that part out loud but figured they both heard it anyway.

For a long moment, they stared at each other and then Knox nodded and the indecision she’d seen flitted away. “I’d like to cook you supper tonight.”

“What? Why?”

Amusement filled his gaze. “Well, the obvious answer is that we both need to eat, so we might as well do it together.”

One of his large hands lifted and gently brushed her hair back from her face. “I could also say it’s a thank you for working the farm when you didn’t have to. You’ve maintained the compost, checked the trees for damage, and kept the orchard healthy.”

His gruff tone mesmerized her.

“I could even say that it’s more efficient and environmentally conscious to cook in one place rather than have two people prepare separate meals.”

His thumb brushed across her lower lip, and her entire body trembled. She wouldn’t have moved or spoken for anything. No way was she breaking the spell he wove. Not when she really liked the direction it was going.

His fingers rested in her hair, and his thumb continued to brush her lip. Her jawline. Her ear. Back to her lip.

“But the real reason is that I want to cook you dinner so that I can spend time getting to know you. Get to know what makes you happy, what pisses you off. I want to know all sides of you. I want to go on a date with you. And cooking you dinner is my plan for Date One.”

“I’d like that.”

He grinned. “And after Date One, I want to walk my date home in the moonlight. Under the stars. Through the apple trees where the songbirds are sleeping.”

She swallowed hard. “Okay.” Her voice shook and almost made it sound like a question.

“I want to hold her hand and maybe have a bit of a slow dance out there in that orchard.”

She’d slow dance with Knox anywhere. Any time. Oh, God, she was going to melt right here into a puddle like the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz. Except hers would be a puddle of need and want. Lust and a little bit more.

“And when I walk my date to her dead-bolted door, I want to hold her close and watch those sexy eyes go dark and greedy. And then I hope my date will let me steal a kiss.”

Yes. The answer was yes.

He brushed his thumb over her lip again and leaned in to press his lips softly against her forehead. He left them there for a heartbeat while she willed herself to stay upright.

“A real kiss. One that will spend my world spinning. Hers, too.”

With another brush of his thumb, Knox backed up. She missed his heat immediately. Her skin craved his touch.

He kept backing up until he reached the trees. “See you for dinner, Thea. See you for our date.”

When he disappeared into the trees, Thea grinned. The man was potent and they hadn’t even kissed yet.

She hoped the earth didn’t burn up when they did. Although she was pretty sure she wouldn’t care if it did.

Chapter9

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