Page 16 of Choosing You

“Isn’t that a bit far?”

That was an understatement. “It is, but…I have some family here in Sweetbriar Ridge.”

Now it was his turn to nod. “And what exactly does a social media manager do?”

“Oh, um…I’m responsible for developing strategies to increase followers, creating and overseeing social campaigns, creating content, reviewing analytics, and communicating with the client or the person responsible for social media in their company,” she explained.

“That sounds interesting,” he said, smiling.

She shrugged. “It can be, but…”

“It’s not right now?” he finished for her.

“Exactly.” Then she sighed. “I want to do more. Design more. Create more! But my boss isn’t too interested in my ideas. But…it’s a job. We can’t all have jobs we love, right?”

Will looked around and seemed to think about something. After a minute, he faced her. “Tell you what…why don’t we go into Books & Beans and have some coffee or something? I really want to keep talking to you and hear all about your life and how you ended up at all the Sweetbriar Ridge festivals for the last three years, but I’d rather do it while we’re sitting and relaxing instead of standing in the middle of the street.”

She was just about to agree when Cora stepped out of the shop. “Hey, Will!” she called out and waved. When she saw who he was talking to, she grinned.

And then Sloane had an idea. “Hey, Cora?” she asked. “Can you vouch for this guy? Is he the decent and respectful sort?”

Cora burst out laughing. “Will? He’s one of the best, sweetie! Honest to a fault.” Then she studied them for a second and then gasped before turning her attention to Will. “Is this…? Is she…?”

Will nodded.

Sloane wasn’t too sure about the exchange, but when Cora turned to her and said, “You be gentle with him and everything will be just fine!” With a wink, she knew exactly what she was going to do.

Turning to Will, she said, “How about we go for that drive instead?”

He still couldn’t believe his luck.

What were the odds of being out driving at the same time Sloane was getting ready to go out driving to find him?

Sloane. Hell, even her name was beautiful. And as much as he loved driving, Will loved being able to look at her—really look at her—even more. Now he could see the tiny flecks of gold in her green eyes and how her lashes were ridiculously long, how her skin was lightly tanned, and how her cheeks turned an adorable shade of peach when she blushed. Her lips, though…he sighed. Those were simply beckoning him to lean in and kiss her.

It almost seemed wrong that they hadn’t done it already. After all, it was their thing.

So as Sloane settled in on the seat beside him, Will decided to be bold. He leaned over and cupped her cheek in his hand and couldn’t help but smile when she just as easily leaned into him. And then…damn. He’d kissed her close to a dozen times and yet this time it hit him like it never had before. Maybe it was because he could actually touch her and she was closer than she had ever been. Or maybe it was because they were alone. Either way, it didn’t matter because as soon as her tongue touched his, he was lost.

Her lips were so damn soft, and the way she sighed and melted against him had him cursing the fact that they were in his truck in a public parking lot. Over and over, he slanted his lips over hers, and they each kept inching closer and closer to each other. And when he felt those lush curves pressed up against him, he knew he was in trouble and needed to bring things to a halt.

Lifting his head, he was pleased that she was just as dazed as he was. Smiling, his thumb caressed her cheek. He leaned in and rested his forehead against hers. “It just seemed like that’s our thing and I couldn’t wait any longer. Sorry. I probably should have asked first.”

And there was that blush that he was really starting to love. “It’s okay. I was kind of hoping you’d do that.” She paused. “Actually, I had been trying to figure out how to do it without appearing to be too forward.”

Will lifted his head and looked at her. Was she for real? It was almost as if she were too good to be true! “Sloane, any time you want to kiss me, you don’t have to ask. I will gladly oblige.”

She smiled and…wow.

He forced himself to settle back behind the steering wheel and started the truck. “So, you’re not from around here,” he began. “Would you like to see the town first, or are you up for just driving around aimlessly?”

“Um…I’m kind of familiar with the town already from all my trips here. It’s changed a lot over the last several years, though. Is there any place in particular that you’d like to go and see?”

Will shrugged. “Not really. There are some beautiful country roads, but once you get out of the town limits, it’s just a lot of trees. You know, forests and mountains.”

“Where were you going to drive to?”

“Honestly? I was heading to Richmond.”

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