Page 39 of The Cowboy's Country Charm

“Lexi says you’re interested in her.” Her hands shifted to her hips. “That true?”

He didn’t remember saying something to Lexi, but leave it to his sister to insert herself, even when she wasn’t in the room. No sense lying. He nodded.

“Is she interested in you?” Her lips pursed, and her tone demanded an answer.

“I think so.” After that kiss, he’d say a resounding yes, but he didn’t want to get ahead of things.

“Youthinkso?”

“We’re in the getting-to-know-you phase.”

“How long does that take?” She folded her arms over her chest.

“I don’t know.” This wasn’t going as he’d hoped. Maybe he didn’t want to hear her opinion. “What I do know is that I’m approaching thirty years old and my relationships are my business, Ma.” And the fact he wasn’t marriage material, as much as he wanted to be.

She leaned against the counter. “Oh. I thought maybe you brought her in so you could get some input. Sorry if I misunderstood.”

He sighed. “I do want to know what you think. But maybe you should get to know her first before passing judgment?” Like he should have gotten to know her better before she met his mother.

“I’ll reserve judgment until then.” She pushed off the counter, as if ready to leave the room.

Clearly she had an opinion, and better to hear it now. “Okay. You win. What do you think of her?”

“Do you really want to know?”

“Yes. I really want to know.” He crossed his arms over his chest. They were in a stand-off before an opinion had even been given.

“She’s pretty, so I see the attraction. But she seems very work centered.”

“Lexi is her client, so I think she naturally was talking about her work.”

“I’m sure that’s it. But she didn’t seem all that interested in… well, she’s meeting your family for the first time. You’d think she’d have some questions for us.”

Now he’d heard everything. “She didn’t ask enough questions for you?”

“I just didn’t get the sense that she’s… as interested as I would have expected.”

“We’re having our first date tonight. If it wasn’t for her coming out here for the event, you wouldn’t have met her for a few months at least.” Or maybe never, at the rate this conversation was going.

“Well, I’m glad I did get a chance to meet her then. So I know what’s going on. I just don’t want you to get in too deep before you know that she’s as into you as you seem to be into her.”

Guess it was obvious. “Noted. And I’m not looking to get in too deep, so no need to worry.”

She took a step forward, stood on tippy-toes, grasped his face between her two hands, and pulled it toward her. His mother might be little, but she was strong. “If you say so. I just don’t want to see you hurt. I know what Tamara did to you.”

“That was a decade ago. I was a kid then. I’m a grown man now. I can handle my love life.”

She kissed his cheek and stepped back. “Just be careful.”

***

“I can’t believe you’re going out with him tonight. Finally.” Ariel, with a towel wrapped around her body, stood in the doorway to Kristy’s bedroom. She rubbed another towel over her wet hair as Kristy shimmied into a strappy pink sundress.

Ariel squinted. “What happened to change your mind?”

Kristy shrugged, trying desperately not to convey all that had happened and hoping she wouldn’t blush. The kissing, meeting his parents, holding hands. In an instant they’d become a couple. And she’d been so determined they’d be just friends. Her mind was still reeling from the prospect. The saving grace was that he didn’t want serious either. Something she needed to remember. “I decided you were right. I need to get out more.”

Ariel walked into the room and sat down on the edge of Kristy’s bed, mainly because several tops and pairs of jeans already occupied most of the bed space. Kristy had been trying on clothes since she’d gotten out of the shower. Her room wasn’t big, but it was more room than she’d had in the previous apartment, and yet she’d managed to fill it up with just a few pieces of white furniture and several stacks of clothes she’d yet to put away in the closet. She’d been telling herself that she wanted to get a closet organizer before putting clothes in it, but somehow she hadn’t found the time yet. She hadn’t even made the bed that morning, not that the old throw she used as a bedspread would have made the room look any better.

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