Page 20 of New in Town

Grey feels himself tense at the suggestion that someone else takes Maddie out. Brett doesn’t miss his change of posture either. “This means something to you,” Brett continues. “And I saw the way she was staring; I don’t think this is fake at all.” He says it like he’s an authority on the topic.

“Fake dates are what she wanted. It’s what I agreed to,” Grey huffs as they walk out to their trucks. He grabs a fresh T-shirt from his cab and throws it on.

“What do you want?”

“Doesn’t matter. And besides, this seems like shit I should be getting from Laurel. Not you.”

Brett laughs and holds his hands up to signal that he’s done. Adjusting his Stetson on his head once again, Grey nods towards where the women are sitting.

“Well, come meet her,” he says, leading the way over. He feels lighter when Maddie stands and smiles at him approaching. He’s noticed it a few times now, the way he automatically reacts to her.

Laurel stands to kiss Brett before turning to provide introductions. Grey watches as Brett shakes Maddie’s hand and wonders how they have suddenly become close enough that it’s like Laurel is introducing her best friend to Brett. He comes to stand beside Maddie as she is thanking Brett for trusting her with his animals. He doesn’t want to interrupt them, so he brushes the back of his hand along her arm in lieu of a hello.

Glancing down, he notices chills on her arm where he had just touched her. Maybe he isn’t the only one automatically reacting. She leans to her side so her whole body is brushing against him now and he works to resist the urge to reach out and put his arm around her. Laurel had just asked Maddie to stay for dinner, but they’re all looking towards him. What did he miss?

“What do you think, Grey? Dinner all together up at the main house? Can you join?” Laurel asks.

“Yes, absolutely. Stay, that would be great,” he rushes to reply. “If you want, I can show you around the ranch more before we eat?”

“I would love that,” Maddie smiles timidly. Damn if he isn’t a sucker for her shy glances.

“Perfect, then we’ll see you two later,” Laurel hums, taking Brett’s hand. They retreat up the hill to their home like that, hand in hand, leaving Grey and Maddie alone.

“I like them,” she says as he guides her to his truck.

“As far as family goes, I don’t think I could have gotten any luckier being pulled into one as this.” He can see the question in her eyes, but she doesn’t ask. “Hop in,” he says, opening the passenger door of his truck. “It’s not the motorcycle, but it’ll still have some nice views.”

She smiles at the mention of his bike and it’s the sweetest sight. Her full lips tilting up at the memory, and his mind carries him back to the feeling of her body pressed against his—her arms wrapped around him, holding on to him like he was her anchor.

“Where are we going?” she asks when he climbs into the driver’s seat.

“The ranch is just over five thousand acres, most of it can only be covered by horse or ATV. But there are some roads that branch out through the valley that we can hit,” he replies, stealing a glance at her. With Maddie in his passenger seat, the windows down, and a Brooks and Dunn song turned up, he’s not sure there’s a better way his afternoon could have gone.

She spends most of the drive with her face turned toward the window, and he spends most of it watching her. Her hair dancing in her ponytail as the wind passes through the truck, the way her eyes brighten when she spots some elk on the edge of the trees, the small smile that remains set on her lips, and he is nothing short of enchanted.

As they work their way around the east side of the fields, he notices the sky starting to darken at a rapid pace. He’s seen storms come in like this before and knows it will be here sooner than later. Glancing over at Maddie, he notices that she’s watching the clouds too—her soft smiles and wide eyes traded for hard lines of worry. He can see it etched on her face, he needs to get her out of the truck and away from the storm.

They still have a few hours before dinner at the farmhouse, so he turns the truck towards his cottage instead. “I’ll get us back before it storms. If it’s okay, we’ll ride out the storm at my place until it’s time to go to dinner.” He holds his breath, waiting for her to protest. Expecting her to point out that the deal was time spent in public only. But she simply nods, her body tense.

Her response has him aching to comfort her, to see her face soften and blushing at him once again. If she doesn’t have a problem with spending time together away from the public eye, maybe small physical touch would be alright. Cautiously, he reaches out and rests his hand on her forearm. She breaks her stare from the foreboding sky at his touch and blinks up at him.

“You’ll get us back in time?” she murmurs.

“I will.”

It’s close, but he doesn’t quite get them back in time. The downpour begins as he parks the truck, and they make a run for his front porch. Even in the few feet they had to cover, they’re soaked. Pippa greets them at the door and Maddie kneels to see her, some of the worry he saw in her eyes clearing with the affection from the puppy.

“I’ll get you something to change into,” he says, leading her through his home, Pippa bouncing ahead of them. As they enter his bedroom, he notices a charge in the air. His attraction to her has gone from nagging in the back of his mind, to front and center since their date last night.She’s not here for you, it’s not like that, he reminds himself.

Afraid to look at Maddie and make the feeling worse, he moves to the dresser and pulls out a sweatshirt. What does he give her for bottoms? He stops and looks up.

She is standing in the center of his room surveying the scene. He’s luckily not a messy guy, considering having her in his bedroom was the last thing he expected when he woke this morning. He turns and takes in the space, imaging it as she may be seeing it.

The dark green walls contrast his cognac leather headboard, and light oak floors. His down comforter is neat across the king size bed and the black nightstands match the dresser. He has an old brass lamp on one of the nightstands and a stack of books on the other. Besides the hoodie tossed on the bed after his morning coffee on the porch, it looks like a put together space.

“As far as bottoms go—” he starts, still unsure what to offer her.

Maddie reaches for the sweatshirt, flinching at the thunder that booms outside. “This is perfect, it’ll be long enough on me,” she replies.

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