Page 73 of Fixing to Be Mine

“It’s charming,” I say.

“A Valentine trait.” Colt winks.

I smile and offer him my sugary drink. He waggles his brow as I remove the lid so he can taste the whipped cream, drizzled with chocolate. Some is on the corner of his lips, and I reach over without thinking and wipe it away. I place my thumb in my mouth, tasting it.

“Should’ve licked it off, straight from the source.”

“Contemplated it,” I admit.

We drink and steal glances at each other. Colt eventually gets out of the truck, and I follow him to a weathered park bench that’s shaded by an overgrown tree. The sun filters through theleaves. Next to it is a painted sign that says,Thank you for shopping local.

Colt stretches out beside me, one ankle hooked over his knee, his mouth around the straw of his iced coffee, like it’s the best thing he’s tasted all week. He wraps his other arm around me, and I scoot in close to him as we people-watch. This shouldn’t feel romantic, but somehow, it does.

“Back at the shelter …” I say softly. “You read me well. That’s not easy to do.”

He glances at me, a small, knowing smile pulling at his kissable lips. “I disagree. But it is easier to tell when you’re nervous. Or holding something back.”

“Really?” I tilt my head, skeptical. “What’s my tell then? Since you seem to have me all figured out.”

He chuckles under his breath.

“Don’t laugh,” he warns, brushing his fingers lightly along my arm. “But I can feel it. It’s like a shift in the air. You carry your tension in the way you hold still. And your eyes? They give away everything you don’t say.”

I stare at him, stunned silent.

His gaze softens. “Like right now, you’re wondering how that’s even possible.”

My heart stutters. “You shouldn’t be able to read me like that.”

He shrugs, and it’s easy. “Guess these days, I can predict storms.”

My breath catches at the way he says it. Not just the word, but the way it carries meaning.

“You never cease to amaze me,” I tell him.

And then he leans in, his hand grazing my jaw as his mouth brushes mine.

It’s not demanding. Not rushed. Just a soft, certain press of lips that’s more like a promise than a question. Like he already knew I’d meet him there. And I do.

There’s no need to hide the way I feel. Not here. Not with him.

His lips move against mine with confidence, not demanding more than I’m ready to give, but offering everything if I want it.

I tilt my chin, opening my mouth wider to taste his tongue, deepening the kiss. His hand slides from my jaw to the back of my neck, fingers threading gently through my hair. There’s nothing rushed. It’s a slow burn that starts in my chest and melts outward.

I taste him, the sweetness of the coffee and something unmistakably him. A low sound escapes from the back of his throat, and I feel it vibrate against my skin. I shift closer until my fingers find the edge of his shirt and grip the fabric like I might float away if I don’t hold on to something.

When we finally pull apart, I’m breathless, not only from the kiss, but from everything behind it.

He rests his forehead against mine, his thumb still brushing lightly at the base of my neck.

“You have no idea what you do to me.” His voice is barely more than a whisper.

A smile ghosts across his lips as he kisses me again, quick and soft this time, like a punctuation mark at the end of a sentence that already said everything. The edges of my old life fade. This version of me—the one in cutoff shorts, having cowboy coffee dates—might be the one I want to keep.

We finish our drinks and toss the empty cups in the trash bin. He grabs my hand as we return to the truck, stealing glances. Being with him is uncomplicated, and I appreciate that more than he’ll ever know. He expects nothing, and that makes me want to give him everything.

The sun casts long golden streaks across the road as we drive home. It beats down so brutally that it makes the air above the highway shimmer. I rest my head back, eyes half lidded, my stomach full, and my heart doing this weird fluttering thing I don’t know how to control. Outside the window, the trees blur past in soft green streaks, and the sky stretches wide and open above us.

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