Page 28 of Hooked
When she fell for him, he wanted her to fight it. Just a little. It would make the surrender all the more satisfying.
Hot.Mountain man hot. Bearded, chiseled, mountain man hot. Tayla eyed Jeremy from across the cab of his truck, which was as clean as she’d ever seen it. Jeremy looked like he could be in an outdoor-gear catalogue. She might not have wanted to climb boulders, but she definitely appreciated the definition rock climbing gave Jeremy’s shoulders.
I’d climb him.
He glanced at her and the corner of his mouth turned up. He’d caught her staring.
“You should look outside,” he said. “Enjoy the scenery. The wildflowers are incredible this year.”
“I’m enjoying the scenery.” Her eyes didn’t move from his profile.
Jeremy chuckled. “I love it.”
“You like when I stare at you?”
“You play the best games without playing any games.”
Tayla burst into laughter. “You’re right. I make no secret of my purely superficial appreciation. You’re an incredibly handsome man.”
“Thank you. And you are a very beautiful woman.”
“Thank you. We definitely need to take pictures together.”
“Don’t you worry.” He glanced at her before his eyes turned back to the twisting road. “You’ll have plenty of Instagram-worthy moments.”
“It doesn’t bother you?”
“Your Instagram habit?” He shook his head. “Nope.”
“A lot of it is business.”
“I know. It’s smart.” He glanced at her backpack. “You pay for that?”
“Nope.” She picked it up with a smile. “Freebie from a company looking for placement.”
He nodded. “See? Smart. I know a perfect spot to take a picture of you with it.”
Tayla felt her dimple popping. “You’re kind of awesome.”
“Miss McKinnon”—he cut his eyes to the side—“I’m just straight awesome. No kind of.”
“So why did you wait so long to ask me out?”
“Good question.” He kept his eyes on the road and took a long time to answer. “Why didn’t you askmeout?”
Tayla nodded. “Fair.”
“But you asked first?”
“No, I’m not gonna cop out.” She cocked her head and thought about all the reasons she’d been keeping her distance from Jeremy Allen. “Because I’ve always known that I probably wasn’t staying in this town. And you’re not the flinging kind.”
“The flinging kind?” He looked over. “I’m not flingable?”
Tayla laughed. “Do you want to be flingable?”
Jeremy’s laugh was deep and full. “I don’t even know how to answer that.” He pulled the car over into a curve of the road and leaned toward her. “I don’t want to think about tomorrow. Or next month. I want to be with you right here and now.” His mouth was so close she could feel his breath on her cheek. “You with me?”
She looked him straight in his big brown eyes. “Yes.”
