Page 69 of There's Pumpkin About You
Large hands hold me in place before I can move towards the table. I try and move anyway, but when I hear Gus groan, I freeze.
Hang on, there’s two hands on me. Two.
“Where’s your sling?” I ask.
The wince is still clear on his face. “I left it at the office.”
“But your shoulder and your arm aren’t healed yet, Gus.” I fret as I try to move Gus’s hand so he can lower his arm, but he is—as usual—as stubborn as an ox and refuses.
“Sweetheart,” he repeats and I huff like a child before looking up at him. One hand moves until it’s gently cupping my chin. “I know I’m anal about everything being in its place, but I can deal with a little mess for a few hours, you know. I’m not going to freak out… yet.”
He truly is a one-of-a-kind man—always honest no matter what. He’s trying to be gentle whilst being honest. A gentle giant.
“Would you like to talk about what happened?”
My head shakes before he even finishes his sentence. “I don’t want to.”
“Then I won’t force you.”
Without another word, he brushes past, stripping out of his clothes as if he’s just come from a long day at work.
“Wait.”
He pauses in the middle of lifting his shirt.
“I don’t want to go to bed just yet.”
He lowers his shirt. “Then what would you like to do instead?”
“I don’t know.” Frustrated, I begin pacing the length of my room, my energy so frantic that even Gus moves out of the way to take a seat on the bed. “I just have all of this pent-up energy. I can’t sleep whilst I’m like this.”
He’s watching me again, analyzing every move I make and assessing its meaning. Before, it used to intimidate me, but now I actually find it quite calming. It’s comforting to know that someone cares the way Gus does. He’s intense, sure, but that’s only because his level of care is so high that he will do anything and everything to ensure that those he loves are safe.
Not that he loves me.
Slapping a hand onto his thigh, he stands, towering over me. “Then get into the truck.”
“I’m sorry?”
He takes a step closer and the smell of pumpkins surrounds me, making me feel strangely at home. Funny how being in my own house doesn’t make me feel this way.
“We’re going for a drive. You can tell me what happened, and then…”
“And then what?” I ask.
He leans down, and the mischief in his eyes along with the devilry in his smirk sends my heart racing.
“Then the fun begins.”
ChapterThirty-One
WREN
Earlier Today
The longer I’ve been coming to Eaglewood and Goldleaf Farm, the longer I stay during the day. Yesterday, after helping Bash with the harvest, I met up with Jamie and Oakleigh and we spent some time in the barn imagining the potential for her party. Three of us laid on the newly laid barn floor, staring up and picturing hay bales, cocktails and black lace. Oh… and pumpkins, of course.
The thought of them is now permanently linked to brown eyes, matching hair and a headstrong personality. Gus takes over more and more of my thoughts each day and it scares me that a part of me actually wants to let him into my life in a way that supersedes business partners.
