Page 65 of The Cowgirl's Forever Love
His eyes flashed, and he held up a hand. “You’re right. I’ll be back.”
Josiah turned on his heel and left the room.
14
Josiah left the door to the bedroom open, so Lisa assumed he was coming back. She curled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them, laughing inside.
His unpredictability scored another point.
He jetted back into the room then slowed, as if he hadn’t been sprinting a moment earlier. “I forgot these.”
He held up two brightly wrapped packages. He closed the door firmly and locked it before marching to the bed and climbing on the mattress beside her.
The smaller of the two packages was offered to her. “It’s not from me. It’s from your sister. Some sort of thank-you for us being there the other day.”
Her curiosity kicked into high gear. “Instant proof Tamara’s feeling better, because a week ago she would’ve had to ask me to do the wrapping.” She picked up her box and held it by her ear as she shook it.
A low sliding rattle echoed back.
Josiah was unwrapping the other gift, a beautiful leather belt slipping from the box onto the mattress between them.
“That’s nice.” Lisa wiggled closer. “And observant. You could use an upgrade.”
She tugged on the end of the belt he wore. It wrapped far around his waist until it nearly reached his back.
Lisa glanced up at his face to discover his pretend smile was in place. “What’s wrong?”
Josiah blinked, then put his thoughts aside. “I’m picturing you wearing my belt and nothing else.”
A shiver of anticipation struck. “We can totally do that. We just won’t tell my sisters, okay?”
His smile was back. The real one that lit up his eyes as he mimed putting a key to his lips, locking it, then throwing the key over his shoulder.
Lisa scrambled at the wrapping paper on her present, watching his face. She’d let him get away with keeping his secret for the moment, but there was definitely something more to discover. “If Tamara gave me a wooden spoon, we know she’s going with a theme.”
“It’s too short to be a wooden spoon,” Josiah pointed out.
That was true. The box turned out to be a shiny metallic tin with a brightly coloured image of a mountain scene. “Pretty.”
Josiah took it from her fingers. “What’s inside? Chocolates? Tea?”
“Something decadent, I hope.”
He popped the lid off, and the tin slipped from his fingers. A rainbow of colourful condom wrappers showered onto the mattress.
Lisa couldn’t help it. She burst into laughter at the expression on Josiah’s face. “Oh my God, I’m going to kill her.”
“Do I even want to know?” Josiah asked.
He was picking up the condoms, putting them back into the tin two and three at a time. Lisa grabbed one, waving it in the air like a baton. “Long-standing joke. I might have given Tamara a box of these once upon a time.”
He reached for the one in her fingers, but she tucked it away with sleight-of-hand.
Josiah paused as she showed him empty palms. “Good trick. You Coleman girls are dangerous.”
Lisa glanced toward the corner of the room to make sure that Ollie was settled in place. “I’m sure a heroic Scotsman like yourself has no problem dealing with danger.”
His demeanor changed. Josiah put the tin down beside his present on the side table. “I don’t need to role-play tonight, and I don’t want to wait any longer. I want you, Lisa.”
