Page 18 of A Cowboy's Trust
She was headed up the porch steps when she realized Jake was by her side. “You don’t have to walk me home.”
“Didn’t have to, no.” Jake shrugged. “Wanted to.”
Whatever. Tansy put a hand on the doorknob and got ready to make her way inside. “Well, thanks for coming with me. I’m glad you had a good time.”
“Thanks for inviting me.”
He swooped. It was the only word that came to mind. One minute he was standing on the top step, and the next he had her bent over his arm and was staring into her eyes as if she were a lady on a historical romance cover.
“There’s only one problem with spontaneity,” Jake said. “Consent. But then I realized you already gave me the go-ahead.”
He pulled her closer into him, and their lips connected.
Tansy had been thinking maybe she’d been slightly intoxicated on New Year’s Eve. Or maybe it had just been so long since she’d been kissed in a seriously hot way that she’d blownthe kissup to being better than reality.
Nope. Not her imagination. Not one bit.
He might have started in a rush, but the kiss immediately slowed. He teased his tongue along her upper lip, and the hand on her lower back pressed her even more tightly to him. An invitation to take the kiss deeper, more intimate. A lot of heat, a whole lot of lust, and right when she was ready to slide her fingers into his hair and hold them together for the rest of the night, he straightened.
Stepped back, breathing hard but with a smile on his lips. “Tansy.”
He dipped his chin then turned, and whistling, he made his way to his rooms under the art studio.
Tansy stood there in the open doorway, the snow falling and the heat of indoors brushing past her as she tried to reorientate herself.
Okey Dokey. She had not seen that one coming.
5
It might have taken a solid two by four to the head for Jake to come to his senses, but now that he had, moving forward would be that much easier. And potentially fun and life altering in all the right ways.
What a night. Score one for spontaneity. Although he was absolutely making a plan of attack going forward.
Jake hurried back to his apartment and removed his winter wear even as his brain tumbled together memories and the itch to accomplish new tasks.
First, there was an important matter he needed to deal with. Tansy had been more right than she’d ever know—God, he could not believe how hard it was to admit that even to himself.
He needed to deal with the letters that made his brain go into a spiral every time he saw them.
Which was often, because ever since the first one had arrived from his ex-wife, he hadn’t known what to do with them. Which meant he tucked them into the back of his journal and for the past three years, any time he had a moment to pause, they kicked his butt all over again.
Melissa would be thrilled to find out exactly how much she’d continued to mess with his brain.
No, that was unkind. She hadn’t done anything wrong. Truth was, she’d always been good at the card thing. Christmas cards, birthday cards. Even after they’d split up, she’d sent them at regular intervals.
But three years ago, when Declan’s wife had died, Melissa had sent an extra card, asking if he’d pass on her condolences to his brother. The entirety of the correspondence had been thoughtful. More than simplyThinking about you. Hope you’re doing okay.
Considerate good wishes. No one could complain about that, now, could they? So he’d responded.
It meant the next time a letter arrived from Melissa, he’d been a little more willing to open it, and when she started including little tidbits about where she was and what was going on in her life, it didn’t seem that strange.
He figured some people stalked their exes on social media and the rest of it. He never had, deliberately. But there was something about getting an actual letter he found impossible to simply throw away.
Every reminder of Melissa he had made him uncomfortable now that he’d begun to have feelings for Tansy.
Straight up, daydreaming about getting down and dirty with Tansy while he carried letters around from Melissa made him feel as if he were somehow cheating. Which was nonsense but still true.
Enough. He was finally ready to do theturn a new pagepart of the new year—almost three weeks too late, but so be it.
