Page 35 of A Cowboy's Trust
After a few minutes of comfortable silence, the house started to come to life as the rest of the family filtered in. It was the usual chaos—Aiden discussed the ranch chores planned for the day with Don and Tony. Declan tried to coax Jinx into eating more than just toast and peanut butter. Petra and Kevin debated about the layout for the next artists’ event. And then, as quickly as it began, everyone else was gone, off to tackle the day.
As Tansy rinsed her coffee mug, Jake lingered in the kitchen, watching her with an amused glint in his eye.
“So.” He settled a hip on the table. “Remember what I said about taking you out for a real date?”
Tansy raised a brow. “As opposed to a fake date?”
Jake shrugged. “I don’t want you to miss out on the benefits of planning. I want to put my skills to the test and show you how amazing a real, thought-out date can be.”
A snort escaped, and she shook her head. “We’re supposed to be working on your spontaneity. You have no idea how wonderful go-with-the-flow can be.”
“I’ll get there,” he said, lowering his voice as he stepped closer. “But that’s why I think you’ll be surprised. A little planning can go a long way.”
A terrible thought slipped in. “How much planning, Jake? Please tell me you’re not one ofthoseguys.”
A crease formed between his eyes. “Which guys?”
Tansy held up a hand, lifting a finger with each comment. “Accidental arm bump. Fingers touch. Holding hands. Hand caress over cheek. Curl hand around back of neck and stare into eyes, then kiss.”
If anything, he looked more confused.
She lifted her other hand. “After kissing, hands over body. Move to torso—linger if you’re a breast man, but otherwise head south rapidly. The occasional shiny unicorn will repeat the same path with mouth. Progress to penetration as quickly as possible.”
She stood with both hands in the air, fingers spread wide.
Shock and outrage battled on Jake’s face. “What the fuck was that?” he demanded.
“The steps to get from random meetup to sex.”
Horror won over all the other emotions flitting over his expression. “Guysdothat?”
A snort escaped her, and she folded her arms over her chest. “They shake it up a little, but yeah. I mean, I get it. Foreplay is a thing some people don’t seem to need.”
“Sex is not a checklist.”
“My point exactly, which is why I always baled on any date that started feeling like sex by the numbers. Which is to reassure you thatI’mnot here with an agenda or expectations. If it’ll help you learn important life lessons, kiss me out of the blue.” Her lips twitched, but she kept a blank expression. “And then show me that day’s page in your planner so I can check it doesn’t say ‘Kiss Tansy.’”
He laughed. “So much for getting points for my colouring page.”
Too funny.
“No, Tansy. I’m not one of those guys.” Jake offered his best smolder. “Sex is one area where I can guarantee that I’m very spontaneous.”
The shiver that took her was delicious and dangerous.
“Time to get back on track.” Tansy crossed her arms, feeling the spark of a challenge. “Fine. You get to plan one date, but I’llplanone as well, whatever that means. Then we’ll vote to see which one was better.”
He raised a brow. “Oh, it’s a competition now?”
“Everything is a competition,” she replied with a smirk. “Besides, I do want to see what you think constitutes a ‘real’ date. Considering we already went out for dinner.”
Jake grinned, his eyes glinting with mischief. “All right. I’ll take that challenge.” He paused, tilting his head. “But since I need time to plan, why don’t you go first? How about tonight or tomorrow?”
Tansy considered for a moment, scrambling for ideas. She could wing this. No problem. “Fine. Tomorrow right after lunch,” she said without blinking. “Pack a swimsuit.”
His eyebrows shot up. “You’re not about to chop a hole in the ice of the nearest frozen lake, are you?”
She laughed. “Trust me, it’ll be fun. You’re not a stick-in-the-mud, right?”
