Page 6 of Fern's Date with Destiny
He huffed a laugh, low and rueful.“Yeah.”
Silence settled between them, not heavy, but not light either.It lingered in her ribs, in the stubborn way her pulse tapped out a Morse code message she refused to translate.
“Look at us.Both here being painfully responsible,” she said, nudging him lightly with her shoulder.“How about I’ll double-check the back door then leave out the front.You can go try to move Chance, but we both know he’s not leaving tonight.”
A grin tugged at his lips.“True, he’s not.”
For a heartbeat, the air between them buzzed with something unspoken.Cody’s gaze dropped to her mouth, then back to her eyes, like he might say something reckless.
Fern cleared her throat and lifted her chin.“I’m really glad that we’re friends,” she said firmly before he could tempt her common sense away.
A crooked smile tugged at his lips.He tilted his head, conceding.“Friends.”
She gave him a mock salute, stepping back before she could change her mind.“Now, go shoo Chance off his stool.”
His fingers brushed her arm.Brief, warm, and enough to scatter every plan she’d just reinforced like startled birds.
Then he was gone, boots thudding softly up the stairs.Fern stayed where she was for one breath, two, hand pressed over her chest.
Destiny needed to lay off and wait.
Cody dealtwith his brother then headed home to the ranch.He stepped into the warm prairie night and immediately wanted to punch the nearest fence post.
Smooth, Gabrielle.Real smooth.Blurting out he’d broken things off with his “East Coast sweetie” like a lovesick teenager fishing for a reaction.Agreeing—again very foolishly—to Fern’s easyfriendsdeclaration before he’d even figured out what he wanted.
Not that wanting anything with Fern Fields was smart.Or fair.She was bright, ambitious, and so,soyoung.On top of that, with the thing developing between Chance and Rose, did he have a right to do anything that might mess up his brother’s hopes for a future?
No.Time to lay off and be grateful for the reminder of being friends only.
Still.Her laugh stuck like opportunistic burrs, teasing him at all moments of the day and night.The worst part?He liked the repetitive prodding.Far too much.
A week before the grand opening, anticipation buzzed through the gallery louder than a hornet’s nest.Chance was all but living there, high on paint fumes and love.Whatever had gone down with Rose a day or two earlier had put a permanent grin on Cody’s brother’s face, but Chance’s brain was still a jumbled mess.
Which meant Cody spent half his time keeping things rolling at Red Boot ranch, half playing gopher between the ranch and the gallery, and all of it trying not to think about the curve of Fern Fields’s grin when she teased him.
Late on the seventeenth, only nights before the opening, Cody packed up the box of expensive equipment Chance had left at the ranch for safe keeping and hauled it back into town, grumbling under his breath the whole way.
The gallery was locked for the night, but the lights upstairs were still burning.He knew who that meant.
He found her exactly where he expected, in the interactive studio.What he didn’t expect was to find her tussling with a wheeled display cabinet almost her size.She wore cut-offs and a soft blue tank top, curly hair loose and natural.
She looked like trouble wrapped in summer.
“Hold up there, Hercules,” he called.“You planning to move that alone?”
Fern jumped.“Cody!You scared the hell out of me.”
He made his way to her side.“You’re going to break your pretty neck if you tip that thing.”
She stuck out her tongue before turning on the charm.“It needs to be moved for tomorrow’s soft opening.I thought I could muscle it around.But now that you’re here, you can do it for me.”
He sighed dramatically.“Step aside, bossypants.”
They got the cabinet rolling easy enough until it snagged on a loose loop of extension cord near the VR corner.Fern bent to shove while Cody braced the far end.She gave one good push, lost her footing, and toppled against him.
Vanilla and lavender danced off her skin, filling his head with really bad ideas.If he followed up on his instincts, he’d do something truly unwise right this second.
He looked down.She looked up.Her lips parted.
