Page 95 of Tumbleweed Temptation
“I know we do, but not right now, okay?”
“Are you still going to the funeral with me tomorrow?” He didn't want to talk then, though. The timing didn't seem appropriate.
Her expression, which had been tense with the need to flee, softened. “Of course I am. I said I would.”
“Thanks for that,” he said, but he wanted to say so much more. But clearly, she wanted to go, and nothing he said was going to get through to her right now, he didn't think.
Okay, so really, he didn't know what he was going to say to her. He, who planned out everything, was going to wing it. What was he going to tell her, that she was his touchstone in this town? That she was the person he wanted to see first and last? How would she react to that? Her own emotions were so closed off. Even if he admitted all this to her, how would she react?
Okay, so he had tonight to think about it. Tomorrow, after the funeral, he would tell her.
Chapter Twenty-One
Austin came down thestairs of his apartment, tugging at the cuffs of his sleeves beneath his suit jacket. Ginny caught her breath. Even though this suit fit him terribly—had he bought it off the internet?—something about seeing him dressed so differently, so responsible-looking, was terribly sexy.
Way wrong thoughts to be having today.
“You don't have to go,” he told her. “This is going to be miserable. You don't have to put yourself through it.”
Oh, she knew. But she wasn't going to let him go through this alone. He still blamed himself for the baby’s death, and she was going to be by his side in case anyone made any accusations. He would swallow them, she knew, taking them as his due. She would fight back.
“It’s good. It’s fine. It’s a long drive.” The nearest funeral home was in Kimmel. Not for the first time, Ginny wondered why Broken Wheel and Kimmel didn't just merge. But Broken Wheel didn’t have much to offer the residents of Kimmel, while Kimmel had a lot to offer Broken Wheel.
“Maybe we can get an early dinner, late lunch? Depending how long it goes?”
“Maybe.” She would wait and see how the drive went before she committed. They hadn’t talked about the attraction between them, and that bugged her. Not that she really wanted to have it all out in the open, but tucking it away like it didn't mean anything irked her, too.
She wished she could read him better. She’d thought she was pretty good at that kind of thing. But with Austin, she was worried she was reading her own wishes into his actions.
Yes, she said it. Or, thought it. She wanted this to mean something. She wanted him to be falling in love with her, not just passing time with her. She would be pretty miserable if he wanted casual companionship.
He opened the door for her, and she had to admit having a bit of difficulty climbing in in her dress.
“I haven't been into Kimmel in years,” he said as he pulled out of his parking spot. “I didn’t see much when we went dancing the other night.”
“It’s changed a lot more than Broken Wheel,” she said. “They have an actual chain grocery store, and a few actual shops.”
