Page 4 of Coming Home to My Cowboy
I lean towards her, expecting a story that demands retribution, but she shrugs and serves me a plate of pasta. “I guess if that’s what’s agreed on, it’s fine. But sometimes I would like a deeper connection, you know?”
“Sounds like you.” I take the plate, I take a slow bite, letting the warmth settle me. “I will head out once we finish eating. You must be tired from the drive. Better if you get some rest.”
She pauses mid-chew, then blushes as she swallows. She looks around the kitchen and the attached living room, then shifts on her feet repeatedly. I wait for her to tell me exactly what’s on her mind.
Layla’s an adult, even if that seems impossible based on the memories I have of her. Finally, she speaks, voice low. “I know that this is a safe place, Jace, but being here alone with half a mile to your ranch and this house being empty for so long …”
She wants me to stay.
And I should not want to stay for every logical reason I own.
But logic feels thin right now.
If she were anyone else, I would have walked out after dinner. If she were not my best friend’s daughter, I would not be fighting this quiet pull in the first place. I clear my throat, trying to build a little distance, trying to remind myself of all the lines that exist for a damn reason. Yet for once, I do not reach for the easy answer. I do not rush to tell her no. I just stand there, caught in that soft uncertainty she brings into the room.
Her blue eyes lift to mine with that warm, open way she has always had, and the look hits harder than I expect. There is trust there. Real trust. And something gentler, something that feels like invitation, even if she does not mean it that way. “I’d feel a lot safer if you stayed,” she says quietly, the honesty in her voice settling deeper than I am ready for.
The room feels warmer, the fire louder, the quiet between us alive in a way I have not felt in a very long time. I should step back, say something responsible and simple, remind her she is safe here without me hovering. But it is hard to think about distance when she looks at me like that, when she trusts me like that, when she says she feels safer with me here.
And the truth sits heavy and undeniable:
I do not want to leave her alone tonight.
Chapter 3 - Layla
For some reason, I expect him to say he has to get home. To his wife because why wouldn’t a gorgeous, capable man have a wife, even if he has some gray creeping into his temples. Or for him to make another excuse.
Instead, Jace takes another bite of food and nods once.
“You’ll stay?” I ask softly.
He nods his head again and I swear I spot a smile playing on the corner of his lips. “I’ll take the guest room.”
We finish dinner as I try to stop focusing on how he eats, the way his mouth moves, the subtle way his jaw tighten with every bite. The low hum he makes when he likes a bite. It is ridiculous, how something so ordinary can feel so distracting. So warm.
It’s driving me insane. I lick my bottom lip and squeeze my thighs together, almost embarrassed that I’m this wet after just having dinner with him.
Would he make the same sounds while kissing me … while touching me … what if his mouth wandered and …
He stands up and I drop my fork, staring up at him. He looks me over and my whole face burns.
I open my mouth as Jace heads to the front door. “I thought you were staying.”
“I just need to get some things from home. Settle in. I’ll be back quickly,” he answers. At whatever expression is on my face, his eyes soften. “I’ll be here before you know it, Layla.”
The way he says my name makes my core tighten. I’m almost happy he walks out since my body is way too hot and I feel like I’m going to moan if I breathe too deeply.
Then it dawns on me. I never saw his truck outside. Which means he walked here. In the snow. And he did it without a heavy coat, like the weather barely matters to him. The idea of him walking half a mile through the cold makes something flutter and tighten in my chest, and yet I am the one who feels overheated.
My nerves feel like they are wrapped in warm electricity, buzzing under my skin. I should be freezing, but instead I feel like I need a cold shower just to get back to normal.
Maybe I am coming down with something.
Or maybe this is just what happens when Jace is around.
Shaking my head, I head upstairs with my bags. I put them down in my old bedroom, unchanged from the time I was sixteen. I slowly undress, constantly glancing back at the door. I don’t know if I’m expecting to hear Jace come back even though it’s only been five minutes, or if I’m hoping he’ll be there watching.
Get a grip! It hasn’t even been three hours,I chasten myself.
