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“Thank you, Beau,” she said. Their eyes met, and Beau leaned toward her. She did the same, meeting him for a sweet kiss over the console. His hand slid up her neck, lighting little fires in every cell he touched.
“You don’t say my name very often,” he whispered against her lips before kissing her again. He pulled back again. “I like it.”
She ducked her head and settled back into her own seat. Beau buckled his seatbelt, and she copied him, so they could go to dinner for his birthday. She didn’t want to be upset with him, especially not on the day he was turning forty.
“Did you talk to your mom this morning?”
He shook his head. “She hasn’t called yet.”
“So probably during dinner.”
He backed out of the parking stall. “I can talk to her and Dolly and Amy tomorrow.”
Charlotte looked over to him as he drove. “Do you miss your daddy?”
“Yeah.” He nodded, his face hard and stoic. “Yep. A lot today.”
“I’m sorry, cowboy.” She took his hand in hers and squeezed. “I’m glad I get to be here on your birthday.”
“I’ve had a lot of birthdays by myself lately,” he said. “So I’m real glad you’re here too.” He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it. The streets went by as he navigated them to the restaurant he’d chosen for his birthday dinner.
Charlotte’s thoughts needled at her, and she finally turned toward him again. “Beau, do you think I’ve changed since coming to the ranch?”
“Yeah,” he said easily. “Of course you have.”
“How?”
“You want me to tell you how you’ve changed?”
She sighed, irritated with herself. “I just got so mad so fast in there, and I hate that I did. I feel like I’ve been working on that, and I don’t know. Now I feel like I haven’t made any progress at all.”
“Everyone gets mad sometimes,” he said.
“Do they? What would it take for you to go from zero to sixty and lose your temper?”
“Reckless cowboys,” he said. Then he chuckled and shook his head. “Which is funny, because I’m pretty sure that was how I was viewed at one point.”
“You and Ben.” She grinned at him.
He pulled into Thompson House Kitchen & Bar, where they were eating that night. “Yeah.” He chuckled. “Me and Ben.”
“But you grew up.”
“That I did.” He found a parking spot and looked at her. “All the way to forty. I feel so old.”
Charlotte giggled, but she secretly liked that he was older than her. He dropped from the truck and came around to get her door.
Beau opened her door and took her hand in his as she slid out. “Little bird?”
“Yeah?”
He led her toward the entrance. “Do you want kids?”
Charlotte hadn’t been expecting the question, and a bolt of surprise shot through her. Her next step stumbled, and to Beau’s credit, he didn’t slow down or ask her if she was okay. He simply held her hand as she righted herself and waited.
“I’ve never really thought about it,” she said honestly. Inside the restaurant, music played and people talked, and it was a loud atmosphere.
Beau had a reservation, and they got shown to a quieter table against the window. He took his menu, and Charlotte took hers, but instead of looking at it, she said, “I’d like kids.”
