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“I thank you for taking care of me as well. Your life has been nothing but drama since I’ve been on the scene.”
“I’d rather a life full of drama with you in it, than a carefree life without you.”
“You say stuff that makes me swoon at times, James Wild.”
“Then I’m glad because you’ve dealt with some heavy shit for quite a while.”
“Yeah, at times I feel like I’m in your way.”
“Tricia, you are my way, and I’m delighted about that. A future without you would devastate me now.”
“Damn, James, stop it. I used to think Sawyer was the romantic lover in your family, but I believe that gene has been split evenly between you.” He chuckled.
“Nah, I can’t write love songs or serenade you like my little brother can.”
“I think you probably could if you tried, but you’re more of a physical badass.” He grinned wide.
“Macho man, huh?” he asked, wagging his brows.
“Now you just look corny,” I teased.
“So corny, I’ve arranged a day on the boat. You, me, a picnic, some wine, although not too much, drunken boat driving isn’t a great idea. I’m still learning the waterways around Sawyer’s place.”
“It sounds perfect.”
* * *
Waving goodbye to my dad brought tears to my eyes as we drove off his homestead and onto the open road. My father’s dream had come true when they’d moved from the eighty-acre plot we’d had in Ohio to the two hundred and forty-acre one he had in New Jersey.
A flashback came to mind of how boastful my mom had been about that, and how disappointed she was that she couldn’t show everyone back home their upgrade.
“Do you think your dad will stay here?” James asked, as we drove off my dad’s land.
“Yeah, I wasn’t surprised when you told me Marnie was staying. All three of them are outdoor people. I can see them selling their place and moving in permanently now mom has gone. Dad shouldn’t still be working, but he’s so proud and he desperately needs a hand, and from what Marnie had told me a while ago, Franco has already been spending a lot more time with him.”
James mulled my answer over and hummed. “I’m glad about that, because you don’t need anything else to worry about right now … and it’s time you began focusing on what makes you happy.”
“You make me happy,” I blurted without hesitation, and was rewarded with a sexy boyish grin.
“I hope so … I’m trying,” he replied, reaching over and clasping his fingers in mine. Drawing them toward him, he rested our hands on his muscular thigh. My gaze dropped to them and focused on how small my fingers looked in comparison to his strong protective ones.
“I’m up here, baby, stop staring at my junk.” I hadn’t been looking, but automatically glanced at the bulge in his jeans at his prompt before I looked back up at him.
“Is that what you think I was doing?”
“Can you put your hand on your heart and tell me you weren’t?” he asked playfully, with a raised eyebrow.
“If you must know I was comparing our hands,” I replied, sounding a tad indignant, even though I thought he’d been funny.
“And my junk … our hands and my junk,” he insisted, casting a sideward glance at me with a wicked smirk on his face.
“I wasn’t looking—until you mentioned it,” I said, chuckling.
“Ah, there you go, a confession. Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?” he asked, looking back through the windshield as the traffic ahead came to a halt.
“Pretty rigid from my angle, actually,” I teased, falling in line with his playful mood.
He turned and smirked at me. “Now there’s that sassy woman who drew me in. I can’t wait to get you on that boat. We’re going to christen at least one of those surfaces today.” A small thrill ran through me when I heard the raspy tone in his voice, and I chuckled again.
