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“Stop. You don’t have to thank me for anything,” he insists. I have everything to thank him for. He has to see that. I don’t imagine this area gets a lot of traffic. If not for him and Riggs, we’d be standing at my gravesite. A flash of lightning brightens the sky behind him. The storm is getting closer. “Was that your stomach?”
“No, it was thunder,” I lie, a blush coloring my cheeks as I glance down. Dirt covers my brand-new white shoes. “I should’ve eaten lunch.” Glancing at my watch, I realize it’s already four. I had too much anxiety to eat before I left, but now my stomach is revolting.
“I have stuff to cook at my cabin,” he offers, but sensing my hesitation, he quickly suggests, “Or, I can take you to dinner? Either way, you’re getting something to eat.”
It’s not about the food, it’s him taking me to his house. I practically just threw myself at him. But he’s right, that was a momentary lapse of judgement caused by an emotional heart attack. This is silly, I can control myself around him. I’m not one of those man-eating women. With my clothes covered in dirt and having already fished rocks and sticks from my hair, I’d rather not embarrass him in public.
I brush my palm against my dirty shorts. “The cabin sounds great, if that’s all right. I’m a bit of a mess right now.”
“No, it’s perfect,” he says, reassuring me. “I just stocked up on groceries. Hope you like steak and potatoes.”
I stare at him for a few seconds, biting my lip. “I’m a vegetarian,” I deadpan.
His face contorts as if he ate a lemon before he manages to plaster a forged smile on his face. “Okay. I, ah, think I have stuff to make a salad.”
He shifts from foot to foot, and my laughter bubbles up. “I’m kidding. Texas girl here, through and through. Medium rare, and I’ll eat any type of potato that’s put in front of me.”
“Kalico, you are my type of person.”
Did he just give me a nickname? “Kalico?”
“It’s fitting. You’re cute and have nine lives.”
Cute? Like little sister cute? Friend cute? Cute is not the word for a girl you like, right? I tamper down the flutters in my belly. Don’t misread him, Kali. He just made it clear he wasn’t into you five minutes ago. He’s just being a nice guy. A friend.
He walks around the Jeep. “I’ve got pie too,” he says over his shoulder, and I freeze, wondering why his words give me pause. I blink as memories of the college guy who sent me a pie flood my mind. “Kali, what’s wrong?”
Light-brown eyes meet mine, and I draw comparisons between the two guys. No. It’s not him. There is no way. That guy had green eyes, was clean shaven, and he was a student—definitely younger. They both have a sexy smile. But that doesn’t make them the same person.
“Nothing… I just got lost in thought.” I wave him off. “What kind of pie?”
“Pecan, of course. Is there any other?”
I can think of at least five that’s better than pecan.
I playfully sigh as I shake my head. “Nobody can be perfect.”
CHAPTER 17
Kali
He didn’t capture my breath; he breathed life back into me.
And now, my heart is confused.
Leaning against the counter, I let my gaze wander up and down his silhouette while he peels potatoes. Though I offered to help, he insisted I sit back and relax. He glances over his broad shoulder, catching me staring, and responds with a curious lift of his dark brow.
“You’re going to spoil me,” I remark, never having had a man cook for me.
He shrugs and turns back around, replying, “You deserve to be spoiled.”
That’s incredibly sexy, adding another layer of confusion. My heart thuds against my ribs, shouting at me to take notice. I see, heart, I see.
But a guy like him, one who could have any woman, doesn’t want a small-town girl like me with a brand-new set of emotional baggage that weighs two tons. If he knew the real me, the one before he became my hero, I’d never be on his radar. Maybe if I told him I was a millionaire, he’d change his mind. I inwardly groan, dropping my head. Manipulation isn’t my style, and I’m not that person.
“Hey, where’d you go?”
I glance up to find him leaning against the counter, arms crossed, his eyes fixed on me. Self-doubt is another unattractive trait I know he wouldn’t appreciate in a woman, so I ease into a smile and shake my head. “Just a lot to think about.”
