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He laughed. “I don’t remember even seeing you in the grocery store or at least not a time in particular when we discussed the level of moisture we needed.”
“That’s because I chickened out. And instead of casually running into you and starting a fascinating conversation that might eventually lead to you asking me out for coffee, I came around the corner too fast, accidentally rammed into your cart, then blurted out something about how I hoped your cows enjoyed all the snow we gotten. And then basically ran out of the grocery store. I left half a cart of groceries behind. I was too embarrassed to go back into the store just in case they knew it was me. Then I ended up shopping for groceries in Creedence for the next two months until I thought they’d forgotten about me, or until I’d convinced myself that no one thought enough about me to even remember something stupid that I’d done.”
“Now that you say it, I do remember you crashing your car into me at the store one time. I was trying to think of something cool to say, but then you ran off before I even had a chance.”
“What a pair we make.” She felt him stiffen. “Not that we’re a pair now. I didn’t mean that. I just meant that we both were so shy. But you don’t seem to be shy now.”
“Neither do you.”
“Oh, I still am.”
He drew back his head as he looked down at her. “Not like back then. You can totally talk to me now. You’ve saidhito me when I’ve seen you at church and at plenty of town functions. And we had some great conversations when we were helping Ford and Elizabeth paint her house.”
“Yeah, we did. And I loved that. But I think it was because I was focused on the painting and could chat away without having to look at you. You’re so ridiculously good-looking that I still get tongue-tied sometimes when I try to talk to you.”
“Unless it’s about books or what you’re reading. Like when we’re in our secret book club,” he said. “You always seem confident when you’re talking about books.”
A smile curved her lips. “I like that you think that about me.”
He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I like the things you think about me too.”
“I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if I had gotten the guts up to talk to you back then. Maybe we would have rescued a llama and eaten a bunch of cake much sooner.”
He laughed. “Or maybe we would have talked books, and both still been too shy to make a move on each other.” He ran his hand along her side and gently squeezed her ribcage. “Or you would have realized what a goofy dork I was, gotten over me, and gone on to marry some nice guy who would have given you all the things you want—the house, the kids, the white picket fence.”
She couldn’t help her wistful tone as she told him, “I do want it all—a husband, a house full of kids, a couple of dogs, Sunday dinners with the family, and all the grandparents in our lives. The white picket fence isn’t a deal breaker, but I’d still take it if it was part of the offer.”
She could feel Dodge tensing and shifting behind her.
Shoot. Why did she say all that? She’d gotten comfortable for a minute and just started blabbing away.
He let out a heavy sigh. “I guess we’d better get back to work. That camper isn’t going to fix itself.”
She turned her body to face him, trying to keep him from leaving the sofa. “Dodge. Wait. I dowantall those things, but I don’t have tohaveall those things. All I really wantis to spend time with you. And I will take whatever you can give me. Whether that is time spent here in the shop or in my bed at my house, or just a brush of your hand against mine when I run into you in the grocery store. As long as I know that you feelsomethingfor me, that’s enough.”
She watched his throat move as he swallowed, but the hardness was back in his eyes, and he pushed up to a sitting position. “Thatshouldn’tbe enough. You deserve more than that.”
She wanted to say something more, but it was too late. He had already climbed off the sofa and was reaching for his pants. “I think we can get the sanding finished tonight, and I was going to try to see if I could repair the floor.” He got dressed as he spoke and pulled his cowboy boots back on while Maisie looked around for her shorts, suddenly self-conscious of being naked in the middle of the shop.
What if one of his brothers had walked in? Or Duke?
She would have died of embarrassment. Although it would have been worth it. Anything was worth it—even these weird hot and cold mixed signals she got from Dodge—it was still worth it, just to be with him.
So, she’d find her clothes, and work by his side, and pretend he hadn’t just rocked her world and that no matter what he said, she would never have ‘gotten over him’.
And she didn’t think she ever would.
The next Tuesday night, Dodge pulled up in front of Maisie’s house. He had the book she’d loaned him and wanted to return it. Which he could have just as easily done at the library when she was at work. But he wanted to talk to her, and he didn’t think she’d want to have this conversation in front of her coworkers or the patrons of the library.
He’d texted to say he was going to drop by, so he wasn’t surprised to see her open the door as he walked up the steps. Or the beaming smile she wore, just for him.
Too bad he was about to wipe that beautiful smile away.
“Hey Dodge,” she said, stepping onto the porch to give him a hug.
He took it, the bastard that he was, because he wanted this one last moment of holding her to him, of feeling this sense of affection that he hadn’t felt from another woman in so long. He knew what it was, just had a hell of a time sayin’ it. But he knew she was in love with him.
And he was probably halfway in love with her too. Or maybe, more than halfway.
