Page 120 of Chasing Home
I nod, looking away from the computer screen to the window behind it. The original stable is directly across the road from where I sit, and as I stare at it, I feel a tug deep in my chest. My initial thought is that I miss Frost, even after being with her last night, but then I see my cowboy stroll out from inside, and suddenly, it makes sense.
He’s so goddamn handsome it should be illegal. I check him out shamelessly, struggling to comprehend how I like seeing a grown man in a cropped shirt and filthy jeans so much. The hard cut of his abs showing beneath the hem of his shirt has my mouth watering, remembering exactly how they feel against my fingertips.
His boots are hidden beneath the denim, but I’d recognize that specific shade of brown anywhere. I burn from my toes to the tips of my ears when I focus on the hat on his head.
“Love looks good on you,” Eliza notes.
Unable to look away from Johnny just yet as he lifts an arm to rub at his nape, exposing even more of that chest, I gulp, the lingering soreness between my legs more noticeable than it was when I woke this morning.
Shifting his hand from his nape to his forehead, he twists his torso and squints at the window. My window. His grin is dimpled on both cheeks when he spots me staring. I wave, and he blows a kiss back.
His attention shifts when Wade comes riding up beside him on Kip. My cheeks continue to feel warm as he plants his hands on his hips and nods along with whatever Wade’s telling him.
“He’s going to be looking in the windows for you all day now.”
I turn my head, taking in Eliza’s subtle smile. “I don’t think that would be a bad thing.”
“It certainly isn’t a hardship to have a man that good-looking watching for you,” she agrees, wiggling her brows.
“He is good-looking, right? Sometimes it’s hard to think around him because of it.”
“The first time I saw Wade, my jaw dropped, and I stared at him in complete silence for two minutes straight. He thought I was mute.”
I release a startled laugh. “You’re kidding.”
“I wish I was. I’d also love to say it never happened again, but that man has made me speechless too many times over the years to keep track of.”
“I’m sure you keep his ego from deflating too much.”
She winks. “Amongst other things.”
The innuendo is obvious. “Okay, none of that.”
“None of what?” she asks, feigning innocence.
I roll my lips to hide a smile. “Get back to work, Eliza.”
“Yes, boss,” she sings.
It’s hard to focus on sorting through the expenses from the past two weeks when my eyes keep straining up to the window every five seconds. I’m close to pulling the blinds and locking myself away when I attempt another peek for the millionth time.
Eliza doesn’t pick on me for it, but from her little snickers every few minutes, I know she’s begun to notice. I swear to God that woman notices everything.
I’m saved from my impending doom when my phone starts to ring. I swipe it up from the desk and answer it without looking at the name, too eager for something to distract me.
“Hey.”
“Hi, Aurora,” Wanda replies, her voice shocking me.
“Uh, hi.”
“Is now an okay time?”
Eliza pretends not to be listening in, and I nearly laugh. “As good as any.”
“Alright. Are you free this afternoon? Dad’s in town, and he wants to meet with us.”
The words make my stomach hurt and my chest feel like it’s caving in. I grip the edge of my desk and squeeze, inhaling through my nose.