Page 22 of Hometown Cowboy
“Are you still seeing each other, or was it one night only?”
Darby glanced around to make sure that no one could hear what they were saying. Everyone seemed engrossed in their own conversations, Amy and her mother in particular intent on trying to tell the men what to do with the meat.
“Not just the one night,” she whispered.
Emma’s self-satisfied smile was all-encompassing. “I guess the dress did the trick.”
“Hey, Emma!” Max’s voice interrupted them. “Come here for a minute and try and tell these know-it-alls how to cook on a barbie.”
Emma squeezed Darby’s shoulder to let her know they would be talking about this later and walked over to where they all stood huddled around the barbecue, arguing about the best way to cook a steak.
*
The bathroom dooropening behind Ryan, reflected in the mirror, caught his attention. He’d only partially shut it, not clicked it all the way. His gut tightened into a hard knot when he saw who came through the door. It swung closed with aclickbehind her as Darby stepped into the room.
A surprised smile flickered across her mouth as she stopped in front of him. He smiled at her in the mirror.
“Ryan! I didn’t realise anyone was in here.” She held up her hands. “I need to wash my hands. They’re all sticky from the food I pinched.”
Ryan laughed. “That’ll teach you for stealing food before it’s ready.”
She moved forward and turned the tap on. Ryan stepped to the side, but only enough so she could reach. That way she had to lean against his side and he wasn’t above taking what he could get, even if it was a simple brush against his arm.
He turned slightly toward her as she finished up and dried her hands. “How long do you think lunch will be?”
Her gaze caught his in the mirror. “Maybe twenty minutes? They’re all still too busy arguing about the right way to cook a steak to be any sooner than that.” Her smile turned to a grin. “The grilled veggies are damned nice too.”
Trying to appear nonchalant, Ryan chuckled and watched carefully while she took her time putting the hand towel back on the hook, then patted at her hair.
“It looks great like that, but I must say I like it the normal way.”
A slight flush brightened her cheeks. “Thanks. Sometimes you just want something a little different, you know?”
He nodded, knowing she’d see. Her high ponytail of straightened hair lay heavy on her neck.
“It looks longer.”
She pulled it tighter and nodded. “It’s the straightening. Makes it way longer than it normally looks with all that volume.”
His gaze slid down her covered shoulders to her butt. The form-fitting summer dress highlighted every curve and hollow.
Dammit. It was getting warm in here.
He could just walk out.Should. It would be the right thing to do. But, as she had said just before, sometimes you wanted something that little bit different.
She stood so close he could feel her heat against his arm. He turned a little so that she stood half in front of him and leaned down. He breathed deep.
“You smell amazing.”
Darby sucked in a sharp, deep breath. “I, uh, thank you?”
Ryan smiled. “Then again, you always smell fantastic.”
He pressed his face against the curve of her neck and closed his eyes, breathing deep yet again. He could breathe her in for an eternity and be completely happy. Goosebumps erupted on the skin beneath his lips, triggering a noticeable shudder down her spine. Even a reaction as small as that one threatened to twist him inside out.
He couldn’t help himself. He glanced his lips over her neck, barely touching skin. This time the shudder was more noticeable.
“Do you like that?”