Page 62 of Knox
Wanted to kiss her again.Nice. Safe.His eyes went to her lips, roamed back to her gaze for permission.
But she caught her lip between her teeth. “Knox. I…” She touched his chest, right on his too-fast beating heart, then pushed. “I’m sorry. This was a mistake.”
He rolled away, back, not sure what to do when she sat up.
Then, with what looked like a wretched look on her face, she scrambled off the truck and fled for the saloon.
Tate was going to be a problem. A big one, if Glo let the man’s charm any further inside.
Shoot, the man had moves. And yes, she should have figured that out when he’d all but thrown the gauntlet down back in Texas, challenging her to not let him under her skin, in response to her own challenge,We’ll see if you’re as good as you say.
Apparently, he was.
Because she stood in the bathroom, staring at herself in the mirror, pretty sure if she went back out to the dance floor she’d let the man kiss her.
If she didn’t lay one on him first.
Way to go, Glo, fall for the bad boy.No, she wasn’t falling for Tate. Just a little woozy from his charm, maybe the Killian’s Irish Red she’d consumed, and the power of being in his arms.
His amazing, muscled, bodyguard-thick arms. And it wasn’t just the dancing either, which was particularly amazing because he sort of bent and pulled her close, but the two-stepping too.
The man had moves. He spun her fast, pulled her close, twirled her back out, twisted them into a pretzel, his blue eyes catching hers, then unwound them and caught her, his strong arm behind her back, all the while keeping them in perfect step.
Was there nothing the man couldn’t do?
Never mind his cutthroat abilities at gin rummy. And he hadn’t lied about the stupid baby goats. Painfully cute, especially when he caught one and held it in his arms for her to pet.
He’d shown her around the ranch, told her about his brothers, his sister, Ruby Jane, and even the foster girl, Coco, whom her parents helped raise, so much love in his voice for his family, it could make a girl like her, with sharp fragments that comprised the word family, believe in the impossible.
It would help if he wasn’t downright hot. Short dark brown hair under a baseball cap, the smattering of brown whiskers on his chin, dressed to kill tonight in a royal blue button-down, the sleeves rolled up, a pair of ripped and faded blue jeans sneaking a peek of knee, and cowboy boots to round out the Montana bad boy aura.
How about a dance, Glo?She’d practically leapt from her chair.
Get a hold of yourself, Glo. Because Tate was the exact opposite of the person she was supposed to fall for.
Which probably made him all that more enticing.
Except for the fact that something lingered behind Tate’s eyes. Something haunted and hidden, something that came out only when he talked about his brothers.
She recognized the look of shame and couldn’t chase it.
Not if she really didn’t want him to get into her heart. Because then she’d try to fix it, and…start really caring.
And then it would come to her telling him aboutherpast, and nobody really wanted to open that can of darkness.
So, she was hiding in the bathroom, trying to pour water on the flames stupid Tate had stirred to life inside her when Kelsey came barreling in.
Crying?
“What the—” Glo grabbed her by the hand and pulled her into the roomy handicapped stall, closed the door behind them.
Took her friend by the shoulders and pulled her tight. “Shh. What’s the matter? Was it Knox?” She pushed Kelsey away from her, met her eyes. “What did he do? I’ll kill him—I’ll have Tate kill him—”
Kelsey put her hand to her mouth, shook her head. “No—he’s…” She closed her eyes and ran her fingers over her cheeks, catching the escaping tears. Drew in a breath before she opened her eyes again. “He’s amazing. I think…I think I love him.”
Oh. Uh. Glo just blinked at her.
“It’s horrible.” Kelsey pressed her hand to her mouth, her eyes wide. “He kissed me, and it was amazing, then… Oh, Glo, it was Danny Mueller all over again! I just…freaked out. Iranaway from him. Like…”