Most of them had moved away, of course.
“Oh,” Sammy said. “Fun. Are you having dinner out?”
“Yes,” she said. “Probably Italian. But maybe we’ll be fancy and go to the Gold Valley Inn. I can always go for steak. So.”
As lies went, that was a pretty good one. Because she wasn’t being decisive, and she wouldn’t be likely to run into her family at either venue.
“Well, see you later.”
“Maybe,” Rose said. “I... If I end up having too much to drink I might crash at my friend’s house. You know. Because her parents live in town. So we can walk if we need to.”
“I can come get you,” Sammy said. “I’m constantly designated now.”
“No. It’s okay. I know that you might be tired. It’ll probably be late. And... Anyway. I might be out all night.”
Sammy stared at her. Rose realized that she had probably overextended herself. Just a step too far. But Sammy wasn’t going to call her on it. And after a couple seconds of staring, Rose fully realized that.
Sammy might not believe her, but Sammy was going to allow her to have her secret.
“Okay,” she said.
And now Rose also knew that she had to drive.
But if she drove, then her truck was going to be outside Logan’s.
But if she left her truck, then they would know that she should be here.
She gave Sammy a wave, and then ducked out of the house, making her way to her truck. Ultimately, she decided to park it behind one of the barns, and make her way on foot to Logan’s. Good thing she hadn’t brought wine and cheese, because she would have been laden down. And already, she was panting with exertion by the time she got there. She had very nearly run.
Maybe that wasn’t the best idea. To arrive at her potential lover’s cabin sweaty. Out of breath.
Right now, though, she felt like she was outrunning some of the reality that she had been smacked with upstairs while looking in her mirror.
Like the subject of waxing. And what he would be expecting to find beneath her underwear.
She could see his cabin, the lights on, the porch clean but barren of any kind of decor. The main house at Hope Springs Ranch was completely decked out. Wreaths and lights and Christmas bows. But then, most of that was Sammy’s doing.
Not that they didn’t do Christmas decor at the ranch. They did. And they had, from the very beginning, when their parents had died. Ryder had been determined that things wouldn’t fall apart more than they already had. He’d gotten a Christmas tree that had been too big for the living room. They had to cut the top off, and it had served as a mini tree that had sat on the kitchen table.
It had been ugly, gaudy and shiny as hell during the darkest time of their lives.
They had always made time for Christmas.
Logan never had. He’d always withdrawn during this time of year.
She would focus on his lack of Christmas decoration. Because it was easier than...well, just about anything else.
She swallowed hard and made her way up the steps to the house. Should she knock? She didn’t know.
She was still standing there, debating...well, everything, when the door opened.
Somehow, he was taller and broader than she remembered. Which was ridiculous, because she had just seen him a couple hours ago. Oh, and pretty much every day of her life.
And there was no way he had changed in the time since she’d last seen him. But maybe it was just because she was so aware of the fact that all that strength, all that height and breadth and muscle was going to be...
Touching her.
“Come on in,” he said, his voice gruff.
It was only that gruffness that gave her any indication that he felt something out of the ordinary.
So she came in.
She had been in his cabin any number of times, but right along with him feeling bigger than usual, it felt smaller.
Earlier today when he had initially made this offer, she had felt triumphant. Especially when she had been staring Pansy down, daring her to say something. Daring her to tell Rose that she didn’t know what she was doing.
He had walked her all around the booths like he was proud to be with her. And sure, there wasn’t anything particularly unusual about it given they were together all the time, but it had made her feel special in some way or another.
But wandering around town with spiced nuts and cider and feeling like she had won some kind of game was all fine and good with the barrier of the public and the outdoor air all around them. They were inside now. And they were alone.
She had been alone with Logan countless times. But this felt different. Heavy. Weighted. It didn’t take a genius to figure out why. And if anything scared her, really scared her, it was that. That it felt different now, when all they had done was kiss once. That it felt different now with just the promise of sex between them.
It made her wonder if it would always be different.
But if so, then there was nothing that could be done. It was already different.
And her heart was pounding so hard she was dizzy with it.
It wasn’t just that he looked larger. Taller. His face looked different. Harder. Like it was carved straight from granite. His mouth was held in a grim line. She was...mesmerized. By the glint in the blue that was so sharp she thought it might cut her. He was... He was a beautiful man. And she didn’t know how she had spent so many years with him and not seen it. Truly seen it.
His face was perfectly sculpted, square jaw, straight nose. Right now, it looked rough with stubble, and she found it fascinating. Compelling. Wondered what it would feel like beneath her fingertips.
She swallowed hard.
“You’re staring,” he said.
“Yeah,” she said. But it didn’t stop her from staring. Instead, she continued her visual
