Faithful (Whiskey Run 1)

I tilt my head to the side and really look at him. Up close, he looks tired and worn out, but he’s still smiling. “You look like you had a rough day.”

“Yeah, things didn’t go as planned.”

“We can reschedule,” I tell him. And even though I doubted going through with this meeting the whole day, I would admittedly be upset if he took me up on the offer to cancel it.

“No way. Unless you’re embarrassed to be sitting across from me right now.” He looks down at himself and slaps at his shirt as dust goes flying. He coughs and laughs. “Actually, I wouldn’t blame you if you were.”

I’m almost offended until I realize he doesn’t know anything about me. “I’m not embarrassed. There is nothing embarrassing about ranching. I was raised on a ranch, and I know the work that goes into it.”

He smiles and leans toward me. “That’s good, sweetheart. Because I’ve been looking forward to this all day.”

Another nickname. Honey yesterday, sweetheart today. But I still smile because just hearing it causes goosebumps on my arms. I clasp my hands together. “You were looking forward to going over numbers all day?”

He shakes his head. “No, I was looking forward to seeing you all day.” He reaches into his front pocket and takes out a piece of paper. He unfolds it and hands it to me. “It’s everything I need for the ranch. It has the amounts we normally pay, how much we need and how often. Can you match those prices?”

I scan the paper, and because I have a lot of the costs memorized I’m able to answer him with confidence. “These prices are higher than what we charge. We can beat those.”

“Great. You have my business then.”

“Just like that?”

He shrugs. “Just like that. Now we can have dinner.”

“Actually,” I interrupt him, “if that’s all the business we have to discuss, I can go and let you...”

“No way, Millie. I came prepared so we wouldn’t have to talk business. I want to get to know you.”

As soon as he says it, the server appears. “Sorry about that. We’re filling up fast. Have y’all decided what you want to have?”

Austin looks at me and darn it, that look he’s given me is causing me to feel all kinds of things. “I’ll take the Cobb salad with grilled chicken and dressing on the side. And a slice of your apple cinnamon Blaze cake.”

Austin’s smile gets even bigger when I order the cake, and I smile back. He orders a steak and potato before the server leaves with the promise to be back as soon as the food is ready.

“Now,” Austin says and leans across the table, “if I go wash my hands, are you going to be here when I get back?”

I nod, and he starts to scoot out of the booth. But he stops as he stands up, and I have to lift my head to look up at him. He leans in real close, and he may be dirty, but damn the man smells good. “Promise me. Promise you’ll be here when I get out, sugar.”

And I answer without even thinking about it. “I promise.”

He looks like he wants to kiss me. It would take each of us moving our faces two inches to make it happen, and I swear I can almost imagine exactly how his lips are going to feel on mine. I hold my breath, waiting. “I want to kiss you, Millie. But our first kiss is not going to happen with half the town watching. I’ll be right back.”

And with that bombshell, he raises up, winks, and walks toward the back of the restaurant. A few minutes later, I remember to breathe.

Austin

Sugar. So far that’s the winner. That’s the one that brings her smile full force and makes her eyes dilate. She liked it when I called her sugar, and I know I’m going to have to stop myself from calling her that twenty more times tonight just because I want to see her reaction.

I wash my hands quickly and go back to the booth. She’s sitting right where I left her, and when I sit down, I can’t resist. I lean over and pick up her hand that’s resting on the table. “I’m back.”

Startled, she tries to pull back, but I don’t let her go. “Can I hold your hand? It was either that or I was going to sit down next to you and put my arm around you. I figure you’d be more comfortable with this.”

She stops pulling, and her hand wraps around mine. Whether she realizes she did it or not, I take advantage and tighten my hold on her. “So how was your day?”

She is staring at our hands. Mine is engulfing her smaller one, and it brings out all kinds of protective thoughts inside my head. She stutters when she looks up at me. “Uh, it was fine. Busy. The store was busy.”