When he drew back, he flashed me the sexiest smile I’d ever seen. I was positive my heart was going to beat right on out of my chest.
“How do you do that?” I asked. My voice sounded breathy.
“Do what, darlin’?”
“You do something so simple and I turn to mush. Literally. My mind goes blank and my body acts like I’m fifteen again.”
He slowly ran his tongue over his lips, and I was gone.
So. Gone.
He shut the door and he never did answer my question, which oddly enough, turned me on even more.
“Get a hold of yourself, Amelia Parker. This is not your first rodeo,” I whispered while watching Wade round the front of his truck. And I swore he was talking to himself.
Once he got in, I took a deep breath. “So, where are we going?”
“I thought we would grab some dinner.”
“Sounds like a plan. I’m starving.”
He started up his truck and headed down the long driveway. We quickly fell into easy banter about work.
“So, how do you come up with all your stories?”
I smiled. “I’ve always loved telling stories. My mother said from the time I could form sentences I was telling her about my dreams.”
Wade chuckled. “Do you only write romance?”
“No, I’ve written a few historical novels. I love historical romance. It’s my favorite genre. Honestly, anything romance-related is my favorite to read and write.”
“No paranormal?”
With a chuckle, I replied, “Some. Romance is it for me, and how do you even know paranormal is a genre?”
“I have my ways. Why is romance it for you?”
I shrugged. “I kind of lost my dreams of ever finding my Prince Charming, so I write about someone else finding theirs. It’s why I make my heroes so swoon-worthy.”
“Swoon-worthy?” Wade asked.
“Yeah, you know he sweeps the heroine off her feet. Lets her know it’s okay to be saved every once in a while. That you don’t always have to be strong. You can lean on someone else and not have to feel weak.”
I felt the weight of his eyes staring at me.
“Guys feel that way, too, you know.”
My head jerked to look at him. “You want to swoon?”
He laughed. “No, that’s not what I meant. I mean, sometimes I don’t feel very strong. There are nights I lie in bed and wish I had someone to talk through what a fucked-up day I had, or how much I miss my parents and sisters. Someone to lean on when shit goes sideways, you know? I imagine love to be a two-way street. You’re both there for each other, not only when it’s good times, but bad, as well. I’ve never experienced that type of love before.”
I was breathless. Wade’s raw honesty hit me square in the chest. I’d never had a man be so open with me. I remembered what he had said about his ex, Caroline, and how she left him after his family died and he sold the ranch.
“I thought I found love once,” I said, my voice sounding sadder than it should. “He turned out to be a cheating bastard and what I thought was love was just me thinking we would be a good couple.”
Shaking my head, I added, “I’m glad I saw the truth before it was too late.”
“Sounds like we’ve both been burned by what we thought was love.”
I focused back on him. “Yeah, I guess so.”
Wade turned the truck down a road headed in the opposite direction of town.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
He grinned. “I told you, dinner.”
A lightness settled in my chest as I felt my cheeks burn from my wide smile. “I have a feeling we’re going on more of an adventure, Wade Adams. The only place this road leads is to the Hamilton family ranch and a make-out-slash-party-spot we all used to go to in high school.”
Wade laughed. “What happened to the Hamilton family ranch?” he asked, peeking over at me with raised eyebrows.
“Hasn’t had cattle on it in years. My father bought a good chunk of it after Mr. Hamilton took off with another woman and Mrs. Hamilton was left to run it. I went to school with the last Hamilton, Russ. He didn’t want to have anything to do with Oak Springs, the family ranch, nothing. After his father left, Russ hated everything that reminded him of his father. After high school, he told his mother to put it up for sale. She begged my father to buy it, but he couldn’t ever get her to come down on the price. Trevor said she was asking for way more than what it was worth. It’s been sitting on the market ever since. It’s kind of sad. It’s been in Mrs. Hamilton’s family for years. There have always been rumors the family women were cursed.”
“Wow. Why?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ll have to ask my mother about it. She grew up with Mrs. Hamilton.”