“I realize that. But why would I want to trade a five-minute commute for a half-hour drive?” she asked, sitting back from the table to stare at him. “You could always move to Waco.”
He shrugged. “I have a lot more room at Twin Oaks than you have in your apartment. Besides, there’s one big advantage if you moved to the ranch.”
“And what would that be?” she asked, picking up her fork to spear one of the potato wedges on her plate.
“You would have help with the baby and wouldn’t have to worry about finding someone to babysit while you’re working,” he said, reaching for his beer.
“That would be great during the week, but what about the weekends? You’re normally competing in a rodeo somewhere out of state and even if it’s here in Texas, it would require that you find a place to stay for a night or two.” She shook her head. “The chances of me having weekends off if I worked at a hospital are extremely slim. Who would keep the baby then?”
“I’m pretty sure we can work it out,” he said, smiling. “But we’ve got plenty of time. It’s just one option to consider.”
They fell silent while they ate and by the time they finished, Jessie had pushed his suggestion to the back of her mind. He might think it was a viable solution, but she knew better. It was going to be a true test of her willpower living at the ranch for a month. There was no way she could be with him for over a year without falling victim to his charismatic charm again.
“I think I’ll check out what songs they have on the jukebox,” Nate said, rising from the table.
As she watched him walk across the small dance area, Jessie caught her lower lip between her teeth. Nate’s shoulders were impressively wide and filled out his chambray shirt to perfection. A shiver of longing slid up her spine when she thought about how it felt to be surrounded by all that masculinity as he made love to her.
If just watching him caused that kind of reaction, she was in serious trouble. How on earth was she going to resist his allure for the next month?
Lost in thought, she jumped when Nate walked up beside her and reached down to take her hand in his. “I think that’s our song, darlin’. Would you like to dance?”
Before she could protest, he pulled her to her feet and ushered her out onto the dance floor. “Nate, this isn’t a good idea.”
“Why? Are you too tired?” he asked, wrapping his arms around her.
“N-no.” It hadn’t even occurred to her to use the excuse he’d handed her.
“It’s just a dance, Jessie,” he whispered close to her ear.
With his body aligned fully with hers and his warm breath feathering over her sensitive skin, she couldn’t remember her own name, let alone come up with a good reason why they shouldn’t be dancing. But as his body moved against hers, Jessie gave in to the impulse to lean closer and the longing that rushed through her body was almost overwhelming.
As Nate moved them in time to the music, the feel of his rapidly hardening body sent a wave of heat coursing from the top of her head to the soles of her feet. Her knees wobbled and she had no choice but to cling to him to keep from melting into a puddle at his big, booted feet.
When the song ended, she drew on every ounce of strength she had left and pulled from his arms. “I—I must be more tired than I thought,” she lied as she faked a yawn. “We should probably leave.”
He stared down at her for a moment before he grinned. “Whatever you say, darlin’.”
They both knew she was fibbing, but to her relief, Nate didn’t call her on the ruse and after tossing money on the table for their dinner along with a generous tip, he placed his hand to the small of her back to guide her to the exit. Neither spoke as he helped her up into the truck and the ride back to his ranch was just as silent.
“Would you like to watch a movie?” he asked, when he parked the truck between his Mercedes sports car and her SUV in the three-car garage. He got out of the truck and came around to open the passenger door for her. “I noticed the newest Melissa McCarthy comedy is on pay-per-view.”
He knew the actress was one of her favorites and she was tempted, but on the ride home she realized that she really was tired. “Could we take a rain check on that? There’s a good chance I would fall asleep in the middle of it.”
“Sure,” he said, lifting her down from the truck seat. “We can watch it tomorrow night and I’ll get Rosemary to make us some popcorn.” As they walked into the house, he asked, “Or would you prefer to drive up to Stephenville for dinner and a movie?”