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Cracking my eyelids open, I glanced her way. She didn’t look at me. She did nothing but stare out the front of the windshield, watching as a few people parked and began wandering toward the stadium on our left.

“Would you want to go meet some of my friends?” I hesitantly asked, trying to fill the awkward silence. “Joe and Kurt, Wyatt, the guys are pretty good dudes.” I’d over-explained after stepping across the boundary she’d laid down to keep me at arm’s length. Sometimes, I hated how extreme I could be, how easily I dove into something that I loved and cared about even if I kept most of that bottled up.

“Is this…” she began, her voice quiet. She remained staring forward as I clenched my hat tight between my fingers. “Is this a date?” Her voice cracked on the last word.

I knew it. “Look, Laura Marie would’ve given you a hard time and continued to try and flirt with me if I didn’t say that,” I tried to explain away. She suddenly whipped her head toward me, her eyes blazing with anger.

“That wasn’t an answer. Now, is this a date or not?” she snarled. But as she blinked rapidly, a tear slipped down her cheek. I was so confused by what she was feeling.

Was she mad? Was she upset? Was she scared? Was she jealous?

Had I also overstepped an entirely new boundary that I was unaware of? More than just the one she’d so confusingly set on the ride home from the cattle drive?

“Are you… mad at me?” I cautiously asked, and she slammed the back of her hand against her cheek, wiping the tear away.

“I didn’t want this kind of distraction, Cassidy,” she stated quite harshly. “I wanted to go out and get so lost in whatever was going on that I forgot about everything that bothered me. Which includes whatever I’m feeling about you!”

I was even more confused. That wasn’t exactly an answer to my question, though I hadn’t answered hers. I shut Laura Marie down. Wasn’t that the best choice in that scenario, even if I’d stated that it was a date without talking to Briar first? You know what, screw that. Screw letting her have the reins. All that had done was turn into five days of us not talking, and I didn’t want that.

I wanted her. Plain and simple.

“Yes,” I blurted out and shoved the hat back on my head.

She blinked rapidly, all frustration on her face washed clean with confusion. “Y…yes? She stammered.

“Yes, this is a date.” I turned the engine off and tugged the key out. Her eyes widened in shock. “Now, we are going to go out there, and you’re gonna meet some of my friends. You’re gonna drink however little or much you want while I’ll stay sober. We’re gonna dance, watch a bit of the rodeo, eat some greasy burgers and fries, and eventually, I’ll help you stumble back to the truck, and then I’ll drive us home. Then you can go back to avoiding me, and this time I’ll ignore that because I hate it.”

Spinning around, I threw open my door, jumped down, and slammed it closed. Once I made it to her side of the truck, I ripped it open in a fury, then reached out a hand and simply waited. Her eyes were nearly bugging out of her head as she slowly, oh so slowly turned to look at me.

“I get what I want, Goldie. You’re going to be no exception, no matter how long I have to wait,” I finished. There it was. My feelings out there, putting everything, absolutely everything out in the open. It had been before, but now she couldn’t deny it.

Never before had this much anxiety swum in my stomach, weighing heavy after telling a girl something like that. I also wasn’t normally the one doing the chasing, or the pursuing or waiting. This was all new and I doubted I was handling things right.

Especially as time dragged on and she still hadn’t moved. My hand still waited for hers, empty and cold as the orange sunset disappeared over the ridge. Cheering sounded from the bleachers, and the announcer’s voice filled the fairgrounds, signaling the start of the rodeo.

“Okay,” Briar finally whispered.

I blinked, surprised by the acknowledgment.

“Just for tonight,” she quickly added, louder and firmer than her ‘okay.’ But it was enough for me. A grin spread across my face, and she shook her head, finally placing her palm in mine. It was calloused and rough, not like the dainty girls who had always tried to keep up with this life I lived but couldn’t. No, it was evidence to the life I knew she lived.

She’d fit in just fine with my life. She was already fitting in just fine. “Come on, let’s go meet my friends,” I said.

Briar slid down from the cab of the truck, and my breath caught in my throat as her hair draped across her figure, flowing like a river of honey to the back of her knees. Mindlessly, my feet took me a step closer to her body as the door shut behind her, so quietly, I barely heard it. All I could focus on was the woman who stood before me, wanting so desperately to run my fingers through her hair—to get them tangled within her tresses.

“Woah,” I gushed, unable to stop myself from reaching out and brushing my palm down a few strands.

I barely noticed her cheeks turn red, but this time, there was no hat on her head to hide her reaction. Her fingers slid between mine, bashfully pulling my touch away from her hair, and she turned away from the truck. “Come on. The sooner we meet them, the sooner I get some dancing in,” she sweetly said and gently tugged at my hand.

Even if it was only for tonight, this woman was going to be wooed to the best of my abilities.

Mmmmm… I was one lucky man.

Chapter 18

BRIAR

He was unbelievably handsome. It could be the few drinks that I had in me, but there was no denying it, especially after his rather abrupt, forward, and demanding statement earlier. Where the strength to reinforce that this date was only for tonight came from, I had no idea, but now I was questioning my conviction with that.