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Her arms tightened around his neck, and he held her closer to his chest, loving the feel of her full, soft breasts against his chest – and hoping that she wouldn’t have a problem with the very not soft part of him against her stomach.

“What happens after this?”

He shook his head slowly. “Whatever you want to happen.”

She held his gaze for a long moment, and it struck him that even if she wanted the same thing that he did, she probably wouldn’t come right out and say it.

He smiled. “How about I lay out some options?”

“Okay.”

“Well, we could do the same thing we did last night. I could take you back to the Remington place, we could go for a walk, I could kiss you good night, and we could make arrangements to see each other tomorrow.”

A rush of warmth filled his chest as she nodded. She was agreeing, but it looked like she was waiting to hear what other options might be on offer.

“Or…” He raised his eyebrows and let the moment draw out.

She laughed and slapped the back of his neck. “Don’t tease me, just say it. What are you thinking?”

He tightened his arms around her. “I think that you’re the one who’s teasing me, darlin’. But I’ll go ahead and say it. If you want, instead of me taking you back to Remington Ranch, I could bring you back to MacFarland Ranch.”

He held her gaze and waited. He couldn’t remember ever feeling like a girl’s response to his suggestion mattered as much as Everly’s did in this moment. He still remembered the first time he’d invited himself up to a girl’s room when he and Luke used to come in here to hookup when they weren’t much more than kids. He’d been so nervous at the time that his knees were shaking, but that was nothing compared to this. He was a kid back then, and although it seemed important in the moment, he already had a plan. If that girl had said no, he knew that he’d have more chances with the girls in the bar.

This – with Everly – his question was about so much more than whether she wanted to spend the night with him. And he knew that if she said no, he’d never meet another girl like her.

The silence dragged out for so long that his heart started to pound, and his mind started to race. If she said no…

“Okay.”

His heart thudded to a stop. “Okay?”

She nodded slowly. “I think so.”

“Then no.” Was he crazy?

Everly looked surprised, but not nearly as surprised as he felt. “No?”

He kissed her, needing to give himself a moment before he took it back, and marched her out of here before either of them could change their minds.

When he finally lifted his head, he nodded. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that I don’t want to. I think you know damn well that I do. But until you know damn well that you want to…”

“I do.” She said it so forcefully that there was no doubting her, but he had to check.

“A minute ago there, you said youthinkso.”

“I did, but that wasn’t about… My hesitation wasn’t about you.”

“What then?”

“That’s like … Going back to your place – yourhome.”

He smiled. “I know. It kind of surprises me too, but in a good way. I know I told you that I don’t take girls to the ranch but …”

“It’s not that – well, not just that. Oh, what the hell? I might as well just come out with it. What I mean is that if I come back with you tonight then … You know… Tomorrow morning…”

He chuckled. “Oh! Are you trying to tell me that you don’t want to have to do the walk of shame in front of my family?”

Her cheeks turned pink as she nodded.