Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
This was so embarrassing!
What had gotten into her? Rylee should have known better than to spring a visit on Tate. The last time she’d just shown up, he’d been more than a little grouchy. Yes, he’d warmed up to her, but it had been clear that he didn’t like surprises. Not in that way.
Tate liked control. He craved it.
And Rylee had been dumb enough to believe things had changed between them. Tate’s actions and the way he looked at her made her believe that she meant something more to him.
It had been a risk to just show up and see if he wanted to hang out.
Her face burned hot again as she stopped in front of the mirror and took in the effort she’d put forth just for him. She never wore makeup. At least not day-to-day. Roxy insisted she get dolled up for her parties, but that was done begrudgingly.
Here? Rylee felt more like herself, and part of that was not feeling the pressure of societal expectations.
She groaned and reached for the bottle of makeup remover.
That was the last time she’d let Hallie convince her to take the first step.
Tate wasn’t interested. He definitely didn’t seem the least bit interested in asking her to stay.
Another groan of embarrassment burst out of her and she shook her head as she tossed her washcloth to the side. No more making a fool of herself. This was the wake-up call she needed. Rylee had come to Rocky Ridge to find herself, not to lose herself to someone else.
She combed her fingers through her hair before picking out a pair of cozy pajamas. It had gotten colder on her walk back to her house. And when she’d glanced at the sky before entering the house, she wondered if Jason had been right after all.
If he was, then that meant it was the perfect evening for a book, hot chocolate, and building a fire in the fireplace. So that was what she would do.
Rylee ended up skipping the hot chocolate and changed it out for some herbal tea.
Her nerves were a mess and she couldn’t stop obsessing over the look on Tate’s face.
Disinterest? Nerves? No, he couldn’t have been nervous.
She’d been the one to surprise him. She’d been the one to put herself out there.
She squeezed her eyes shut as if it would help fight off the embarrassment that was quickly turning into the strangest form of heartburn. No more of those thoughts.
Tea. Book. Fire.
The second she settled into her seat and flipped the book open on her lap, lightning flickered outside her window.
Rylee startled and stared out the glass into the darkness.
A few seconds later, thunder rolled. She tightened her hold on the book and snuggled deeper into the cushions.
The storm reminded her of that first night when she’d been stuck in a house without power.
Thankfully, that wasn’t going to happen again.
Not after they’d figured everything out.
As hard as she tried to focus on the western romance in her hands, Rylee’s thoughts kept going to her real-life cowboy.
While she was definitely attracted to him, Tate was just a friend.
He’d made that clear enough. Why would she want to jeopardize that?
Doing so would only end up with one or both of them hurting.
When she realized she’d read the same paragraph three times without letting any of it sink in, she tossed the book aside and closed her eyes. Rain pelted the windows now, making the perfect form of white noise. Her eyes drooped.
There was one good thing that came out of this embarrassing evening. She hadn’t confessed her feelings outright. She hadn’t told him that she thought he was handsome and sweet. And he hadn’t outright turned her down.
Man, that would have been mortifying. Especially after the girls got her all worked up.
All Rylee had to do was keep her distance until the middle of next week and then she could pretend that awkward situation never happened. Hopefully Tate was denser than she’d made him out to be.
A knock on the door had her startling so much she yelped and pulled her blanket tighter around her.
Rylee peered across the room toward the door and waited for the knock to happen again.
The rain was really coming down now. And from the sound of it, the wind had picked up.
No one in their right mind would be out and about in this weather unless it was an emergency.
She sighed when nothing happened, but she wasn’t able to close her eyes again. Her focus flicked to the fire, and she wondered how hard it would be to put it out so she could go to bed.
Then another knock pounded on her door, this one like the person on the other side was slamming a fist against the wood. Rylee scrambled to her feet, her blanket wrapped around her. Then she headed toward the door, her nerves through the roof.
When she reached it, she peered through the peephole and gasped. Standing out on the porch, dripping wet, was Tate Dennison.
She yanked open the door. “Tate! What are you doing?”
He braced himself, each hand on either side of the door frame. His head hung low, and he lifted it only when she was done speaking. Rivulets of water dripped down the sides of his face, but it was the fire in his eyes that stole her breath.
Rylee blinked several times and nothing came. All she could manage was one word. “Tate?”
At first, he didn’t move. Then he dropped his hands to his sides and stepped back. “Do you mind if I come in?”
“Um, sure. Of course.” She nodded, then turned to watch him walk in, pressing the door shut behind her with a quiet click.
Tate paced in front of her.
Back and forth.
Back and forth.
He was breathing heavy as if he’d run the whole way here and based on how drenched he was, she wouldn’t have been surprised if he admitted to doing just that.
“Tate, are you okay?” she finally managed to ask when he didn’t speak right away.
He stopped short and she gasped again. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her. She wasn’t scared of him. And yet the way his frantic gaze continued to find hers made it impossible not to believe that something had happened. “Is it your brother? Sisters? What’s going on?”
Tate seemed to hesitate. Then that indecision slipped away and was replaced with a fierce determination. In three swift steps, he ate up the distance between them. Then he took her face in his hands.
His large palms were cool against her flush cheeks, stealing the heat from her body and giving it back doubled when his lips met hers. Sparks went off behind her closed eyelids and her body went stiff for a moment with that jolt of surprise.
Then all at once, her body melted. A quiet moan escaped her lips as she leaned into him. Her fingers curled into his wet shirt and she tugged him closer, allowing herself to get lost in him—get lost in this moment.
She’d had no idea how much she’d wanted him to kiss her, to take her like this. And now she didn’t want it to stop. His kiss was sweet, yet demanding at the same time. There was an edge of desperation in the way they explored one another. She’d thought she knew Tate.
From their childhood and the weeks leading up to this kiss, she’d expected that there would be no more surprises. And yet here she was, in his arms, learning secrets about the universe she never would have expected.
Tate pulled back first, breathless. His eyes were closed as he rested his forehead to hers. All she could hear was their breathing mingling together and the quiet pops from the fireplace. Everything else was silent and calm. Everything except her racing heart.
“You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do that,” Tate murmured, his voice gruff. He still didn’t open his eyes as he spoke. It was like he was too scared to name the feelings swirling in his heart.
She could relate. “Yeah?” Rylee whispered. “How about you tell me.”
He chuckled. It was a low rumble of a sound and it slipped past her defenses in a way that set off fireworks in her chest. “Since the town meeting.”
Rylee pulled back, shocked as she stared up at him. He finally opened his eyes, his chagrined smile far more adorable than it should have been at this moment. “What?”
He chuckled again, his hands dropping down her shoulders then sliding to her hands where he laced his fingers with hers. “I don’t think I was ready to admit it to myself then. Heck, there’s still a part of me that isn’t ready to admit it now.”
At that, she laughed. “Well, I think it’s safe to say the cat is out of the bag.”
He laughed right along with her before dropping one of her hands and tracing the edge of his thumb along her jaw. “You’re so beautiful.”
Rylee snorted, but the moment Tate’s brows furrowed, she swallowed back the sound and looked away.
“I’m not wearing any makeup.” It was the only excuse she could offer for her reaction.
That was the expectation for everyone in her social circles.
Women needed to look their best at any social event.
Up until recently, she’d never seen Roxy go without.
Tate caught her chin and turned her face so she was forced to look at him again.
“You don’t have to wear makeup for me to see just how stunning you are.
Every part of you…” Tate rolled his lips between his teeth and shook his head.
“Your laugh. Your smile. The way your eyes sparkle when you find something amusing and the fire within them when you’re mad.
Your beauty is more than just skin deep. ”
She wanted to laugh again, to tell him he was being ridiculous and everything he was saying sounded cheesy. But his whole demeanor was far too serious. She couldn’t laugh, not when he was looking at her like he wanted to devour her whole.
“Oh, well…” she blinked rapidly. “Thank you?”
“Is that a question?” One side of his mouth twitched, drawing her attention and putting all kinds of thoughts into her head that didn’t belong there.
Rylee shook her head, attempting to clear it.
“No. Thank you,” she said firmly this time.
Then she braced herself and looked up at him with far less confidence than she needed.
“Did you just come here to kiss me and give me compliments? Or…” Seriously, the way her heart rate shot up should have been concerning, right?
It was only made worse by his next words.
He dropped to that unbearably sexy register. “No, my intentions were far different.”
She frowned. “You… weren’t going to kiss me?”
Tate chuckled and his fingers caressed her face once more. “It took me two whole hours to convince myself to come over here and ask you out.”
Her eyes flared with surprise. Wasn’t that what she’d wanted to do when she’d gone to his place? Not necessarily ask him out, but to flirt a little and see where things could go?
The lines at the bridge of his nose deepened and the uncertainty came back into his eyes. Already she could sense him retreating, so her instincts kicked in and she reached up and linked her hands behind his neck.
Rylee tilted her head and did her best to keep her voice level as she murmured, “Then what are you waiting for?”
Those lines didn’t fade even as he searched her face. Then he shook his head and everything in her dropped as he whispered, “I don’t think I’m brave enough to give you a chance to turn me down.”
She frowned at that. So he wasn’t going to ask her out? Because he was scared? What kind of guy admits to something like that? Rylee drew breath to protest but he cut her off.
“We’re going on a date, don’t question that. It’s going to happen.”
Stunned, Rylee could only continue to stare at the man. Wait, what? They were going out on a date then? Her mind was a flurry of confusing thoughts, but everything faded to starlight when he captured her lips with his own and kissed her once more.
This one was shorter, sweeter, and everything she needed in that moment. Tate pulled back, a knowing curl to his mouth. “I should probably get going before I say something I might regret.”
“Are you sure?” Rylee winced at the desperation in her voice. She didn’t want him to leave yet. She gestured to the fireplace. “You could warm up. Dry off.”
He tossed a glance at the window where another flash of lightning brightened the landscape. “I’m just going to get wet again.”
She bit down on her lower lip. “Not if I drove you back.” Dang, she really was sounding desperate.
Tate’s eyes snagged on her mouth and he shook his head with a quiet groan. “Rylee, I really should get going. If I stay right now, it’d be too tempting to break away from being a gentleman. I might even have already sounded like a caveman.”
At that she flushed so hot, there was no denying she knew exactly what he was implying. She looked away. “I suppose I’ll see you later?”
He tipped her chin toward him with his pointer finger. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow night for our date.” Then with that and a quick kiss to her brow, Tate left. She stood, still in shock, for a good couple of minutes until it really sank in.
Rylee was going on a date with Tate Dennison tomorrow night.