What the hell was wrong with her? You didn’t just start running hands over a complete stranger’s body. At least, not while they were upright and conscious and not requiring emergency services.
This was not like her. Not at all.
Jessie took a deep breath and figured she was doing very well working her way through chapter five. Value the little things in life. He wasn’t exactly little... But she had no trouble appreciating him.
As she approached, blueberry muffin in hand, he moved the flowers onto a hip and rubbed his temple. More lines appeared at the corners of his mouth. But when he turned to her, his eyes lit up. Had she imagined it?
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah. I’m good.” He eyed the muffin. “Lunch or breakfast?”
“Bit of both. They make a mean carrot.”
He pulled a face as he picked up the flowers. “I’m a chocolate chip man, myself. Carrots are for horses.”
She had to admit, he had a point. Did she want him to think she was boring? “Well.” She hesitated and then went for it. “To be honest, their cupcakes are to die for.”
“Cupcakes?” His interest seemed genuine. And a bit intense.
“Yeah. My fave’s called Chocolate Express. Triple threat, that one.” Jessie shook her head. “Better than sex.”
Had she really just said that? The guy’s brows shot skyward. Thankfully, he laughed.
“Sounds too good to be true,” he said.
But he was more distracted than he appeared, because they walked right past Emergency without him even glancing at the people waiting to be seen. Which was strange, considering the interesting collection of clearly visible maladies.
“Chocolate is my go-to. The purer it is, the better,” he continued. “Must have been female in a past life.”
“It is my greatest sin,” Jessie admitted. “There is no issue that cannot be resolved with quality chocolate.”
As she took him down to the tunnel connecting to the Asper Center, she found herself neck deep in a discussion on the guilt-ridden merits of chocolate and cream cheese.
This guy knew his confections. “Has to be real cream cheese. Not that fake stuff. Ugh.”
“Oh, no way,” she agreed. “The fake stuff is gross as hell.”
His lips twitched, and Jessie was suddenly insecure that he’d think she was a hopeless glutton. Appreciation should only be taken so far when one’s waistline was at stake. “Of course, I only have those things as a special treat after a really badass day. They do have healthier options.”
His eyes traveled to the blueberry muffin, and he grimaced. “Hmm. What other muffins do they make?”
“Double-apple bran, carrot, and a really yummy cornmeal.”
“Okay, well, next time I’ll bring my horse,” he joked.
“You have a horse?”
“Yeah. I kinda train them. This is just my day job.”
Aha. Farm boy. Cowboy. Great ass. It all fit together. The little-girl romantic in her sighed in contentment.
“So cool. I used to ride when I was younger. I miss the horses now,” she admitted. It wasn’t a lie. The equines had accepted her for who she was. She never had to be snarky around them.
She could just be herself.
“Yeah. They are special critters, for sure,” he agreed.
It occurred to Jessie that she’d conducted this entire conversation with almost no hint of snark. She’d never yakked like this with anyone else. Mind you, grueling twelve-hour shifts, often without breaks, didn’t allow for social activity. And she was hardly Miss Congeniality at the best of times.
