I’ve gotten away with a lot in my dating life, but know I won’t with Lauralee. Why do I find that so appealing? I don’t want to disappoint her.
My feet aren’t held to the fire, but my heart feels like it is. I’m starting to think I’m past falling and have already fallen. If my mom were here for me to confide in, which I used to be able to do whenever I needed her, she’d tell me the same. Then she’d tell me not to blow it because Lauralee is one of the good ones and worth making the effort.
“What made you say that, Baylor?” she asks because I’m an asshole for keeping her waiting.
“I was so close to saying something about you being a beauty queen, but I don’t want to.” Raising one hand to caress the side of her neck, I say, “I’m the luckiest guy because I was the one who got to be here when you walked through that door.”
No bullshit.
Just the God’s honest truth.
CHAPTER 19
Lauralee
He’s distractingin such a good way.
I practically fell off the float when I first saw him. Seeing Baylor back in a cowboy uniform has me rethinking why I’m at the festival instead of attacking him in bed. He looks good in his regular clothes, but the man always knew how to look beyond hot back in the day.He hasn’t forgotten.
His body is broader, and I swear he’s taller than yesterday. Impossible, but to me, he’s becoming larger than life. Could it be that my feelings for him are growing exponentially?Probably.That would be reasonable, but I don’t want to be sensible when it comes to us. I want to have a good time, and he’s giving me that repeatedly. I need to trust my gut for once. No time like the present.
It’s not only his appearance that has drawn me in. I’m a sucker for a guy who has the world at his feet. Strong, intelligent, successful, kind, and confident. He wears his heart on his sleeve only for me to see. Baylor’s done a damn fine job of revealing his to me, and it makes me a bit weak in the knees. It’s like a secret he’s dared to share only with me.
He’s still been walking around this festival like the hometown hero he is, soaking in the attention he’s been getting. I’m not surprised, though. The Greenes are original to the area, and every generation is more beloved than the previous. He, his brother, and Christine are carrying that torch. They’re almost like local celebrities—good and bad—everyone knows everything about them. It made it hard to sneak around when we were teens.
As for Baylor, it’s another reason we need to keep things on the quieter side. If he wanted to stop seeing me, everyone would know.God, that would be so humiliating.
Why even put myself in that position?
My heart starts racing, so I take a few steps away from the cart and the other employee to inhale a deep breath. Slowly, I exhale through my mouth and wipe the sweat from my hairline with the back of my hand.
It’s ridiculous that the consequences of a relationship ending gets me worked up and sweating. Will it ever change?Will I?I thought I’d worked through these issues. I guess my dad leaving unannounced caused damage that my mom’s love wasn’t enough to fill despite her best efforts.
But Baylor’s not my dad. I can’t make him pay for the aftermath. This is an opportunity to change things, and I’m taking it.
I look around, hoping to see him, though I don’t expect to. Getting stuck managing the line wasn’t in the plan, but I had to do what needed to be done. I wrap up at the cart, collecting the till proceeds for the day before night falls because it’s already overflowing. To say this has been good for business would be an understatement. The festival brings in enough money to cover months of rent. Adding the cart has almost doubled that.
I tuck the money inmy purse, and then loop the strap around my chest, letting it hang across my body as I wander through the fair, looking for Baylor, Christine, and the others. Seeing a friendly face working the hot dog cart, I ask him, “Have you seen the Greenes?”
He replies, “I sold the kids hot dogs by the arena about an hour ago.”
“Thanks.” I take off toward the rodeo arena, hoping to find them watching the show. I walk around, but it’s not crowded enough for me not to spot them quickly. Working my way back out, I cut through the back of the tents and start toward the fairgrounds.
Pulling out my phone, I text him:Where are you?
My hips are grabbed, and I’m spun around. “Right here, baby.” He kisses me. I forget the noise and the crowds, the fear I was worrying about not ten minutes earlier, and my concerns disappear.
Baylor and me, and our lips connected is all I need.
But reality has a way of sneaking in, and it does this time to ruin the good time. As much as I want to sink into the deeper end of where this is heading, I start worrying about others seeing us.
I lick my lips when we part, my eyes fluttering open to see this handsome devil smiling down at me under the wide brim of his cowboy hat. “That’s quite the greeting.”
“You’re quite the woman.”
“Well,” I state with a poke to his chest. “You’re lucky I realized it was you, or you’d be lying flat on the ground right now from a cross punch to that perfect face of yours.”
“Why does that turn me on?”
