She curled toward him and he let her guide him to the mattress again, and when she laid her head on his chest, it was utterly natural to wrap his arms around her and hold her close.
They lay in the quiet stillness as the colours of sunset faded to darkness. The small overhead lights he’d turned on barely broke through the gathering night.
Their breathing synchronized, and though he ached, there was something spectacularly perfect about the nonsexual moment.
Comfort dates. Who knew?
The morning chaosin the Stone family ranch house made it easy to not go into details about how she’d spent her evening. But once the girls were off to school and breakfast dishes had been dealt with, Lisa knew she had to say something.
Although she wasn’t sure exactly how she was going to explain what she and Josiah were doing.
Tamara sat upright at the table, a cup of tea beside her and a stack of bills and paperwork in front of her.
“I thought you had an accountant taking care of that for you,” Lisa said.
“We do. She needs me to double check a couple of the files that are mixed up from Caleb’s creative accounting days.” Tamara tilted her head. “Did you have a nice day off?”
Oh boy. Here it came. “It was a very relaxing day, and interesting.” Tamara’s eyes widened, and Lisa laughed. “Oh my God, all of us have such similar expressions. I swear that’s exactly what Karen looked like the last time she wanted to kill me.”
“This is not my ‘I’m about to kill you’expression, though. It’s a ‘satisfy my curiosity quickly’expression. What on earth was so interesting?”
Lisa opened her mouth then closed it.
Tamara no longer looked amused. Concern slid in far too quickly. “Honey, what’s wrong? Because I don’t think I’ve ever seen you at a loss for words.”
“It’s nothing wrong. Not really. It’s just difficult to explain.” It had seemed simple enough last night, curled up against Josiah’s chest. Listening to his heartbeat as warmth tangled around them.
A session of screaming hot sex would’ve provided a certain kind of pleasure. A satisfaction that would’ve left her sleeping easy…yet unsettled at the same time.
What they’d shared had been so far out of her ballpark she wasn’t sure how to categorize it. Maybe as “cuddling,” and “comfort,” and “pretty amazing.”
She got the easy part out of the way first. “I went for a ride. Met Sonora Fallen and got the most amazing chocolate brownies. I think Ashton might have a crush on her.”
Tamara grinned. “I think you’re right. That would explain an awful lot.” She eyed Lisa. “Spill. What’s the real thing you’re trying to avoid telling me?”
“Josiah Ryder asked me out,” Lisa admitted. “I went to his place for supper last night. He made me meatloaf and macaroni and cheese, then we played kids’ games and chatted. It was a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to seeing him again.”
It was Tamara’s turn to open her mouth and then shut it. She pulled a face. “Huh.”
“Right?” Lisa settled in the chair beside her sister. “He said he didn’t ask me out before this because he assumed I was heading back to Rocky, and he didn’t want to start anything short-term and potentially cause problems.”
“But you’re leaving in a couple of months. This is starting something short-term, isn’t it?” Tamara shook her head. “Never mind that, it’s not important. I had no idea you were interested in Josiah.”
“Well, you haven’t been around the barns the few times I’ve bumped into him there. Trust me, you would’ve seen me flirting because I was interested. Iaminterested, but back up. What do you mean it’s not important this might be short-term?”
Tamara shrugged. “According to Caleb, Josiah is a diamond in the rough. He’s had a few steady girlfriends, but mostly he sees women who are short-term fun. I’ve never seen you with anybody for more than the same thing. I’m not about to try and run your life if the two of you want to spend time together.”
Which was pretty much the response Lisa had expected from her sister. “Yeah, but you’re awesome, and you don’t have hang-ups aboutthe proper way things are done. Josiah mentioned he’s worried Caleb won’t approve.”
“Oh.” Tamara wrinkled her nose. “Frankly, I think Caleb’s going to be more worried about you breaking his friend’s heart than anything else.”
“It’s not like that,” Lisa insisted. “I mean, we’re getting to know each other. That’s all.”
“I get it, and I’ll run interference for you with Caleb as best I can.” Tamara rested an elbow on the table, holding her head up as if she was running out of energy. “So. You had a good time?”
Lisa grinned. “I beat him at Operation. He’s as bad at the ankle bone connected to the knee bone as you were.”
Her sister rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe you got a grown man to play kids games with you on a date.”
