He chuckled when he saw her. “I liked the others better.”
“I’m sure you did.” He hadn’t gotten anything, so she grabbed two cans of cola out of the fridge and handed him one. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” He popped the top and took a drink. “My grandpa’s in the hospital.”
“Oh. I’m sorry. What’s wrong?”
“Pneumonia.”
“Is it serious?”
“Serious enough to put him in the hospital, I guess, but he’s not in the ICU or anything. He was sleeping comfortably, as far as I could tell, when I saw him.”
“That’s good.” She wanted to comfort him but didn’t know what to say.
“We’re not really that close.”
Maria didn’t know much about the Bays—only that their parents had died a while back and they lived with their grandfather. Both Jeff and his older brother were grown now. Still, to have the man who’d raised you sick and in the hospital had to be difficult.
“I’m sorry.”
“He disinherited me.”
She lurched forward. “What?”
“He wrote me out of his will. His big cattle ranch goes to my brother, Wayne. I get squat.”
How awful! “Oh, Jeff…”
“Now don’t give me a big pity party.” He took a drink of soda. “That’s not why I came over.”
“Okay. Then why did you?”
He shrugged. “I…I don’t know. I just wanted to see you.”
She shivered. His dark gaze cut into her, stripped her of everything—her clothes, her inhibition, her good sense. “You hardly know me.”
“I know. Weird, isn’t it? I just met you today, but I feel like I’ve always known you. Like I always want to know you.”
He felt it too? She smiled and her heartbeat quickened. She resisted the urge to go to him. “That’s sweet.”
He took another sip of cola and edged toward her. “Don’t you feel it too?”
God, yes. “I… Well…”
He reached toward her and stroked her cheek. Fire erupted in her loins.
“You’re so beautiful, Mia.”
“Th-Thank you. So are you.” So are you? Really? God, I’m an idiot.
“I want you.”
She swallowed the lump that appeared in her throat. “You what?”
“Want you. I want to make love to you, Mia.”
Her pulse stampeded. “You…”