Anyone would excuse her breathlessness as coming from his kisses, and in all honesty, that might be why she was sounding a little husky.
She realized as she finished that she’d felt a lot of excitement, but hardly any fear. How could she? This just felt like a dream. She whipped around to study Nash, to really see him. He grinned.
“You did great, songbird!”
Nash was very proud of himself. He was the reason she’d been able to let go. A rush of affection overcame her, and she squeezed his fingers entwined with hers. And before she could take it back, she agreed to their reckless plan. “Yes,” she breathed out.
“Yes what?” He turned the horse around to take them back to Mia waiting in the sidelines. She noticed that he was smirking.
She laughed in return. “You know what I’m talking about!”
“I just want to hear it from you.”
She bit down her smile as the older cowboy ran after them to take the microphone. As soon as he did, she nudged Nash. “I want to um… be with you more.” He was right. Mia was, too. Faking a relationship would help her gain some footing with her audience, and maybe that might help her find her confidence, just like she had tonight.
“I thought you’d never ask.” She heard the laughter behind his voice.
All pretend… never mind that she’d never felt anything more real in her life. But she could enjoy what they had. This was Nash—he’d make sure that she did.
She gulped. Maybe this was playing with fire.
As soon as they reached Mia, he climbed down from their horse. He turned to her, so that he could help her. As soon as his hands went to her hips to help guide her down, a bolt of awareness shot through her again.
Fireworks nothing! He was electrifying!
She’d always liked him. She could admit that now. Her initial doubts crept back as she remembered why she’d been so reluctant to be near him before. Certain heartbreak waited at the end of this. As soon as her heels met the dirt, she swung around to catch his self-assured grin. She grabbed his hand and pulled him closer. “We’re doing this, but with rules,” she said.
“Oh honey,”—he winked playfully—“why do you have to put up rules between us?”
“Youknowwhy.”
“Fine.” He played with her fingers. Clearly, he was enjoying their little game. “If you get to make rules, then I do, too. I’ll let you know what they are when I pick you up for our night out on the town.”