“Positive.”
“Would you be upset if I told you I saw Danny throwing a coin into the Sweetheart Fountain the day we kissed by the Sweetheart Tree?”
She locked eyes with him and didn’t miss a beat. “I don’t care what Danny does. His life is his own.”
“Even if he’s wishing to get you back?”
She let go of his hand, reached up, and cupped his face in her palms. “Silly man,” she murmured. “I don’t want Danny Garza, I wantyou.” She said it with such conviction his heart skipped a beat.
“Jazzy?”
“Yes?”
Roan sucked in a deep breath and he would have kissed her if the timer hadn’t gone off and the moment vanished.
“Rugelach time!” She slipped out of her chair, away from him, pulled on her insulated gloves, and went for the lid lifter.
While she wasn’t quite skillful, she did a good job of removing the coal-laden lid and setting it aside. She hooked the lifter tool around the Dutch oven handle and moved it to the bricks. Anticipating her need, Roan handed her the long-handled spatula, and she flipped the rugelach from the oven back onto the baking sheet.
“Oh yay! They didn’t burn on the bottom,” shesaid, looking so excited by that small victory a swell of pride nearly strangled him.
After the cookies cooled, Jazzy scooped one up and bit into it. “Ooh sooo good. These are better than kismet cookies!”
“Shh,” Roan teased, putting a finger to his lips. “Don’t let anyone from Twilight hear you say that.”
“Seriously, try one.”
He nibbled a cookie. “You knocked it out of the park.”
“Now all that’s left is making this recipe my own and finding a second cookie recipe.”
They were alone. Trinity was with her grandmother. Roan’s ranch hands lived in a bunkhouse at the back of his four hundred-acre spread. There was no one else here. The fire crackled merrily in the pit, the breeze had a bracing nip in the air, bringing with it the smell of cedar. Horses nickered in the field. This was home. The place he felt most secure.
She leaned against the brick wall surrounding the firepit, her lithe body silhouetted in the gathering dusk, the dancing flames at her back. The look in her eyes was hypnotic. No doubt about it, she’d woven a spell over him.
Reaching out, he took her hand and pulled her close.
“Oh,” she said, sounding breathless again.
He was breathless too.
She peered into his eyes for a long moment, both of them holding their breaths. The evening was thick with possibilities. Trinity was gone forthe night. For the next twelve hours or so, he had zero responsibilities.
“You think we can have a holiday fling without getting hurt?” she murmured.
“I can if you can.”
“I don’t want to get hurt and I certainly don’t want to hurt you.” She gnawed her bottom lip and looked adorable.
“Ditto.” He searched her face.
She offered a faint smile. “So, no reservations?”
“You’re out of my league.”
She snorted. “Seriously, you thinkI’mout of your league? Man, they named a freaking Dutch oven after you. Who gets an honor like that?”
“You could have any guy you wanted, Jazzy. You’re young and beautiful and optimistic and you’ve got your whole life ahead of you.”