Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 35240 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35240 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
“Right,” he said.
“Are you all right?” she asked. “You seem a little nervous.”
He could easily lie. Only, he pulled onto his street, waved at a couple of kids, and then pulled into his driveway. Finally, he turned toward her. “I’m nervous.”
“You are?”
“Yeah, you see, I’ve never been on a date.”
“How could you not have been on a date?” she asked.
He groaned and ran a hand down his face. “I’m not a nice guy. Okay, I’m not a monk, and I’ve been with a lot of women. I didn’t date them. It was nothing. Just fun, and I’ve never cared enough to be on a date with anyone. You’re the first woman I have ever dated.” He was not about to scare her off saying she was the only woman he ever wanted to date, as that might be a little too heavy for her to handle. “I understand if you want me to take you home.”
“Jaxson, stop,” Tillie said. “I don’t care if you’ve been with a hundred women or a thousand women. I want to go on this date with you, and it kind of makes me excited to know you’ve not been with anyone else and I’m going to be the first woman you dated.” She leaned across the truck and kissed his cheek. “Besides, I know Belle likes you, and I trust her judgment of people.”
“You’re basing all of this on a dog?”
“Dogs are amazing, and they have great judgment of character.”
Jaxson chucked.
“However, I am a little confused. You wanted to go on a date, and we’re at your house.”
“Because this is where the date is going to be.”
****
Tillie had already figured she was going to have to deal with whatever jealousy she had when it came to Jaxson. He had a long history. The whole town knew of his bad boy reputation and she knew of his exploits with a lot of town women. That didn’t come as a surprise to anyone. However, she didn’t care what he did in his past. They were not on a date in the past. She was only going to care what he was like with her, and this date. The past was in the past.
He rounded the truck, and even as she climbed out, he was there with his hands on her hips.
There was some whistling in the distance from the kids. “Ignore them,” he said, whispering the words against her temple.
She didn’t know if it was the heat, or twenty-nine years of going without, but his touch was setting her on fire. She just couldn’t seem to ignore it. It wasn’t going to stop.
The moment he let go, she nearly whimpered, however, he didn’t step away. He reached across from her to pick up Belle. She loved that her dog seemed to adore him.
Jaxson took her hand, and they made their way toward his front door. “So, I don’t want you to get the wrong impression, but when I was thinking where we could go, I struggled. I knew a couple of places would accept Belle, but I didn’t think you would appreciate being the topic of conversation, so I brought you here.” He opened his door and waited for her to step inside.
She was a little nervous, but she stepped over the threshold, and the scents that assailed her were amazing. There were onion and garlic, and she was pretty sure she smelled tomatoes as well as chicken. Her mouth watered and of course her stomach chose that moment to grumble.
She put a hand to her stomach and felt her cheeks getting warmer. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s good. You need to bring your appetite, because I’m not a good cook, so I think you’ll need to be hungry in order to enjoy this.”
That made her laugh.
He closed the door and put Belle onto the floor.
“I bought her a bed,” Jaxson said, but in true Belle style, she didn’t go to the dog bed, and instead jumped up on the sofa.
She started to panic as she dragged her paw across the furniture. Tillie rushed toward her dog, but then Belle circled once, then twice, and settled down, with the last rays of sunlight shining through.
“I guess that is her settled for the evening,” he said.
She couldn’t help but laugh, as her dog was so cute. “If there is any damage, I would be happy to pay for it.”
“It’s fine. The sofa’s old, and anyway, that is what a dog does, isn’t it?”
“I know, but it is still your furniture.”
“Tillie, don’t worry about it.” He reached for her hands and then they were moving toward his dining room, and it was so beautiful, as it was right next to the open-plan kitchen.
She couldn’t help but gasp as he’d laid the table so beautifully. There was a single white table cover, with the ends looking pristine. The table had been set with a couple of candles, and they were not lit.