Cowboy Ever After

Chapter 8

Refocusing on the shelf in front of her, Gretchen noticed a small book filled with watercolor paintings of Texas wildflowers. She pulled it from the shelf and started flipping through the pages, admiring the artist's ability to capture the delicate beauty of bluebonnets, foxglove and firewheels.

"You find anything?"

She barely kept herself from jumping at the sound of Matt's voice from the end of the short aisle.

"Just browsing," she said as she slipped the book back onto the shelf. "I've already got a couple of things I'm reading."

She noticed the thick book in his hand. "But I see you found something."

He held up the latest in a mystery series. "You read them?"

"No, but I've heard good things."

"Good series." Something shifted in her chest. Matt was nice, good-looking and liked books? Yep, he was too good to be true. He had to have some sort of horrible hidden fault, but she found herself hoping he left town before it showed itself. She wanted to remember him as he was in this moment, someone to fantasize about when he was thousands of miles away.

Matt gestured to his surroundings. "Nice little store."

"Yeah. I know bookstores seem like a dying breed these days, but I still love this place."

"I can tell."

"Really?"

"Yeah, your eyes lit up as soon as we stepped inside. It's like you got a contact high from the smell of the books."

She'd swear her heart skipped a beat as his observation soaked into her. No one in her entire life had ever seen such a pure truth about her.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Um, yeah. I just didn't know my love affair with books was so obvious."

"It's not a bad thing." He smiled as he took a couple of slow steps toward her. Her mind told her to back up, but her feet held her in place as she waited to see how close he would come. "I like a smart woman."

She saw the teasing in his eyes and at the edge of his lips, lips she was currently focusing on way too much.

"Come to dinner with me tonight. We can talk about our favorite books."

Dinner? Did he just ask her out, or was her brain playing a cruel trick on her? "I'm sure you have better things to do."

"I don't. Can't think of anything I'd rather be doing than sitting across from a beautiful woman."

Gretchen resisted the urge to lift her hand to her chest in a vain attempt to slow her heartbeat.

Matt leaned a little closer. "I won't take no for an answer."

And the truth was she didn't want to say no.

"So, tell me where to pick you up."

Panic exploded inside her, enough that she gripped the edge of the bookshelf to steady herself. "I'll just meet you."

He smiled. "So that's a yes, then?"

She nodded even though she was afraid dinner with this man might just make her like him even more. He was already on a roll that was sure to break her damaged heart.