"Didn't mean to scare you."

"I was in my head," she said honestly, turning to him.

He cut the engine and unbuckled his seatbelt. "Was I in there, too?"

She flushed a little. "That's for me to know."

"Oh, I think I know." He gave her a familiar, c.o.c.ky grin before getting out of his truck.

Unbuckling her seatbelt, she waited while he walked around to her side and opened the door. "Let's get you inside, pretty lady, before you freeze."

She took his hand, the size of it engulfing hers. "I'm hot natured."

"Good to know because I'm not."

The heat he was throwing her way said otherwise. "Do you expect me to share my body heat with you?" Lord. The things coming out of her mouth! And on a first date to boot.

He gathered her in his strong arms, leaning her against the seat. Every so often, a gust of cold air would blow over them, but the heater still going at full force kept her toasty. And his body-dear Lord, his body. Austin towered over her. The muscles that touched her... if she were the swooning type, swoon city would most definitely be ahead.

Thankfully, she wasn't that type because she'd made enough of a fool of herself over him tonight. Although, he certainly had made her feel like the exact opposite of a fool.

"What if I get caught in a snowstorm and the only way I would survive is by you sharing that body heat with me? You wouldn't let me die, would you?" He winked at her.

She playfully rolled her eyes. "I'd let Libby warm you up."

"That's mighty kind of you, Ms. Bell," he said in a familiar Jessamine drawl that made her simultaneously want to laugh and take him to bed.

Pressing her lips together, she tried in vain to keep from laughing.

"Oh, go on, I like that laugh."

"Would you stop? There is no way you're that charming in real life."

He shook his head, the look on his face solemn. "'Fraid so, ma'am."

She dissolved into a fit a giggles.

"I'd like to kiss you goodnight."

Abruptly, her laughter stopped and her breath got caught in her throat for a moment. "You'd like to what?"

"You don't have to say yes, but I sure would like it if you did," Austin murmured. "Just one kiss and if you don't like it, I swear, I'll never kiss you again."

That was unexpected. "I don't know if I believe you."

His blue eyes gleamed. "That's because I know you'll like kissing me."

She leaned back in his embrace. "You sure are c.o.c.ky. Is that an athlete thing?"

"Nah. That's a me thing." His head dipped close to hers. "Remember to say no whenever you feel a need to, Harper."

His body pressed against hers more fully. The delicious weight of him made her sigh and wrap her arms around his neck. Full lips touched her throat, his lips partly open as they nuzzled her skin.

She felt as though she were melting into him. Desire turned her bones into molten lava. A moan left her. Her nipples tightened. A hot rush of pure l.u.s.t flooded her body until her knees became weak.

"Harper, look at me, sweetheart."

Forcing her gaze on him, she leaned up to kiss him. He pulled back a little, the interior lights of the truck highlighting the color of his eyes. She'd never seen any so blue in color.

Just go for it, Harper. Let the new year bring out the new you.

"You can come inside if you want," she said in a voice that sounded nothing like herself.

Something flashed in his eyes, something that made him pause and made her flush hot with embarra.s.sment. She struggled to get out of his embrace.

"Hey, hey. I'll let you go, but I didn't hesitate because I don't want to kiss you," he said, and she stilled in his arms.

"Why did you stop?"

"Because I'm moving way too fast for a first date. We're practically in the middle of Jessamine, and I'm not treating you like a lady." Brushing his lips against her cheek, he straightened and pulled her with him to a standing position. "Trust me, I wanted to do more than simply kiss you."

"Maybe I wanted to do more than simply kiss, too," she pointed out.

He caressed her cheek, and then tucked a wayward curl behind her ear. Just like that, desire for him sparked again. "Maybe I'll let you take the lead next time."

"Let me?"

"Or I can stay in charge."

"Oh, please, Mr. Lawson. I let you think you're in charge tonight."

"Swear to G.o.d, Harper, if you don't stop being so sa.s.sy, I'll be forced to kiss you senseless."

Letting go of him, she ducked under his arm and glanced over her shoulder at him. "Maybe next time, I'll let you."

He threw his head back and laughed. It was such a guy thing to do and the sound... the sound was pure joy to her ears.

"What time should I be here tomorrow?" he asked.

"Libby likes to go in the afternoon, so three."

A rakish smile covered his face. "I'll be here."

She started to walk away, but he stopped her with a light touch on her arm. "What?"

"Can you promise me something?" he asked, all that charm formerly on display gone.

"Depends on what it is," she replied, unsure if this was another flirtation about to begin.

"Please don't Google my name, or... research me on the Internet." He visibly swallowed, and then tucked his hands into his pockets. "I'd like for you to get to know the real me, not the one in the media. I hope you can do that."

"That's it?" she asked.

He nodded. "It's a lot to ask, I know."

"Not for me, it isn't." Her heart went out to him. How hard it must be to truly have friends or even girlfriends without questioning their motives. "I don't care how much money you make or how famous you are, Austin."

His eyes briefly closed. "That means a lot. Thank you."

"Except," she began, and his face fell. "You are the brother-in-law of the reigning cotton queen. That's hard to ignore."

A s.e.xy smile curved up the corners of his lips. "Good night, Harper."

"Night." With a dreamy smile on her face, she walked the rest of the way to her front door, unlocked it, and went inside. Libby ran around in circles, and Harper dropped to the floor to hug on her sweet pet.

"Best. First. Date. Ever," she said.

Chapter Four.

"You look like h.e.l.l," Caleb said as they fed the cows from the back of a large dump truck that had been repurposed for jobs like this.

Austin leaned on the handle of the pitchfork, taking his time to answer. Of all of his brothers, Caleb was the one he liked to spend time with the most. He never pressured him to be "on," never expected him to be larger than life, and didn't give him s.h.i.t when he acted like an idiot. Well, he didn't give him too much s.h.i.t. They were brothers, after all.

"Didn't sleep well."

His brother paused in his work. "What's on your mind?"

"A woman."

"Harper Bell's a nice girl." Even if she weren't, Caleb wouldn't say any different.

Austin c.o.c.ked his head to one side. "Tristan text you?"

"Saw it on Facebook."

Austin's heart lurched. Finley had already spread the word. "Excuse me?"

"Mason started up a private Facebook group, so we don't have to actually come over or call him to share our news."

That sounded like his brother. Before, Austin would have chalked it up to Mason's experience with the war, but now... he was almost one hundred percent sure that Mason did s.h.i.t like that just to screw with them.

"I guess I should be happy it's private," Austin grumbled.

Caleb glanced up at the sky, and then back at him. "He said to tell you to post on there about your date with Harper. With pictures."

"You can tell him that I value my privacy as much as he does." Wasn't he a hypocritical a.s.s? Hadn't he texted Finley pictures of Harper so she could approve them?

Reason number two that he hadn't been able to sleep. Finley had loved, with a capital L.O.V.E and a mult.i.tude of exclamation points, the images the server had captured. He could practically hear her squealing over Harper and the fact that she was an elementary school teacher.

"Tell him yourself." Caleb went back to pitching hay. "I don't understand why no one is this family can communicate like normal people do."

This from the guy who hadn't carried on a conversation lasting longer than five minutes in the past fifteen years? "You really want to die on that hill, brother?" Austin asked.

Caleb pinned his blue eyes on him. They were icy cold, yet sad. His brother carried his grief with him like an old blanket. A tattered, stinky blanket that needed to be burned.

"I'd give anything to have just one more conversation with Iris."

Austin exhaled, and then gruffly patted his brother on the back. "I know you would." He couldn't argue with a man who still grieved his wife, even if she had been dead for fifteen years. "Sorry for shooting off at the mouth."

Caleb nodded. "It happens. Now tell me why Harper's on your mind so much that you'd get up at five am to help me feed the cows."

Austin hesitated. "It's hard to explain."

"Try me." His brother spread one arm wide. "The cows and I won't judge you. Much."

"Gee, thanks." Austin dug his pitchfork into the hay and began to toss it over into the feeder. "We went out last night, and it was... exceptionally good."

"I hope you're talking about the conversation," Caleb muttered.

"A Lawson keeps his lips zipped even if his pants aren't."

Caleb eyed him for a moment. "Glad to know you can at least pay lip service to that bit of advice."

Austin grunted. He didn't pay lip service when it came to keeping his trap shut. Until the viral video with Bianca, his private life was mostly private and the part that wasn't kept under wraps was due to others talking, not him. "That's not advice. It's a d.a.m.n rule, and you know it."

His brother elbowed him in the side. "Just yanking your chain."

"You feeling all right?" Austin couldn't remember the last time Caleb had attempted to play around with him.

Caleb frowned. "I can't tease my little brother?"

s.h.i.t. He hadn't meant to insult Caleb. "Sure you can, but I didn't expect it, is all."

"Like Harper?" Caleb asked.

"Yeah, like Harper."

"Sometimes, the best things in life are unexpected."

"More like rarely are the best things in life unexpected," Austin said, thinking of the video that had gone viral. Besides, he'd orchestrated their date. However, his reaction and his attraction to her had been completely unexpected "Which means that having someone like Harper come into your life is precious."