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want her so much he
can hardly control himself. But I understand and appreciate your honesty.”
Somehow she was able to keep the disappointment from her voice.
    His
shoulders grew tight under her arms, and the tension in the room went up a bit.
“How about watching one o f those movies we’re always
talking about?”
    He
slid her off his lap and stood.
    Wow, I don’t
make him that nervous, do I?
    She
watched him pace. Catching his attention, she motioned for him to come to her.
“Come over her e
and s it down. You’re going
to wear a hole in the floor. You’re more nervous than
I am, and you have no reason to be.”
    Slowly
making his way across the room, he grinned at her. “Who says I’m nervous? Maybe
I’m just anxious.”
    “Nervous,
anxious, in this context both me an the same thing. Now sit down
and talk to me .”
Grasping his hand, she pulled him down to sit beside her. “We’ve known each
other for four years. We’ve talked about everything under the sun and moon. You
know how I feel abo ut you, you’ve known that for some time. Loosen
up, darlin ’. I’m not going to bite you…yet.” Winking
at him, he finally laughed again, and she sensed the tension between them drop
away.
    “Talking
on the phone, texting, and instant messaging online is a lot different than
having you here in person. I’m not sure wha t to do.”
    Still
holding his hand, she gave his fingers a reassuring squeeze. “Do I need to get
my laptop or phone to get you to talk to me tonight?” She couldn’t help but
laugh again. Ash could easily keep her laughing so much her cheeks would hurt
well be fore their conversation was over.
    “No,
smart ass, you don’t need your phone or laptop.” Gathering her into his arms,
he hugged her tightly, whispering, “I’m glad you’re here.”
    “Me too. Just relax and be yourself. Now we can actually do all the
things we’ve talked about over the years. Go pick out
a movie, then we can get started on our to-do list.”
    Watching
him walk back across the room to the entertainment center was an awesome sight.
He was quite graceful for his size. She hadn’t expected someone six-foot two-inches tall, broad shouldered, and used to lots of
manual labor to be so light on his feet.
    “I
feel like a damned teenager on his first date, not the fifty-year-old I am. How
do you do that to me?” He
blushed slightly as he carried back four movies to her .
    “Well,
you don’t appear too old to blush.” He tried to avoid looking her in the eye,
but she wouldn’t let him. Laughing, she knew exactly how he felt. “You think
you’re the only one who feels that way? I don’t remember feeling like this,
even as a teenager . Hell, I can’t ever remember
feeling like this.” Picking out The Shawshank Redemption ,
her favorite movie, she watched again as he walked back across the room.
    As
he stooped to put the DVD in the player, she enjoyed the view of his jeans
pulling tight acr oss his butt. Manual
labor definitely does a body good. Grinning to herself, she didn’t notice him turn his head
and look at her until he startled her by saying, “Woman, you need to stop
looking at me like you’re going to eat me alive.”
    Realizing
he’d busted her ogling his ass, she blushed. “Oh my
God, am I that obvious?” She couldn’t help but suck in a breath when the
best-looking smile she’d ever seen spread across his face.
    “Okay,
let’s ge t d inner cooked so we can eat, and then watch the movie. How d oes that sound? Then maybe you’ll stop devouring me with
your eyes.” His laugh was infectious as they headed for the kitchen.

 
     
     
     
    Chapter Four
     
     
    The
grill worked like a charm. The steaks were cooked to perfection just like the
potatoes. Thankfully, the co nvection oven worked as
advertised. “You cook a mean steak , Mister James.”
    “Well,
thank you, Miss Thomas. Next time it’s your turn to cook. I’ll put in my
request now for the fabulous lasagna you showed me a