Love, Exes, and Ohs (Cactus Creek #4)(41)

Funny how something like that could inspire greatness.

“Okay, let’s go one round. Winner take all.” She put down the bakery bag and held her closed fist out over her open palm.

“If you’re thinking it’s okay for you to lose because I’ll fall prey to those big doe eyes of yours, I have to tell you, I didn’t get a chance to eat dinner last night what with all the guys from the local amateur show next week filling up the gym to capacity yesterday.”

“Let’s just do this. I’m ready.” She gave him a determined stare-down.

Grinning indulgently, he turned fully in his seat and placed his closed fist over his palm as well.

Rock-Paper-Scissors-Shoot!

He threw paper.

Dammit, she’d had every intention of throwing rock. What the hell?

Not that it mattered. She was pretty certain she won that round based on what she had ended up throwing instead

Isaac laughed and shook his head at her thumb and fore finger shaped in a circle. “We don’t do dynamite or fire or all those other weird throws.”

“Fire? How does someone throw fire?”

He held his hand out palm-up, bringing his fingers up like the prongs holding a diamond, and then started wiggling his fingers. “Crackling fire. Which can only be defeated by—” He held a closed fist up and dropped it down with splayed fingers in a splattering motion. “Water bomb.”

Laughing, Xoey shook her head. Her Rock, Paper, Scissors training was seriously lacking.

He looked down at her fingers still shaped like a circle. “What on earth is that supposed to be, anyway?”

She gave him a triumphant smile and dared him to claim the victory when she explained sweetly, “Condom. I threw condom.”

Silence blanketed the truck for a long, stunned second before her beautiful coffee drink was slipped grandly into her awaiting hand.

Victory!

“No fair arming yourself with something we aren’t even planning to use for a while,” he grumbled, though his eyes were twinkling with amusement, and no small amount of respect.

“I wouldn’t classify a day as ‘a while.’ A ‘stretch’ or ‘stint,’ maybe. Or even a ‘spell’ if you’re feeling historic. But not ‘a while.’

The truck screeched to a halt. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying? We’re graduating to full benefits?”

“If Sparky down there can make it all the way to tonight without busting through your zipper, then yes. That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

He leaned over and slid his hand behind her nape, thumb stroking over her jawline. “Are you sure? I don’t want to rush you and risk losing you by going too fast. So you can take it back. If you don’t though, I’m warning you now, I won’t be able to let you go. Not again.”

She gazed at him for one long moment, before whispering, “I love you, Isaac.”

His lips came crashing down on hers before she even finished saying his name.

Long, oxygen-deprived minutes later, he rasped, “God, I love you too, baby. I meant what I said; we don’t need to rush anything, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere. Partial benefits, or full, or even no benefits. Barriers or not. Bumpy roads or smooth sailing. You’re it for me.”

Isaac smoothed the stray strands of hair from her face and looked deep into her eyes. “I don’t care how you define it or what you call it—as long as it ends with me getting to kiss you and love you until it’s me and only me that you want to remember before you fall asleep tonight, me and only me you’re able to dream about until the sun rises, me and only me you hope to see when you open your eyes again. Nothing less, Xoey. Because that sure as hell is how it is for me where you’re concerned…how it’s always been.”

She stared at the amazing man before her, and felt every single emotion she’d ever felt for him break past the walls she’d built around her heart. “I think you’re incredible, Isaac. And I don’t want any more barriers between us.”

At the instant, white-hot reaction to that announcement flaring in his eyes, she chuckled feeling her cheeks burn. “Well, no figurative barriers, at least.” She blinked slowly then as a sizzling hot, intoxicating thought rolled over her. “And maybe one day soon, not so literally as well?”

Groaning, he reached for her again, alternating whispers of sweet and sinfully seductive promises between kisses.

A few passing car horn beeps later, they were back on the road.

Eventually, he did in fact end up drinking half of her ‘coffee’—air quotes and all—since they’d ended up fogging up the windows like a pair sex starved teenagers, reclined seats and all. Well, his seat at least, which was how they’d ended up knocking over his cup of coffee.

And later, when she selflessly offered to split her doughnuts with him fifty-fifty, he caressed her cheek affectionately before declining politely and pulling out a bag of cornbread muffins he’d had stuffed in his glove box.

He really did know her so well.





CHAPTER SEVENTEEN


“BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS for a beautiful patient,” announced Isaac as he walked the colorful vase of gerbera daisies he was carrying over to the table beside Darcy’s hospital bed.

“How are you feeling?” Xoey went over to give her a quick hug, bearing an equally colorful bouquet of salacious gossip magazines.