Crazy in Love (Blue Lake #3)(60)

Okay, so she’d been wrong. Barns could be romantic.

Still, if he handed her oats or hay, she’d bolt.

He pulled out her chair—did he always do the gentlemanly thing?—and sat across from her, draping a plaid napkin over his lap.

“I hear Cole Turner left town last night,” he said nonchalantly.

Rachael’s heart thudded at the mention of his name. “Uh-huh.”

“Did something happen with him at the inn?”

“No,” she said too quickly. “Why would you think that?”

“Because I thought he was supposed to leave this morning. Wonder why he checked out early?”

He must not have read the online article.

“Oh.” Why was she so jumpy? “He wanted to get an early start on the next part of his tour, I guess.”

He eyed her curiously. Disbelievingly.

“Can we talk about something else?” Her palms itched. Must’ve been pieces of hay in the air. “Something not related to Cole Turner?”

“Sure,” he said, shooting her a bright smile. “You look gorgeous tonight.”

She cut off a large bite of steak and shoved it into her mouth. “Ffanks,” she mumbled. “Didjou cook mphis?”

He nodded, pleased. “I love to cook.”

Good-looking. Great cook. Hard-working fireman too, she bet.

“Tell me…” She swallowed hard. “…why didn’t you marry Kiki-what’s-her-face? You guys dated for years.”

“Three, to be exact,” Joey said between bites. “Kiki is great and I’ve got nothing but nice things to say about her, but…” He leaned over the table. “Rachael, I have to be straight with you.”

Oh boy, here it comes.

“I’ve wanted to bring you here for years,” he said, reaching across the table to hold her hand.

“Here?” To the Sutherlands’ barn? “Why?”

“Don’t you remember what happened here?” When she stared, confused, he continued on. “Sophomore year. Right before you hooked up with Trent from Moose Valley. Tierra had a party, we both had too much to drink and—“

She sucked in a tight breath. “We kissed.”

She’d completely forgotten about that.

“It was magic,” he went on. “But then you dated Trent for years, and I finally moved on. By the time you broke up with him, I was knee deep in a relationship with Yvette. Do you remember her?”

“She was blonde right? And used to work at SawMill Market?” She nodded. “I remember.”

“When things ended between us, I looked you up and you’d moved on with someone else.” He poured her a glass of wine. “You were never single and if you were, the timing was off with me.”

“I know it.” She drank heartily. “I felt the same way. Like I was always waiting for things to click between us. For things to feel right.”

He nodded slowly. “We’re both here now.”

“We are.”

“And we’re both available.”

Since Cole had left town she’d never felt more available or more single.

She was alone, and that had always been fine. Sure, she’d wanted a husband and children, but that was a dream on the horizon. As a deep longing hollowed her middle, Rachael knew she didn’t want to be alone anymore. She didn’t want those things in the distant future. She wanted them sooner rather than later.

A deep, sultry voice oozed from the speakers of the truck and hit Rachael’s ears. She’d never heard the song before, but she would have recognized the voice anywhere.