Becca’s first day ended much better than it had started. That SonarBot was cool, and while she spent the remainder of the afternoon with yet more paper to look at, the unveiling of the robot was actually going to be fun.

She made a couple of checklists, took the thumb drive home with her though she wasn’t sure when she’d have time to look at it, and had just managed to feed all the strays and changed her clothes before Andrew arrived with the food.

Otto barked, but she pushed him out of the doorway so Andrew could come in. “I’m not the cleanest person in town,” she said. “Otto, back up.” She gave the huge Lab another push and he finally fell back a few steps.

Andrew grinned at her, and he hadn’t even changed his clothes from earlier that day. “In the kitchen with this?”

“Yes, through there.” She pointed though it was unnecessary. The living room connected to the kitchen with a cut-out in the wall to allow conversation to flow through. She had two barstools at the bar, though she never ate there.

Otto, ever the animal to go wherever food could be found, trotted after Andrew. Becca adjusted her shirt, pulling it down over the waistband of her jeans. She was tired, and maybe inviting Andrew over for dinner had been a mistake.

A yawn overtook her right as he came back into the living room. “Tired?” he asked.

“Yes,” she admitted. “I haven’t worked that hard in a while.” She settled onto one end of the couch though she was hungry and could probably eat enough to feed an army.

“Oh?” He joined her on the couch, the picture of perfection, right there in her living room.

“You haven’t been home yet?”

“I have.”

“You didn’t change.” She raised her eyebrows. “Do you wear a suit to bed, Mister Whittaker?”

“Very funny.”

Becca thought so, and when he didn’t answer her question, she started to wonder if he really didn’t own a pair of pajamas. “Seriously, though. You have pajamas, right?” She loved the flirtatious energy between them, and Andrew wore a look of desire in his eyes when he looked at her again.

“Yes, Miss Nosy. I own pajamas.”

“Do you wear them?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you change then?”

“You ask so many questions.”

“You like my questions.”

“Not when they’re about me.” He stood and walked toward the kitchen. “I’m starving. Can we eat?”

She followed him, not quite ready to let this go. She got down a couple of plates from the cupboard. “You…intimidate me in the suit. I thought this was going to be personal time.”

He caught her wrist as she reached into the silverware drawer for forks. The increase in electricity should’ve shorted out the light bulbs, but they continued to blaze evenly.

“I intimidate you?”

She locked her eyes onto his. “Just here, in my house. Not at work.” My, he was gorgeous, and so close to her, and her mouth started watering for all the wrong reasons. “And, um.” She swallowed back all that saliva. “I’m usually the one who intimidates men.”

“You are?” He spoke so softly, almost tenderly.

“That’s what I’ve been told.” She shrugged, his fingers still tracing a circular pattern around her wrist. “I don’t know. Something about how I know so many dumb facts, or that I won’t let certain subjects drop.”

He didn’t need to know everything about her disastrous break up with Jarom right now. But her ex had told her that he didn’t like that she was smarter than him, and she’d challenged him with, “What am I supposed to do? Act dumb?”

“I think smart is sexy,” Andrew said, stepping closer and moving both hands to her waist. He drew her effortlessly into his embrace, and Becca sighed as she pressed her cheek to his chest.

It seemed strange that less than a week ago, she was jobless, prospectless—both on the job front and the boyfriend front—and just…less than she felt now. Happiness coiled through her, and she wanted to stay in Andrew’s arms for a good long while.

He, however, seemed to have a serious need to eat, because he stepped back only a few seconds later and started dishing himself some of the tiny spicy chicken that was her favorite too.

“Tell me something about you I don’t know,” she said.

He cast her a wary look and went for the ham fried rice. “I didn’t change my clothes before I came, because my only other options are what I wear to feed the horses.”

Her eyebrows went up. “You take care of horses?”

“Thirteen of them,” he said. “Every morning. I’ve given up on the nighttime feeding. I use a man named Jake for that.”

She spooned a healthy portion of noodles onto her plate to go with her chicken. “And you like taking care of the horses?”

“Very much.”

“Do you ride?”

“Yes.”

“How often?”

He gave her a look that said Is this Twenty Questions? but then answered her with, “Every weekend.”

“Huh.”

“Huh, what?”

She finished filling her plate and took it around the wall to the bar. He joined her, and she said, “I’d love to go horseback riding on the weekends.”

“Oh, you would, would you?”

“Is that something you’d consider? Me coming with you?” She speared a piece of chicken but didn’t put it in her mouth. “And you know, I’m doing all the asking for dates. I think I’m going to stop doing that.”

Andrew had bypassed the forks and unwrapped a pair of chopsticks instead. He held them loosely in his fingers, his attention solely on her.

“Becca,” he said.

She waited, expecting more than just her name. “Yeah?” she asked when he still said nothing.

“Are you sure I can’t kiss you tonight?”

“I never said you couldn’t.” But fear bolted through her with the power of a freight train. “I just—I mean—I might not be very good at it.”

He shook his head as he smiled. “Becca, you’re good at everything you do.”

“I—”

“And I would love for you to come riding with me this weekend.” He mixed his chicken with his rice and popped a bite into his mouth.

She sighed, every muscle in her body releasing. “You’re not a very nice man,” she said.

“What?” He chuckled, because he knew exactly what.

“I thought you were going to kiss me,” she said.

“Oh, really? I told you I was starving.”

“Then you’ll have bad breath. You think I want to be kissed after you eat this?” She put her spicy bite of chicken in her mouth. A moan followed, because the sauce was sweet and sticky, with the right amount of burn in the back of her throat.

She swallowed and said, “I don’t think so.”

Andrew laughed again, and Becca enjoyed the sound of it. Maybe not as much as she’d have enjoyed being kissed by him, but apparently they were going to eat first.

“How’s your mom?” she asked, a question which drew Andrew’s attention.

“She’s…okay.”

“I mean, I was thinking about her today when you and Beau were talking. I think it would be hard to lose a spouse, especially if it was sudden.”

“It was difficult,” he said. “On all of us.”

She nodded, the moment between them turning tender and meaningful. “My family’s from this tiny speck of a town out in the Devil’s Tower area,” she said. “Crystal Lake? Ever heard of it?”

“Have I ever heard of Crystal Lake? It’s only the best place to go swimming in the summer.”

Her whole body lit up. “You’ve been there?”

“My dad used to take us all at the end of June. We’d leave my mom home—something about her needing time to herself—and we’d camp, hike, fish, and swim.” He wore pure joy on his face, and the love for his family shone through in the tone of his voice. “I love Crystal Lake.”

“My father builds boats up there,” she said. “With his bare hands.”

Andrew looked at her. “Siblings?”

“Two younger brothers and a sister.”

“So you’re the oldest?”

“That’s right.” She twirled her fork in her noodles, suddenly glad Andrew was there to keep her company.

“No wonder you’re so bossy.” He nudged her with his knee, and she jerked her head toward him only to find that sparkling tease in his eyes.

“You should hear yourself, Mister.” She lowered her voice and spoke through pursed lips. “I need you to look over this agreement and make it comply with the law.” She burst into laughter, thrilled when Andrew joined her.

She silenced when he trailed his fingertips down the side of her face and twirled a lock of her hair around his thumb.

“Have I said how beautiful I think you are?”

Becca’s stomach tightened, and she shook her head.

“Well, I’m saying it now.” He dropped his hand and looked back at his plate. “Can Otto eat people food?”

“You give him that and he’ll be sick all night. Too spicy.”

The yellow Lab sat at attention only a few feet away. Becca slid off the barstool and padded into the kitchen, glad to be rid of her heels. “Here. Feed him this.” She got out a tub of sliced turkey, and Otto whined.

“Can he do any tricks?”

“Sit, stay, lay down, and high five,” she said, wondering if Andrew was going to tease her all night for a kiss. He made Otto do several tricks, treating him with the turkey after each one.

She rinsed her plate, and then his, and joined him as he looked out the back window into her yard. “It’s getting late,” she said. “And now that I have a job, I actually have to go to bed on time.”

“What’s with all the cat bowls?” he asked.

“Oh, um.” She squirmed beside him, and he slipped his arm around her waist. Everything calmed when before his touch had caused such excitement in her. She wondered what had changed, but she didn’t have time to dwell on it.

“I feed strays,” she said. “Dogs, cats, probably a family of raccoons.”

“Raccoons are vicious animals,” he murmured, the tip of his nose sliding down her cheek.

“I know,” she whispered. “But if they’re starving, they deserve to eat.”

The rumble from his low chuckle moved from his chest into hers as he brought her closer to him again. “You have a soft heart,” he said, not really asking.

“I don’t like to see living things suffer,” she admitted.

“I’m dying,” he whispered.

“Then kiss me,” she murmured back, her eyes already closed.

He took forever, but when his lips finally brushed against hers, the room filled with warmth and starlight though he pulled away quickly. She reached up to hold his face in her hands, wanting to set the pace and keep him as close as she wanted him until she was ready to let him go.

He touched his mouth to hers again, and this time he didn’t let go. She kissed him back, her need and want for him stronger than she’d admitted to herself. She slowed the movement and broke the connection.

“Becca?” he asked, his breathing quick and his forehead pressed to hers. “You did great.”

She scoffed and swatted at his chest, but he held her tight in his arms, his laughter low and ending quickly. Their eyes met, and Becca couldn’t comprehend that this was her reality. He was the absolute last person she would’ve imagined herself with. But the chemistry between them had been strong since the first time they’d met, like something had just clicked into place.

“How was my breath?” he asked, still teasing her.

“I didn’t notice. We better try again.” She tipped up on her toes and kissed him, his lips the most delicious she’d ever tasted.