I glanced down and shrugged my shoulders. “I guess she’s not showing up for dinner, y’all.”

I heard the back door open, and both dogs jumped up and ran into the kitchen. I was hoping she would just walk right by the formal dining room and not see me waiting for her like a fool.

I was sitting with my back facing the entrance of the dining room, so I couldn’t see her, but I felt her the moment she walked in. The whole energy in the room changed. She walked up behind me and leaned in close as she set a new Kindle Fire HD down on the table. I couldn’t help but smile and let out a chuckle. Then, I felt her hot breath against my neck as she moved her lips up to my ear.

“I even put The Marriage Bargain on there along with some other books to help with your…swooning research.”

It felt like a bolt of lightning went through my whole body when her lips were against my skin. I got up and stood in front of her. The smile on her face about dropped me to my knees. She slowly began backing up until she hit the wall. I walked up to her and bent down, putting my lips up against her ear. I could hear her breathing, and I swore I could tell what she was thinking with the sound of her breaths.

“I really love that fucking book,” I whispered.

She let out a laugh as she put her hand up onto my chest. I pulled back and captured her eyes with mine.

She smirked and asked, “Did you swoon?”

I smiled bigger. “I don’t think I’m ready to share that with you just yet.”

“Reed?” she asked.

“Yeah, angel?”

“I’m scared,” she said as a tear rolled down her face.

That single tear stopped my breathing as I used my thumb to wipe it away. “I am, too, Courtney. I am, too.”

I put my forehead against hers, and we just stood there in silence for a few minutes.

“Want to go two-stepping?” I asked as I pulled back and looked at her.

She busted out laughing. She looked up into my eyes and nodded her head. I leaned down and captured her lips with mine. As I gently kissed her, I tried to pour as much love into that kiss as I could, but the last thing I was going to do was push her into anything.

I pulled my lips away and whispered, “Court, I’ll wait forever for you. I’ll wait forever.”

I’d never had so much fun in my life as I was having with Reed tonight at Luckenbach dance hall. We’d been dancing for hours, and we’d laughed so much that I’d almost pissed my pants a time or two. The few times he’d kissed me, I’d thought I was going to need someone to tie my hands up to keep me from ripping off his clothes. No one had ever made me feel the way I felt when I was with Reed.

I was standing in the restroom, looking in the mirror, and I couldn’t help but laugh, thinking about how Reed had bought a Kindle and had been reading my favorite book. I shook my head as I pulled my hair up into a ponytail.

A dark-haired girl walked up next to me and smiled. “I have to tell you, you and your husband must be very much in love.”

I glanced at her with a confused look on my face. “My husband?”

She laughed. “Yeah. I asked your hubby to dance, and he told me he was too madly in love with his wife to dance with anyone but her. I thought it was so sweet. I wish I had a guy who looked at me the way he looks at you. All night, my friends and I have been jealous while watching y’all.” She winked and walked away.

I stood there, stunned. Wife?

I giggled and made my way back out to my husband. The thought of being married to Reed did weird things to my body, and I had to put my hand on my stomach to calm my nerves. The moment I saw him, he smiled, and the song “Cyclone” by Baby Bash began playing.

“Time to show you exactly how I feel about you, Reed Moore.”

I walked up and immediately began dancing against him. He grabbed on to my hips and started moving right along with me. Then, he let out a moan, and I couldn’t help myself. I smiled as I turned my back to him and moved closer. I could feel how much he wanted me, and it was driving me insane. I leaned against him as he moved his hands up and down my body. He pressed his lips against my neck, kissing me, until he moved to bite on my earlobe.

“Oh God, Reed,” I said.

“Courtney, you drive me crazy.” He turned me around and pulled me closer to him.

We continued to dance like we couldn’t get close enough to each other. The song stopped, and another song began. We both just stood there until I finally smiled.

“Do you know what I want to do next?” I asked.

He laughed. “Probably not what I want to do next.”

I swallowed. I wanted to tell him I did want to do what he wanted to do, more than anything, but instead, I grinned and shook my head. “I want to drive down a country road with all the windows down while I sing along to a country song, just feeling free!”

He nodded, and the next thing I knew, we were back in his truck. The windows were down, and my favorite Keith Urban song, “We Were Us,” was blasting over the speakers.

I yelled at Reed, “How did you know I love this song?”

He winked and said, “I make it my business to know what you love, Courtney.”

Shit. There went that feeling in my stomach again. It wasn’t butterflies. It was ten times more powerful than that.

Reed drove around, and I swore he played every one of my favorite songs.

By the time we got back to the ranch, it was well past one in the morning. Instead of parking at the house, he kept driving down the road, and then he parked in a pasture that had cows everywhere.

“Wow, you really take your cow-sitting job seriously,” I said.

He started laughing and turned to look at me. “You ready, sweetheart?”

My heart was pounding. “Are we going to make out?”

He smiled and let out a small laugh. “Oh no, baby. We’re going to do something much more fun. We’re going cow-tipping.” He jumped out of his truck and ran around to my door.

“Wait! What? I’m not tipping over a cow. Are you insane?” I said as he grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the truck.

He started laughing. “Baby, you can’t really tip them over. Besides, cows don’t sleep standing up.”

I stopped walking and let go of his hand. “Then, what are we doing in a field with cows in the middle of the night?”

“We’re going to play tag,” he said with such a serious look on his face.

“Huh?” I said with a chuckle.

“Tag. You said one of your favorite things to do is play tag in a field of cows. So, we’re playing tag”—he looked around and pointed to the cows—“in a field of cows.”