Literary Love (Lazy Love Book 2) (5 page)

Fudge followed her around everywhere, obviously thrilled she was home.

“I don’t have to leave again for a while, girl,” May promised as Fudge followed her out to put chemicals in the pool. “It’s just you and me.” Fudge hated it when she traveled, and she always made May feel guilty for leaving her alone.

While she was outside, she heard the crunch of tires on her gravel driveway, so she wandered back into the house. She went to the door and opened it wide. “You just don’t know how to take no for an answer, do you?”

Bob shrugged, carrying in containers of food. “I would take no for an answer, if you could convince me that you meant it.”

May had nothing to say to that, so she simply stayed out of the way, watching as Fudge sniffed at his legs. “That’s Fudge.”

Bob put the food down and squatted down, his hands ruffling the dog’s fur. “Hi, Fudge. We’re going to be friends, aren’t we?”

May pulled plates and glasses as well as silverware out, setting the table. She was surprised at how hungry she was until she realized she hadn’t had anything to eat yet that day. “What do you want to drink?” she asked. “I have sweet tea and water. I haven’t made it to the grocery store since I got home.”

“Sweet tea sounds great.” He pulled out a chair and sat down, divvying up the take-out food he’d purchased. “Are you glad to be home?”

She poured tea for both of them, taking the seat at a right angle from him. “I am. I’m always so glad to be home. Especially after a busy city like New York.” She tilted her head to one side, studying him. “What about you?”

He nodded. “Very glad to be home. I spent some time riding this morning, and it was nice to just think for a while. You know?” He’d used the time to reflect on his life, thinking about how much he needed someone like her beside him. Why had he thought he was happily single? Now that he knew she was alive, all he could think about was making her a permanent part of his life.

She nodded. “I do. I used to ride when I was a little girl.” They’d had to sell off the horses after her mother died, but she still missed the time she’d spent with them.

“I missed you,” he said softly.

She shook her head. “You couldn’t have. You can’t miss someone you just met yesterday.” She took a bite of the steak he’d brought her, smiling as the flavor exploded on her tongue.

“You didn’t miss me?” he asked.

She didn’t answer that. She couldn’t. She’d gone to sleep imagining his arms wrapped around her. Her eyes met his, the look in hers lost and confused.

“Just spend some time with me. I won’t hurt you.”

May shook her head. “You just don’t get it, do you? You’re going to start spending time with me, and I’m going to get used to not being alone. I’m going to get attached to you, because you’re this big, sexy actor who I’ve had a crush on for years. And then you’re going to get bored, and you’re going to move on to someone else, and I’m still going to be sitting here, my heart ripped to shreds. There’s no way this ends well for me.”

His eyes sparkled. “You think I’m sexy?”

She sighed. “Did you listen to anything else I said?”

“I did. And you’re wrong. I’ve never pursued a woman this way, May. I saw you in that airport, and I knew you were special and I wanted to get to know you better. I was relieved when you sat down beside me, because it gave me an opportunity to talk to you.”

“Bob, I appreciate your kindness. I do. I just don’t think my heart can handle being broken by you.”

He sighed, realizing he wasn’t getting through to her at all. “Let’s make a deal.”

She frowned, taking a bite of her potato. “What kind of deal?”

“You give me two weeks. During that time, I get to do everything I can to convince you that I’m not going to break your heart. That I want forever with you. If it doesn’t work, at the end of two weeks, you get to tell me to go away, and I’ll listen.”

“And if it works?”

“You marry me.”

“Are we back to that? Really? You don’t want to marry me!”

He took her hand, bringing it to his lips. “I do want to marry you. Is it a deal?”

She made a face. “With some ground rules.”

“What kind of ground rules?”

“No sex. You can’t pressure me into bed.”

He nodded. He’d already determined that pushing her into sex before she was ready was the way to lose her. “No problem.”

“Two hours per day. I can’t spare more than that and still hit my deadlines.”

“So you’ll give me two hours per day? Any hours I want?”

She bit her lip. “Mostly any hours you want. I need to be able to sleep my normal hours, or I’ll be cranky and not get my work done.”

“And no one wants a cranky May.”

She shook her head. “You’re right about that.”

“What about kissing?” he asked.

“What about it?”

“Am I allowed to try to convince you that I need you in my life with kisses?”

She bit her lip. “I’m not going to spend two hours per day making out with you.”

He laughed. “Well, that sounds like something I’d enjoy a great deal, but that’s not what I meant. Am I allowed to kiss you when I see you? And when I’m about to leave, can I kiss you goodbye? Is kissing allowed?”

She thought for a moment about it. The more he kissed her, the better chance she had of getting her heart broken. But, the more he kissed her, the better she would be at describing her kissing scenes as well. It wouldn’t hurt her to let him kiss her. Besides, she kind of liked kissing him.

Slowly, she nodded. “Yeah, kissing is allowed. But you only get one week to convince me.”

He frowned, knowing he’d have to accept her terms. “I accept your conditions then.”

She sighed. “Then I accept your challenge.”

He kissed the palm of her hand, his eyes steady on hers. “That’s all I’ll need.”

Chapter Five

After they’d eaten, May quickly loaded her dishwasher. She’d learned early on that if she didn’t do something immediately, she wouldn’t do it. She had someone come in and do the big cleaning once per week, because she would never remember to dust or vacuum, but she tried to keep up the little things.

She turned to Bob then, wondering what she was supposed to do with a big, handsome man in her home. Oh, she could figure out what to do with one in a book, but in real life? She was clueless.

He was still sitting at the table, watching her clean up after the meal, his dark eyes following everything she did. He caught her hand, pulling her toward him. “I have an hour of my time with you left, right?”

She nodded. “That sounds about right.”

“And I can use it any way I want?”

She bit her lip, suddenly cautious. What was going through his head? “Within reason…”

He laughed. “Am I making you nervous?”

She nodded emphatically. “Yes, you are! I can’t figure out what I’m supposed to do with you now that you’re here! There’s a reason I don’t date! I can make up all kinds of good stuff for people to do together in books, but those people are imaginary! We’re real!”

“Yes, we are. Let’s think about this. We could go for a walk.”

“Too hot.”

He grinned. “It is hot. We could go for a ride. I’m allowed to use the horses in the stable.”

She shook her head. “Too hot.”

“You don’t like the heat of Texas summers much, huh?”

“I like them fine. From the comfort of my air conditioned living room.”

“I saw you have a pool in your backyard. We could swim.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Did you bring a suit?”

“Do I need one?” He wasn’t sure what spurred him to say that, but the blush on her face had him grinning.

“Yes!” she sputtered. “You definitely would need one!”

“I brought a suit. I noticed your pool when I was here yesterday.”

She thought about that for a moment, not really wanting to get into a swim suit in front of him. He was used to women with perfect bodies, and hers—well, it wasn’t perfect. “I don’t know…”

“Come on!  Obviously you like swimming. Do it with me!”

She did like to swim, and she didn’t use her pool nearly enough. She tried to get out there every day, but it was more like once a week when she was between books. Finally, she nodded. If he didn’t like what he saw when she put her swim suit on, maybe he would realize why she wasn’t right for him. “I’ll go change into my suit.”

She hurried into her room, closing and locking the door, assuming he’d find one of the guest bathrooms to change in without a problem. More than anything, she needed a closed door between them for a minute. He made her—hot. It wasn’t just the Texas heat that was plaguing her. It was him. His smile. His shoulders. His—his everything.

She changed into her favorite suit, looking at herself critically in a mirror. She had a little too much around the middle, but there was nothing she could do about it in the next three minutes. Her breasts were full, so maybe he’d notice those and not her thick waist.

Taking deep breaths, she slipped a robe over her shoulders before leaving her room, knotting it tightly at the waist. He’d see her once they got out to the pool, but she wanted to wait as long as possible before the moment of truth.

When she got into the living room, he was waiting in a pair of swim trunks and nothing else. Her eyes were mesmerized by his wide shoulders and bare chest. She felt her heart beat speed up, and she wondered if she’d be able to speak. She decided not to test it out.

Grabbing two towels from the guest bath, she led him out to the pool and found she was too embarrassed to drop the cover-up.  Instead, she went over to the shallow end and put her feet in the water, keeping the robe around her.

“You’re getting in, right?” Bob asked, walking over to stand beside her. “You’re not going to hide from me all day, are you?” He couldn’t understand her worries. She was one of the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

“What a great idea! Yes, I think I’ll do just that!” She looked down at her feet in the water, wishing she’d taken the time to paint her toenails. He was probably used to women who never missed a single spot shaving and who always had their nails done perfectly.

He reached out and untied the belt of her robe, refusing to give her a choice in the matter.

“Hey! What are you doing?”

“Ensuring you will go for a swim with me.” He shook his head at her. “I think you’re beautiful.”

“I’m not.” Her eyes filled with tears, wishing in that moment she was perfect for him. She wanted to be everything he had ever dreamed of in a woman, because he was the answer to all her dreams. Why wasn’t she good enough?

He cupped her face in his hands, staring down into her eyes. “Are you afraid that once I see you in a swim suit, I won’t want to get to know you better?”

She closed her eyes, unable to meet his. “Yes, I am. I know it makes no sense, but that’s exactly what I’m worried about.”

He shook his head, leaning down and brushing her lips softly with his. “Well, you want to get rid of me, right? Don’t you think it’s smart to get it over with? Just in case I do run?”

She sighed “Probably. It’s been nice knowing you.” Her eyes opened, and she looked up into his. “How ‘bout one more real kiss for me to live on forever before we swim?”

“How shallow do you think I am?”

“You’re used to being surrounded by perfection.” May shrugged. “Just kiss me.”

He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, determined to show her how much he cared in the only way he knew how. She wouldn’t listen to him, so maybe he could communicate this way.

Her lips parted for him, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She pressed against him, realizing her robe had come open, and she could feel his hard chest against her breasts, which had flattened between them.

He moved his hands inside her robe and around her, pulling her even closer against him. His hands stroked her back through the thin fabric of her suit. “I think you have an incredible body,” he whispered against her ear.

She pulled back, looking up at him, her lips swollen from his kiss. “You don’t have to lie to me.”

“Are you back to thinking I’m a professional liar?”

She nodded. “The one thing I don’t understand is what you’re getting out of all this. I’ve already told you I’m not sleeping with you. What do you want from me?”

He grinned, his hand stroking her cheek. “I want
you
. All of you. I want your love every day for the rest of my life.”

She stepped back and shrugged her robe off her shoulders, throwing it onto a lounger a few feet away. Standing in front of him, she let him look his fill, before she waded into the pool.

One of the selling points of this house for her had been the pool. It was heated, and she had been sure she would use it all but the coldest months of the year. She didn’t use it nearly enough to pay for the chemicals she put into it, but she still loved it.

Bob walked in after May, wondering what else he had to do to convince her. He’d started her book the night before, but he’d been so tired, he hadn’t gotten past the first couple of pages. “I like how your butt looks in your suit.”

May gasped, turning around and looking at him. “That was highly inappropriate!”

“Probably. But I only have a week to convince you my feelings for you are eternal, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I can’t do that by staying appropriate.”

“Are you trying to drive me batty?” she asked, glaring at him.

“Why would I try to drive you batty? I don’t want a crazy woman for a wife.” He trailed his finger across her shoulder, over her strap, and down her arm. “Or for the mother of my children.”

“Children?”

“Well, yeah. You want kids, don’t you? I saw how good you were with that little girl at the airport.”

“She was sweet, wasn’t she?”

He nodded, his eyes never leaving hers. “I was a lot more impressed by the woman reading her all those books, though. I liked the voices.”

She laughed. “My college didn’t have a degree in creative writing, so my degree is in oral interpretation of literature, with a minor in creative writing. So technically, I have a degree in reading aloud.”

“I have a degree in history education with a minor in theater. My mom said no child of hers was going to major in theater. I had to get something I could actually do something with.” He grinned down at her. “If they ever decide to kill off Bob on
Lazy Love
, I can fall back on a career teaching high school kids.”

She grinned. “I can’t picture that. At all. You’d have all the teenage girls in class following you around like lost puppy dogs.” She could just picture him with a baseball bat over one shoulder he could use to fend them off.

“How ‘bout you? When are you going to start following me around like a lost puppy dog?”

“I don’t already?”

“You know, for a woman who claims to be a founding member of Team Bob, you’ve shown very little proof. I ask you to marry me, and you refused me! What kind of Team Bob member would do that? They’re going to take your card away when I tell them…”

“My Team Bob card? They won’t believe you.” She sighed. “They all know that if I thought your proposal was serious, you wouldn’t be able to stop me from agreeing. Why, I’d probably highjack a plane just to make it happen.”

He looked down into her eyes. “I’m dead serious. We could fly to Vegas tonight.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Flying to Vegas to marry is so cheesy.”

“That’s what Valerie and Jesse did.”

“I’m not Valerie, and you’re not Jesse. I want more romance than to be married by Elvis at the Chapel of Love.”

“Really? That would seem to be right up a romance writer’s alley.”

“Not this romance writer.”

“I read recently that there’s no waiting period in Wyoming either. I’d fly you there to marry.”

“It’s only a three day waiting period in Texas. Maybe we could just wait three days and see if you run away screaming.”

“I don’t have to film on Monday afternoon. We could go to the courthouse as soon as you wake up and get a license.”

She shook her head. “Even if we had a license, there would be no guarantee I’d agree to marry you.”

“But it would mean it could happen faster if you did!” He captured her lips with his. “Come on and get the license. Then we’ll have it just in case.”

“You’re never going to give up, are you?”

He shrugged. “Probably not. I’m known for my tenacity.”

“Let’s just swim.”

“Okay, but I’m going to keep trying.”

She sighed. “I’ve gotten that impression about you.”

“You might as well give in. I’m not giving up. You’re the woman of my dreams.”

She dove under the water and swam away, afraid if she stood there for another minute, she’d give in to his crazy plans. Then where would she be?

*****

May found herself distracted when she tried to write that evening, something that didn’t happen to her often. She knew how her character must feel, and she tried to get the words out, but it was so hard.

Finally, she got up and took a bath, hoping the water would inspire her creativity as it usually did. While she bathed, she flipped to one of her favorite episodes of
Lazy Love
, so she could watch it on her iPad. She loved all the episodes, of course, but there were a few where Bob had a bigger role, and those were the ones she watched over and over.

She sighed when he came on the screen, in his role as Bob Billings, the ranch foreman of the Lazy River ranch. She watched him as the storyline followed a day in his life, trying to catch some cattle rustlers. The show was about a modern day cattle ranch in Texas, and she’d watched it from the time the first episode had aired.

As she watched the man she now knew would be the only man she’d ever love do his job, she realized Sara was right. She was being an idiot. Probably the biggest idiot alive. Yes, when Bob left her, she’d have a broken heart. That much was a given. But if she never gave herself a chance to live—a chance to love this incredible man—what was that saying about her? What was that saying about her confidence in love itself?

If he wanted to marry her, then she was going to grab the bull by the horns. She finished the episode, and set her iPad on the floor beside the tub, making some quick notes on a waterproof notepad she had hanging on the wall beside her tub. Two of her most devoted fans had given it to her at a conference the year before, and she’d be forever grateful to them. She knew where her story needed to go, just as she knew where her life needed to go.

When she got out of the tub, she picked up her phone and found Bob’s number in it from when he had called her earlier. She didn’t have the courage to call him, so she texted instead.
If you really want to marry me, I’m willing. Will talk tomorrow.

As soon as she sent it, she felt a flutter from her heart. She wasn’t certain if it was trying to tell her she’d made a mistake or applaud her. Either way, it was done. She knew she should have waited until he asked again. He’d asked fifteen times so far, so surely he’d keep up the pattern. She knew she shouldn’t count, but—well, he was Bob Bodefeld! Of course, she was counting!