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Heather’s smile faded for a quick second, and
but then it appeared again. Her eyes seemed to fill with tears
before she let out a small laugh.

“I love the Bluebonnet Café. My parents used
to take me there all the time, especially when I was younger. My
dad loved their coconut cream pie. I can practically smell it, just
thinking about it. He always wanted to retire in Marble Falls. They
both loved it there. They were…, well, they were actually heading
to Marble Falls to look at land when they had their accident.”

Heather’s voice trailed off before she
attempted to smile again at me.

Oh God, I just brought up all those bad
memories for her. I am such an asshole.

“Shit, Heather, I’m so sorry. I had no idea.
I just thought that since we were so close, we could stop there. I
used to love going to Marble Falls when I was a kid. I haven’t been
in so long. I thought that a Chocolate Meringue pie sounded pretty
damn good, but, I completely understand if you want to pass.”

“No! I would love to go. I think it’ll be
good for me. I’ve been trying so hard to push away memories of my
parents, but I really think this is just what I need to help me
move on. I love the idea of stopping in Marble Falls.”

I was pretty sure that Heather saw the breath
I was holding in as I slowly let it out. I thought for sure that
I’d really fucked it up with her after she’d mentioned that her
parents had been killed on their way to Marble Falls.

***

I turned onto Highway 281, making our way
into Marble Falls.Traffic was a bitch and I quickly saw why. It
looked like there was a street fair on the main street of the town.
I was lucky enough to find a parking spot right behind the
restaurant. I jumped out of the truck and jogged over to Heather’s
side. I think I caught her off guard when I opened her door and
helped her out of the truck.

She let a small smile spread across her face,
and I swore that it felt like my knees were going to buckle out
from underneath my ass. This shit was weird. No girl had ever had
this type of effect on me.

The moment I reached down to take her hand in
mine, I felt a jolt run from my fingertips to my toes. I was
shocked that she let me hold her hand as we started to walk into
the restaurant. I glanced down at her, and as she looked up at me,
she smiled the sweetest goddamn smile. Even if nothing ever came
out of this whole thing with Heather, I knew that I would forever
remember this moment, walking into one of my favorite restaurants
while holding hands with the girl of my dreams.

The girl of my dreams. Where the hell did
that come from?

CHAPTER EIGHT

HEATHER

Sweet Jesus…. I thought just
coming to Marble Falls was going to make me nervous, but, the
moment Josh took my hand in his, I knew that I was beyond nervous.
I was scared to death. He looked down at me with his beautiful
green eyes, and my heart just melted. I couldn’t help myself. I had
to smile at him.
Why did he have to take
my hand?
I’d been fighting my attraction to
him for a year now. I couldn’t let him into my heart.
I can’t, and I won’t.

Once we stepped inside the Blue Bonnet Café,
the memories came flooding back. I could almost hear my dad saying
he couldn’t wait to have a piece of pie as my mother laughed that
sweet and gentle laugh of hers.

I miss them.

Josh must have sensed how I
was feeling because he squeezed my hand a little tighter as we
waited to be seated. When I looked up at him, I had to catch my
breath. His smile was just amazing. He had a single dimple on the
right side of his cheek. Even if he barely smiled, you could still
see it. In Ari and Ellie’s words, he had a panty-melting
smile.
Yep, he sure does.
His laugh sent tingles throughout my whole body
while I felt butterflies in my stomach. I’d never been this
attracted to a guy before.

Why does he have to be such a man whore?

“You hungry?” Josh asked.

I didn’t think I was up until this moment.
“Yes, actually, I’m starving.”

Josh looked up to the
hostess as she walked toward us. Her face lit up like a Christmas
tree when she got a good look at Josh.
Is
she blushing?
Oh, for Pete’s sake, he’s
just another guy, lady
.

Okay, well, another guy with an amazing
build, a beautiful smile, green eyes you could get lost in, and
light brown hair that you just want to run your hands through.

Oh my god, what the hell is
wrong with me?
I’d been around Ari too long
these last few weeks. She’d gotten me drunk three times, and one of
those times resulted in me dancing and flirting with Josh. I was
still embarrassed as hell thinking about that night.

“Hey there, y’all. Welcome to the Blue Bonnet
Café! Will it just be the two of y’all today?” the hostess asked,
her voice purring as she stared at Josh the whole time.

Ugh, Josh turned to look at me and let out a
small laugh.

“
Yep, just me and my
friend
here,” he said
giving me a wink.

Bastard.

“Well then, follow me, and I’ll show y’all to
your seat.”

She turned, leading us to our table, and I
swore that she couldn’t have shaken her ass more if she tried. I
glanced up at Josh, who was looking everywhere but at her ass.

Once we sat down, our
waitress came over, and it was a repeat of what the hostess just
did. She stared, she flirted, and he ignored while he just looked
at me.
Oh brother.
What would it be like to go on an actual date with
him?
I’m sure he has girls all over him no
matter where he goes. Every time we had ever gone to Rebels, he had
usually danced the night away with fifty different girls. During
the last few times though, he had pretty much turned down every
girl while he just sat at the table talking to me.

“Hey y’all. What can I get ya to drink?”

Josh just smiled at me and
then turned to the waitress.
Good
Lord.
The smile he flashed her
caused
my
panties
to melt, and from the look her face, she was having the same
reaction.
Bastard!

“I’ll just have a glass of water, please.
Heather?”

“Diet Coke, please.”

The waitress asked if we were ready to order
but, Josh asked for a few more minutes.

We sat there in silence
while we each looked over the menu. My heart was beating like
crazy.
Damn it, why does he have to be so
gosh darn cute?

Man whore. Just remember he’s a player,
Heather.

I glanced up and saw him
staring at me. Oh dear Lord. His eyes were so beautiful, I could
get lost in them. I smiled at him, and he smiled back at me with
the sweetest smile I’d ever seen.
Yep, I’m
so screwed.

“You ready to order princess?” Josh
asked.

Princess?

“Ah, yep. I mean if you’re ready, then I’m
ready.”

Josh smiled and I couldn’t help but smile
back.

Our waitress came walking back up and turned
to face Josh. “So what will it be, handsome?”

What the hell? Oh. My. God.
What a bitch.
I peeked over at Josh and
noticed he was, yet again, looking at me. This time his
smile…
oh, holy shit.
I’d never noticed he had a crooked smile.
Deep breaths, Heather.
This was a
mistake.
Breathe in…..breathe out….do not
look at him.

I looked down at my menu as Josh began to
talk to the waitress.

“I’ll have the catfish plate two fillets with
okra, mashed potatoes, and a side salad with ranch.”

She slowly smiled at him. Practically
purring, she said, “Perfect choice, handsome.”

Oh, gag me.
I had to clear my throat just to remind her that I
was sitting here. I honestly believed that she would’ve walked
away, never even bothering to take my order. Josh laughed a little,
and that just pissed me off even more.

“And for you?” the waitress asked, barely
glancing at me.

I rolled my eyes at Josh and looked up at
her. I really wanted to pull an Ari and tell her to back the fuck
off, but I did what I always did. I kept quiet.

“Yes, um…I’ll have the grilled chicken breast
sandwich.”

“You want fries?”

“No, thank you. I’ll take a side salad with
ranch, too.”

With that, she gave Josh one
last smile and walked away.
Jesus, is this
how it is everywhere he goes?
Girls just
falling all over him trying to get his attention.
Another reason it could never work.

Good Lord, that was a joke,” I mumbled.

Josh was still smiling at me as he shook his
head. “What’s a joke, princess?”

That was twice he had called
me princess, and each time, it sent my stomach into a nose
dive.
What the hell, Heather? Pull it
together. Damn Ari for not letting me drive back with her and
Jeff.

“The way she was flirting with you, I’m sorry
but we could actually be on a date. It was just rude. That’s
all.”

Josh laughed again, running his hand through
his hair.

Oh my god, it’s getting hot in here. Look
away, Heather. Look. Away.

“Can I ask you something, Josh?”

“You want to make this a date?” he asked with
a smirk.

“No, I do not!”

Josh sat up straighter, and his face turned
serious. It was almost too serious.

“Heather, you can ask me anything you want
anytime you want.”

“Why do you keep calling me princess?”

Josh let a smile play across his face as he
reached across the table, taking my hand in his. Everything in me
was screaming for me to pull my hand away, but I couldn’t. It felt
so nice to feel someone’s touch. Ever since my parents passed away,
I longed for someone to touch me in a way that made me feel safe
and loved.

“I call you princess because you deserve to
be treated like one,” he said softly.

Holy hell.
I was not expecting him to say that.
Just when I think I have him figured out, he goes
off and does something so…un-Josh like
.

I could feel the heat moving into my cheeks.
Josh reached up and ran his hand down the side of my face. The
warmth from his hand was driving me crazy.

“You’re so beautiful, Heather, both inside
and out. I’ve never met anyone in my life that always puts her
friends first, and would do anything for them. You amaze me.”

“Josh…I.”

Just then, the waitress walked up and reached
between us grabbing Josh’s glass.

“More water?”

I pulled my hand out from his and glared at
the bitch. She totally did that shit on purpose. I looked back over
at Josh, and he looked pissed off. His hand was running through his
hair again. I wanted to do that so damn bad. His hair looked so
soft. Then, Josh did something I had not expected him to do.

“Listen, um.. Josh paused, looking at her
name tag. “Casey, we really need some privacy, I hate to sound like
a prick, but, maybe after our food arrives, I’ll just flag you down
if we need anything. Okay?”

She just stood there in shock. If I didn’t
have the urge to laugh, I totally would have kicked him for being
so rude.

“Well, of course. Can I get you another Diet
Coke, miss?”

I just nodded my head. Even if tried to talk,
I knew that I would lose it and laugh my ass off. I couldn’t even
look at Josh. I could feel the heat from his stare. Once she walked
away, I looked up at him.

“Oh my god, Josh. Asshole much?” I started to
giggle.

Josh reached over and took my hand in his
again.

Okay, so no harm can come from us holding
hands, right? Friends hold hands.

***

After we ate, we both ordered a piece of pie.
I got the apple pie, and Josh got the coconut cream pie. With my
first bite, the memories were almost too much to handle.

Josh asked Casey about what was going on in
town. She told us all about Meet on Main. They had dancing, live
music, and shopping. Josh asked if I wanted to check it out. I
really didn’t want this afternoon to end, so I said yes.

We walked a few blocks over and spent the
next thirty minutes walking around, visiting all the booths and
shops.

Memories of my mom and dad kept flooding my
mind.

I missed them. Even a year
later, the pain was still so raw.
Oh god,
maybe it was a bad idea coming to Marble Falls.

Josh must have sensed how I
was feeling. As we walked past the band, he took my hand and led me
out to where everyone was dancing. The band was playing a cover of
Jason Aldean’s “The Only Way I Know”. It didn’t take long before
Josh was spinning me around on the pavement. I hadn’t had that much
fun in… I don’t know how long.
My god,
this guy knows how to dance!

After Josh and I cut up the dance floor
through two more songs, the band took a break. They switched it
over to music so that everyone could keep dancing. Blake Shelton’s
“Over” started to play. Josh just smiled at me and pulled me into
him. Even though I was only five foot three and he was six two, we
fit together so perfectly. The warmth of his body made me feel so
safe.

I relaxed in his arms for
the first time in more than a year. I never wanted this feeling to
end, but I knew that it had to. As much as I wanted, there was no
way I could ever let Josh Hayes into my heart.
Never.