The Proposal & Solid Soul

“Yes, my refrigerator and stove will be delivered by the end of the week. I’m so excited.”


He couldn’t help but laugh. She was genuinely excited. If she got that excited over appliances he could imagine how she would react over jewelry. “Will you be in town for a while, Bella?”

“Yes. I have a meeting with Marvin later this evening.”

He raised a brow. “Is everything all right?”

She nodded, smiling. “Yes. I’m just having a weekly meeting like you suggested.”

He was glad she had taken his advice. “How about joining me for lunch? There’s a place not far from here that serves several nice dishes.”

She smiled up at him. “I’d love that.”

Jason knew he would love it just as much. He had been thinking about her a lot, especially at night when he’d found it hard to sleep. She was getting to him. No, she had gotten to him. He didn’t know of any other woman that he’d been this attracted to. There was something about her. Something that was drawing him to her on a personal level that he could not control. But then a part of him didn’t want to control it. Nor did he want to fight it. He wanted to see how far it would go and where it would stop

“Do you want me to follow you there, Jason?”

No, he wanted her in the same vehicle with him. “We can ride in my truck. Your car will be fine parked here until we return.”

“Okay.”

As he escorted her toward the exit, she glanced up at him. “What about your hot water heater?”

“I haven’t picked it out yet but that’s fine since I know the brand I want.”

“All right.”

Together they walked out of the store toward his truck. It was a beautiful day in May but when he felt her shiver beside him, he figured a beautiful day in Savannah would be a day in the eighties. Here in Denver if they got sixty-something degree weather in June they would be ecstatic.

He took his jacket off and placed it around her shoulders. She glanced up at him. “You didn’t have to do that.”

He smiled. “Yes, I did. I don’t want you to get cold on me.” She was wearing a pair of black slacks and a light blue cardigan sweater. As always she looked ultrafeminine.

And now she was wearing his jacket. They continued walking and when they reached his truck she glanced up and her gaze connected with his and he could feel electricity sparking to life between them. She looked away quickly, as if she’d been embarrassed that their attraction to each other was so obvious.

“Do you want your jacket back now?” she asked softly.

“No, keep it on. I like seeing you in it.”

She blushed again and at that moment he got the most ridiculous notion that perhaps this sort of intense attraction between two people was sort of new to Bella. He wouldn’t be surprised to discover that she had several innocent bones in her body; enough to shove him in another direction rather quickly. But for some reason he was staying put.

She nibbled on her bottom lip. “Why do you like seeing me in it?”

“Because I do. And because it’s mine and you’re in it.”

He wasn’t sure if what he’d said made much sense or if she was confused even more. But what he was sure about was that he was determined to find out just how much Bella Bostwick knew about men. And what she didn’t know he was going to make it his business to teach her.



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