“No, they’re both bad. With hypoglycemia – low glucose levels – I can black out. It happened a few times when I was younger. And at college when I didn’t always manage my levels properly. But now I can look at a plate and my glucose levels and work out exactly how much rapid insulin I need to take before I eat.”
“Except for when you forget your meds,” she murmured.
“Thank god you came to the rescue.” He’d kissed her, then they’d ended up in the shower, water pouring down their naked bodies as he showed her exactly how grateful he was.
And now he was coming to meet her family, and she was jittery. From the corner of her eye, she looked at Daniel as he drove them away from her condo and into the main part of Hartson’s Creek. Flowers were blooming in the town square, people sitting on benches and sipping coffee as they enjoyed the spring air. Somebody was coming out of the I Can Make You Beautiful salon, patting her hair and beaming widely. On the other side of the square, an old man was brushing the steps of the First Street Baptist Church with a huge broom, dust clouding the air as he worked.
“Have you always lived here?” Daniel asked, noticing she was smiling as she looked out of the window.
“Apart from college, yes. I love it. So many memories.” She grinned, pointing at Mur
phy’s Diner. “That’s where Gray and Maddie fell for each other. She was a waitress and he was trying to hide from his fans.” Then she pointed at a poster, advertising the spring season at the Chaplin Drive-In Theater. “Tanner and Van run the drive-in, but they also used to work at it as kids.”
“And Logan and Cam? Did they meet their partners here, too?”
“Yep. Logan and Courtney met on the road to their farm when a hen ran in front of his car. And you know that Cam met Mia when her kids threw a football at his car.”
“You’re a country girl at heart.”
She laughed. “Does that scare you?”
He shook his head. “Not at all.” He ran a finger down her thigh. “It must be nice, feeling like you belong somewhere.”
There was a wistful tone to his voice. She wanted to ask him about his family, his life, but whenever she’d tried, there was a block there. He’d either change the subject or kiss her.
They were on the road toward Creek Edge Farm. Becca pointed out the drive-in theater as they passed, then directed him left, down a dust track that led to the Creek Edge Restaurant. The fields were bursting with green crops. Beyond them, he could see a beautiful farmhouse looming in the distance.
“You can park here,” she said, pointing at an empty space in the makeshift parking lot. “Logan keeps talking about getting this repaved, but then he gets distracted by other things.”
“There’s a lot to be distracted by,” Daniel said, looking around the wide expanse of fields. “How many acres are here?”
“I’ve no idea. I forgot to bring my measuring tape.”
“Smartass.”
“And you love it.”
He kissed her temple, his breath warm against her. “I do. Now let’s go in and meet your family.”
She gave him a side glance as he climbed out of the car. “You’re very eager.”
He opened her door. “The sooner we get this done, the sooner I can take you home. I have plans for later.”
Becca climbed out, smiling. “What kind of plans?”
“The kind I’m not stupid enough to say out loud within distance of your brothers.” He slid his arm around her waist. “Let’s do this.”
“Are you afraid?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No.”
“But you made those jokes about them cutting your balls off. And asked me all those questions about them.”
“I’m interested in them, because I’m interested in you,” he said, as though it was obvious. “And it’s hard to be scared when I don’t actually care what they think of me. Except if it influences how you feel about me.”
Becca flushed, hoping he thought it was the warm spring breeze rather than his words that were affecting her this way. He looked amazing today, wearing a pair of jeans and a pale grey sweater that was tight enough to show the lines of his muscles through the knit fabric. His dark hair was tamed, though some locks were lifting in the air as the wind blew in from the fields. But it was the smile on his face that made him look so damn delectable. She was getting used to it now.
Nobody else has ever made him smile this much. His mother’s words echoed in her head. She loved that she was the one who made him happy. The one who took down his defences until he was almost exposed.