The Wright Brother(23)

“Sure,” she said.

“Just, um, come find me when Mom is done.”

“Will do. But…if you get another ride home, that’s okay, too,” Kimber said boldly.

I rounded my eyes in exasperation, but Kimber stifled a laugh behind her hand. Between Kimber and Heidi, they were determined to set me up by Christmas. As if I hadn’t just gotten out of a sort of three-year relationship with Mitch. God, thinking about that made my head hurt. What a huge mistake.

“Good to go,” I said, snatching up my cell phone.

Kimber had my wallet in her purse since I hated carrying one.

“That’s it?” he asked.

“What? Oh, my phone? Yeah. Purses are annoying.”

He laughed and cocked his head to the side. “Interesting. Why do you think that? I thought most women loved purses.”

I fell into step beside him. “Yeah, well, I’m not most women. I think they’re pretty, but why would I want to lug something around full of junk that I probably won’t need, only to hurt myself by carrying the weight around?”

“Fair point,” he said with an amused smile on his face.

We passed through the narthex and went out into the Texas sunshine. I stripped off my cardigan since the weather was in the seventies. It never stopped amazing me, how bizarre the weather patterns were here. But I would take it if I got to wear a short-sleeved dress in December.

“This is a little strange,” I said.

“Why?”

I chewed on my lip and shrugged. “I don’t know…because I dated your brother?”

Jensen shifted his feet and then stared down at me like I was his next meal. “That was a long time ago, right?”

“Yeah,” I admitted. “You’re right. It was forever ago.”

“And you’re away at school right now?”

I narrowed my eyes, wondering where he had gotten his information. Not that I wanted to tell him that I’d just quit pursuing my degree. Only my mother, Kimber, and Heidi knew that.

“Away is kind of a loose phrase for someone who hasn’t lived in Lubbock in almost ten years,” I said nonchalantly.

“That’s true, I suppose. It’s not like many people move back once they’ve seen the big wide world,” he said with a grin.

“Yeah. There’s a reason for that.”

“What would that be?” he asked, genuinely curious.

But he had to know. Lubbock was suffocating. Big enough to have an airport, small enough for the airport to have to reroute you everywhere you really wanted to go. It had improved in every way since I left in high school. Better restaurants, better shopping, better amenities. But it was still Lubbock—dry, dusty, and flat as hell.

“Because not everyone has a private jet that can fly them wherever they want,” I said. Then, I covered my mouth in horror. “Oh God, you know what? That was really rude. Definitely rude. I don’t even know if you have a private jet.”

“I do,” he said with blatant amusement as I tried to cover up my mishap.

“Okay. Well, even if you didn’t…still rude.”

“Do you want to go out with me?” Jensen asked point-blank.

“What?” I gasped. “I was just rude to you. Why would you want to?”

“You’re refreshing. You don’t have to apologize to me. I’ve been in your presence for fifteen minutes, and I’m already certain that I want to continue to do so.”

His eyes slid to my lips with the unsaid words hanging between us.

I’d like another one of those kisses. Please, and thank you.

“But…but you don’t even know me,” I said. I had no idea why I was arguing with him.

“That’s true. However, I would very much like to get to know you, if you’d let me, Emery.”

I was pretty sure that it was the way he said my name that made me realize he was serious.

It made no sense to me. I couldn’t be like the other girls he had dated. I remembered a tall blonde girlfriend he’d had in college who was around the house when I dated Landon. Smart, beautiful, legs for days with a body that belonged in a Victoria’s Secret ad and a smile that belonged on a Crest commercial. She was the kind of girl someone like Jensen Wright picked up. Not me.

Yet, in some strange twist of the universe, this was happening. To me!

I wanted to ask why. Perhaps the glamorous look from last night had won him over, but today, I was once again makeup-free. My hair still held the curls from last night, so they looked all right. But I still didn’t understand it.

I was an average girl, and he was a gorgeous Texas billionaire. He could have anyone he wanted, but he’d picked me.

“All right,” I said finally.