Chapter 6

Chapter Six

DEVIN

“H ey, I need to talk to Booker,” I say into the phone as I peek out of the door of my office.

“Hey Devin! How’s it going?” Sabrina’s voice carries even through the phone, and I have to put my hand over the screen to try and muffle it.

“Good. I need to talk to Booker,” I repeat, hoping she’ll take it seriously. I had to call the house phone because he wasn’t answering his cell.

“He’s just getting out of the shower. Is everything okay?” She sounds concerned.

“Fine. All good.” I try to keep it brief, but clearly that’s not going to happen.

“I heard you brought Joy out to the ranch.”

“Yeah.” I press my lips together to keep from blurting out more.

“Is she having a good time? I know I’m missing her cinnamon rolls like crazy.”

“Yep.” My one-word answers are making her more suspicious.

“Devin, what’s going on? Is something wrong with Joy?” Her voice fluctuates between anger and concern.

“No, she’s fine. I mean, she's great.” My shoulders sag. “I’m in over my head.”

To my surprise, Sabrina lets out a small chuckle. “Booker said you’d do this, but I told him he was wrong. Damn it, now I’m going to owe him.”

“Booker said I’d do what?” I sit up straight and feel my brow furrow.

“That you’d call with some kind of crisis because you’ve been so obsessed with Joy since the second you saw her. And that when you finally got her there in your house and all alone, you wouldn’t know how to hold back.”

I’m silent for so long Sabrina thinks I’ve hung up.

“Hello, Devin, are you there?”

“I’m here,” I say and clench my teeth.

“If you want my advice, I’d follow in the footsteps of your bestie.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m saying, don’t give her space because all it will do is give her time to doubt you. You might think you’re doing the right thing by stepping back and letting her get used to you. But the best way to get her used to you is to always be around.” Sabrina says something, but it sounds muffled, and then I hear a kiss on the other end of the phone. “I know Joy and she’s used to carrying things on her own. Don’t let her.”

“What she said.” Booker’s voice comes through the phone, and then I hear the line go dead.

I stare at my cell until the screen goes black, and then I take a deep breath. They’re right. Joy is a woman who’s had to be independent all her life. She’s used to figuring it out on her own and handling things. It’s one of the reasons I’m so drawn to her. Not because she’s capable of doing things on her own, but because I kept wondering what it would be like to do those things for her. She’s so strong and self-sufficient, but I want to give her the chance to be soft. To lay things down and let me handle them. As much as I love her take-charge attitude, I want to see the woman that she becomes when she’s given the choice.

Deciding that I need to change things up, I swipe my thumb across the screen and make another call. Once that’s done, I go in search of Joy.

I don’t have to look too hard because the scent of something sweet is coming from the kitchen. “There you are,” I say when she stands up straight and places a tray of cookies on the counter.

“Did you finish whatever it was you needed to do?”

I don’t think I’m imagining the tightness around her eyes when she looks at me. When I put that distance between us earlier, it silently told her to put her guard up. After I spent the morning tearing it down, I can see it again between us.

“Yep, now I need you to get your pretty ass in the truck.”

“What?” She blinks, and I grab my keys off the counter.

“Come on, we haven’t got all day.”

“You told me to look through my stuff, and I haven’t done that yet.” She crosses her arms over her chest in a way that’s challenging.

If she wants to dance, I’m more than happy to play some music. “You’re right. I told you to go do something and instead I found you in the kitchen making cookies.” I grab one off the pan and take a bite. The warm chocolate chip cookie practically melts in my mouth. “Maybe I should dock your pay.”

“You wouldn’t.” She narrows her eyes at me, and my smile widens.

“Come on, bunny. We’ve got Christmas shit to buy.”

“I thought I was going to make a list and you’d order it?” She says it like she’s annoyed, but I see the spark of delight in her eyes. Her guard is coming down ever so slightly, so I remind myself of what Sabrina said and push a little more.

“I’m not sure I can leave you to your own devices.” I walk around the kitchen island and take her hand in mine. “I think this might be something you and I have to do together.” The tension around her eyes melts, and her fingers thread through mine. “Otherwise you might not do it right.”

She lets out a playful growl that’s the most adorable thing I’ve ever heard. “Listen here, cowboy, you keep up that kind of lip, and I’ll make sure to coat every surface of this house in glitter.”

“If that’s what you want,” I say before pulling her behind me and leading her outside. “But if you really want to get your way, don’t put glitter all over the house. Put it on your tits.”

The blush of her cheeks reminds me of Christmas, and I think this might be the best one yet.