“You didn’t say anything about surprises,” she retorted as she leaned casually against the door, the weight of her gaze heavy on him as he drove.

“I meant to.”

Her throaty chuckle lit him up from the inside, and Cooper suddenly wondered whether what he had in mind was actually a smart idea or not. Taking her to a public restaurant probably made more sense than taking her to a secluded place where he didn’t have to worry about anything other than enjoying her company.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

“What’s that smell?” Tessa asked, turning toward the backseat where the delicious aroma seemed to be coming from. “Is that food?”

“I sure hope so because I’m starved,” he said, not taking his eyes off the road.

“So you aren’t taking me to dinner?”

“I thought I’d bring dinner to you,” he answered easily.

Tessa turned back around, peering out the window to see where they were going. She knew the town like the back of her own hand considering she’d lived there her entire life. It was clear based on the landmarks that they were headed south toward the Deluth farm, better known as Cooper’s new house.

Tessa wasn’t sure exactly how she felt about that. She was having a hard time convincing herself that she should be upset that Cooper had upended her dreams so easily. In fact, she feared she was actually starting to like the guy more than she should.

For the better part of the afternoon, she had ridiculed herself for her reaction to him the other night when they were at the bar. Had he not shown the type of restraint that she obviously didn’t even possess, she would’ve had sex right there in the middle of her bar with Cooper Krenshaw and this date would probably not even be happening.

And then she had risked sending him running in the opposite direction by opening up to him when he had asked about her mother. That hadn’t been her smartest move. Tessa, as a rule, did not open up to people, so she didn’t know what had happened between them that night. Thankfully, she had her thoughts back under control, locked up safe and sound, which meant she didn’t have to worry about tonight.

So this morning, once she had finally talked herself back off the ledge and decided she wasn’t going to cancel on him, she had primped in front of the mirror more times than she was willing to admit. To find out that he wasn’t even taking her out, she was a tad bit disappointed, but oddly relieved at the same time.

Was he expecting her to sleep with him? Was she going to sleep with him? If the other night was any indicator, it was highly likely that she would take him right there in the bed of his truck if he just kissed her once. Except now in the bright light of the day, that option didn’t seem so simple anymore.

For the last several hours, she had thought of nothing else except this man, and she’d come to a conclusion. She was far more attracted to Cooper than for just his incredible body or his country charm. Or his deep, soothing voice.

There was something else about him that appealed to her on many levels, the least of them being sex. Although, she wouldn’t deny that they could probably create one hell of a science project just by the chemical reaction the two of them created when they were together.

For the last two weeks, he’d been the perfect gentleman and she’d been a hot, ogling mess. Ever since the first night he walked into her bar, put his arms around her in order to keep her on her feet, Tessa had to admit that she was seriously intrigued by the man – despite her many reasons not to be.

At first, there was no doubt that it had all been based on physical attraction. However, that appeared to be morphing into something deeper. Sure, she would’ve preferred to keep her interest on a more superficial level, but Tessa knew ultimately, she wasn’t built that way. And the more she learned about him through their various conversations during slow times, the more she found herself liking him. In the same sense, he was somehow getting her to open up to him about things she didn’t talk to anyone about. And yet he wasn’t running away.

Cooper turned the truck down the dirt driveway that led to the farmhouse sitting several acres off the road, and that’s when the butterflies erupted in her stomach. Tessa wasn’t sure what she was so nervous about, but whatever it was, the closer they got to his house, the worse it got.

“Now, don’t go panickin’ on me, darlin’.” Cooper’s voice was gentle, and Tessa wondered whether he could feel her apprehension in the congested confines of the truck cab.

“What are you talking about?” she asked, trying to appear unaffected. She wasn’t sure she succeeded, but thankfully Cooper opted not to challenge her. Figuring she should keep the conversation going so that she had less time to think about what it actually meant to be alone with him, she asked, “When do you plan to move into the house?”

“Already done.”

Tessa snapped her head in his direction, trying to determine whether he was serious or not. “You just closed on the house yesterday. How’d you manage that?”

“Technically, I don’t have anything in the house. I just brought the things I had with me. The movers will be here on Thursday with the rest of my stuff.”

“You know, I never did ask, but where’d you live before this?” Tessa realized there were a lot of things she didn’t know about this man.

“About twenty minutes outside of Nashville.” When Cooper didn’t elaborate, Tessa realized they’d parked in front of his house. She stopped asking questions so she could help get the items from the backseat.

They didn’t say anything more until they were walking up onto the front porch, each of them carrying a large plastic sack filled with small containers of food.

“If your furniture isn’t here, where do you plan on eating?”

“I was thinking on the porch if you don’t mind. If I had my way, it’s where I’d have supper every night. Come on, I want to show you the view from the back.”

Tessa slowed, staring at Cooper’s back as he continued to lead her toward the rear of the house. She admired how his muscles flexed and bunched as he moved while she was still processing what he’d said. Was she being overly sensitive or was it just too coincidental how much they had in common?

Shrugging off the thought, she followed Cooper around the wood planked wraparound porch, noticing the areas that were in desperate need of patching. Much of the wood was rotting and some of the planks were broken in half. Her heart ached at the memory of her time spent there with Mr. Deluth. Over the last year, she’d spent more and more time with him, trying to convince him to let her help fix the worst of what was broken, but he always seemed more content just to spend their time talking.