Read Online Only You by Deborah Grace Stanley - Free Book Online Page A

herself off from him for any reason. Not now.
    She closed her eyes. “I forgot the Historical Society was meeting this afternoon. I have to change and get back to work.”
    He grasped her hand before she could leave. “Will I see you tomorrow?”
    “I don’t know, Cole. I’m really behind at work.”
    He wasn’t about to give up on her. Not because of a little embarrassment. There was definitely something between them. Today had proven it. “How ’bout I call you later?”
    She sighed, but didn’t answer. Cole reached out and turned her face toward him with a finger at her chin. When her eyes met his, he said, “I wish I knew what to say to take us back to fifteen minutes ago.”
    She chewed on her lower lip, but hadn’t gotten out of the truck yet. That encouraged him to continue.
    He teased a stray curl at her temple. “You look real pretty wet, Josie Lee.”
    She tried to tuck the hair that had fallen out of that knot behind her ears. “I’m sure I’m a mess.”
    “A beautiful mess.”
    Cole smoothed his hand from her cheek to the back of her neck. He very much wanted to take the pins out of her hair and watch it fall across her shoulders and down her back. He shifted closer to her. Josie shivered.
    “You’re freezing,” he whispered. He slipped his hands inside the jacket he’d settled loosely around her shoulders earlier and rubbed her arms through her wet shirt.
    “Cole…”
    “ Mmm ?” She smelled like some kind of wildflower growing in the meadow on his farm. He inhaled deeply, then pressed his lips against the pounding pulse at the side of her neck. So, the town librarian wasn’t completely unaffected by his touch.
    “I should go…” she said as she edged closer to the door, effectively breaking the contact.
    Cole settled his hands on her waist, stalling her retreat. “Would you like me to wait while you change? I could drive you back to work.”
    “No. I have my car in the garage.”
    He pulled her a little closer until their thighs aligned. “You’re sure?”
    Her gaze skidded from his face to the wet shirt stretched across his chest and back again just before she pushed away from him, sucked in a ragged breath, and said, “I’m sure I have to go. Now.”
    She may have mixed feelings on the matter, but duty called. Her work came first. Had to come first. He wanted her back in his arms, but the timing was all wrong. Factor in that she was still reluctant to let him get too close. She’d have to come to him in her own time. This much was becoming clear.
    “Okay. I’ll call you later?” He held his breath while he waited for her response.
    “Cole?”
    “Yeah?”
    “Can I be honest with you?”
    “Sure,” he said cautiously.
    “I know that I’ve probably given you the impression that I—well, that I may want us to be more than friends.”
    “That don’t bother me a bit.” His heart pounded at the thought of them being much more than friends.
    She looked away from him. “It bothers me.”
    His racing heart ground to a halt. This conversation was going from bad to worse. “Why?”
    “Because I can’t afford the distraction right now.”
    Oh, yeah. She was clearly conflicted on the issue. The way she chewed on her thumbnail was telling. The way she reacted to him was also telling. Cole felt his smile return. “So, I’m a distraction?”
    Josie rolled her eyes. “Yes,” she admitted. “I should be paying attention to what’s on my calendar and working out the kinks in my computer program instead of letting you ply me with Dixie’s cooking.”
    He squeezed the back of her neck. “Stop worrying about that program.”
    She pushed the damp hair back off her forehead. “How can I? The system has to be operational in less than two weeks. The way things are looking now, I’ll be unemployed by then.”
    “It’ll be working like a charm by tomorrow.”
    “I wish I had your confidence.” She looked at her watch. “I really have to go.”
    When Cole reached over to