coffee.
“ You should see it in the
spring. This is my favorite spot to have a cup of coffee in the
morning.”
Katie laughed quietly. “I was just
thinking how fantastic it would be to watch the sun rise from this
spot.”
“ C’mon.” He took Katie’s
hand and led her through the rest of the main floor. “Dining room .
. . office . . . guest bathroom . . . Jennifer and Jackson’s room .
. . and my parents’ room.”
Katie studied the pictures on the wall
and paused at one of Branson. “Oh my goodness, you were so cute.
How old are you here?”
“ Four, maybe?” He tugged
Katie along toward a staircase leading upstairs, pausing at the
bottom. “My sisters’ rooms are upstairs. Jennifer is staying in the
guest room on this level because of Jackson. Do you want to see?
It’s just a bunch of purple.”
“ No, it’s okay.” It felt
intrusive for her to look into his sisters’ bedrooms.
Branson led her to the
staircase at the far end of the house, past the kitchen and living
room. “Okay, so my sisters got the better deal on the view,
but I got the
whole downstairs to myself.” He grinned. Katie could see the
glimmer of pride in his eyes at his big win over his
sisters.
“ Wait, if your sister is
taking the guest room on the main level, where am I sleeping?”
Katie was trying to go back through the house in her mind to see if
she had missed another room.
“ There are two rooms
downstairs, if you’d rather have your own room. I just assumed you
would stay with me.”
Katie’s heart raced. The thought of
finally sharing a bed with Branson sent a thrill up her spine, but
at the same time she feared the lack of propriety would forever
tarnish his parents’ opinion of her. “As much as I’d love to spend
the weekend in your arms,” Katie felt the heat rising to her cheeks
and looked down. “I need to take the other room. I couldn’t stand
the thought of your family knowing we were intimate.”
Branson laughed. “Such a proper
girl.”
“ Don’t make fun of me.”
Katie’s lips formed a flat line and she wondered how many girls
he’d had in his bed. She quickly shook the thought off before hurt
feelings turned to anger.
“ I’m not making fun of
you. I love that you care about my family’s opinion. They’re very
laid back, and they wouldn’t think anything of us sharing a bed.
But I’ll respect your decision.” He lifted her chin to look at him.
“As long as you’ll at least make out with me on the couch before
you lock me out.”
They shared a nervous laugh before
descending down the staircase into a large living area. The walls
were darker than upstairs, a sandy-gold color, and the wooden beams
carried throughout, like upstairs.
“ Whoa, that’s a big
television,” Katie said as she ran her hand across the large
leather sofa that faced it. She walked over to the pool table and
gave Branson a crooked grin. “You play?”
“ I do. Are you trying to
entice me to try and beat you?”
“ Try you may, but win you
won’t.” She winked.
Branson took a couple of sticks off
the rack and handed her one. He racked the balls and asked if she
would like to do the honors of breaking.
“ Sure, thanks.” She leaned
over the table, aimed her stick at the cue ball and sent it
slamming into the other balls, scattering them across the green
felt. Two of the solid balls fell into the pockets, so she lined up
another shot. “I call solids.” She winked. “Green six, left corner
pocket.” It glided right in. “Blue two, right pocket.” The ball
bounced off the corner of the pocket and traveled backward. “Missed
it.”
“ Damn, I was rooting for
you. Watching you lean seductively over the table was just fine
with me.”
Katie smiled at his remark and leaned
against the wall. It felt good to be ogled by him. Branson landed
one striped ball in a pocket and missed the second shot. “Your
turn,” he said enthusiastically.
“ Hmm, are you throwing the
game?”
“
“ You should see it in the
spring. This is my favorite spot to have a cup of coffee in the
morning.”
Katie laughed quietly. “I was just
thinking how fantastic it would be to watch the sun rise from this
spot.”
“ C’mon.” He took Katie’s
hand and led her through the rest of the main floor. “Dining room .
. . office . . . guest bathroom . . . Jennifer and Jackson’s room .
. . and my parents’ room.”
Katie studied the pictures on the wall
and paused at one of Branson. “Oh my goodness, you were so cute.
How old are you here?”
“ Four, maybe?” He tugged
Katie along toward a staircase leading upstairs, pausing at the
bottom. “My sisters’ rooms are upstairs. Jennifer is staying in the
guest room on this level because of Jackson. Do you want to see?
It’s just a bunch of purple.”
“ No, it’s okay.” It felt
intrusive for her to look into his sisters’ bedrooms.
Branson led her to the
staircase at the far end of the house, past the kitchen and living
room. “Okay, so my sisters got the better deal on the view,
but I got the
whole downstairs to myself.” He grinned. Katie could see the
glimmer of pride in his eyes at his big win over his
sisters.
“ Wait, if your sister is
taking the guest room on the main level, where am I sleeping?”
Katie was trying to go back through the house in her mind to see if
she had missed another room.
“ There are two rooms
downstairs, if you’d rather have your own room. I just assumed you
would stay with me.”
Katie’s heart raced. The thought of
finally sharing a bed with Branson sent a thrill up her spine, but
at the same time she feared the lack of propriety would forever
tarnish his parents’ opinion of her. “As much as I’d love to spend
the weekend in your arms,” Katie felt the heat rising to her cheeks
and looked down. “I need to take the other room. I couldn’t stand
the thought of your family knowing we were intimate.”
Branson laughed. “Such a proper
girl.”
“ Don’t make fun of me.”
Katie’s lips formed a flat line and she wondered how many girls
he’d had in his bed. She quickly shook the thought off before hurt
feelings turned to anger.
“ I’m not making fun of
you. I love that you care about my family’s opinion. They’re very
laid back, and they wouldn’t think anything of us sharing a bed.
But I’ll respect your decision.” He lifted her chin to look at him.
“As long as you’ll at least make out with me on the couch before
you lock me out.”
They shared a nervous laugh before
descending down the staircase into a large living area. The walls
were darker than upstairs, a sandy-gold color, and the wooden beams
carried throughout, like upstairs.
“ Whoa, that’s a big
television,” Katie said as she ran her hand across the large
leather sofa that faced it. She walked over to the pool table and
gave Branson a crooked grin. “You play?”
“ I do. Are you trying to
entice me to try and beat you?”
“ Try you may, but win you
won’t.” She winked.
Branson took a couple of sticks off
the rack and handed her one. He racked the balls and asked if she
would like to do the honors of breaking.
“ Sure, thanks.” She leaned
over the table, aimed her stick at the cue ball and sent it
slamming into the other balls, scattering them across the green
felt. Two of the solid balls fell into the pockets, so she lined up
another shot. “I call solids.” She winked. “Green six, left corner
pocket.” It glided right in. “Blue two, right pocket.” The ball
bounced off the corner of the pocket and traveled backward. “Missed
it.”
“ Damn, I was rooting for
you. Watching you lean seductively over the table was just fine
with me.”
Katie smiled at his remark and leaned
against the wall. It felt good to be ogled by him. Branson landed
one striped ball in a pocket and missed the second shot. “Your
turn,” he said enthusiastically.
“ Hmm, are you throwing the
game?”
“
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