Getting Lucky by Erin Nicholas

new things.
    Looking at him now, with all of that hot, tanned skin and those glorious muscles, she thought that her mom really had been on to something—new adventures were all around, it was simply a question of if she was going to embark on one or not.
    “I’m going to make this cream,” she said. “Nothing like homemade from scratch with plenty of TLC added in.”
    His eyes narrowed. “Maybe I’m the crazy one.”
    “Why is that?”
    “Because I’m going to let a hippie girl I just met rub some mystery homemade cream all over me.”
    Rub. All over. Those were nice words.
    “I can definitely make a cream for that too,” she said, dropping her voice just enough that he would know exactly what she was talking about.
    He didn’t look confused, that was for sure. “Massage cream for all over the body, huh?”
    “There are several essential oils that act as aphrodisiacs and that can increase sexual pleasure.”
    He lifted one eyebrow. “Funny, I’ve never felt the need for essential oils to have a good time.”
    “You don’t know what you’re missing.”
    There was a long, heated moment between them, and for a second, Hope thought he was going to kiss her.
    But again, his restraint was remarkable.
    That or he was really bad at reading her energies. Because they were saying I’m all yours .
    “Maybe we should stick to my shoulder.”
    He didn’t add for now but Hope decided to believe it was implied. “Hey, I’m all for rubbing whatever of yours I can get.”
    He blinked and she almost regretted her words. She didn’t want to scare him off. She really did want to help him with his shoulder.
    The idea that the big, tough farmer with the emotional barricade firmly in place could be scared off was amusing, but Hope definitely sensed it. He was drawn to her, but he was still sure it was a bad idea to do anything about it.
    “I’ll keep that in mind,” he finally said.
    Now it was her turn to blink. Not only was he not scared off, he’d given a sort-of flirtatious comeback. She was making progress.
    Progress toward what exactly? she asked herself. But she wasn’t sure she could, or should, specifically answer that. She wanted to help him. His shoulder hurt—she could do something about that. His heart hurt too, but what was she going to do about that? What did she want to do about that? Maybe she wanted to fix that too.
    She wasn’t hoping to become wife number two or anything, but another Melody lesson was that relationships were about people relating. Period. They didn’t have time frames, they didn’t have specific objectives. They were just about people connecting.
    Could she connect with TJ Bennett beyond helping him with his shoulder pain?
    Oh, yeah she could.
    Happily.
    “You just let me know,” she said. “I’m actually a professional rubber.”
    “Are you now?”
    She nodded. “I have my massage therapy license.” True story. She’d done that before starting the nursing program. She’d loved massage and had kept her license active. There was nothing like human touch to restore all kinds of good things in a body.
    That and aromatherapy were two things she and her mother had seen eye to eye on. Hope loved essential oils and used them herself in any number of ways. She didn’t know as much as Melody had. Hope stuck with the basics. But she
    “Makes sense why my shoulder feels so good now,” he said.
    “Well, that and the fact that you like me touching you,” she said. If they were going to connect, then TJ was going to be as aware of it as she was. Even if she had to spell it all out every step of the way. “Being aroused helps decrease your pain levels.”
    TJ turned to face her fully. “Is that right?”
    She nodded. “Oxytocin. Leads to a release of endorphins.”
    “You know all kinds of things.”
    “You have no idea.” Did she sound breathless? She felt breathless.
    “I think this would be a good time to go back to the house.”
    Or get naked. She could really go