Page 70 of Burning Skies
“It’s okay. You’re worth the effort.” He winks and shuts my door, while I sit here and swoon.
I check him out as he walks around the truck. He’s wearing a long-sleeved dress shirt with rolled-up sleeves that show off his muscular forearms. It’s tucked into a pair of worn jeans that mold to his muscular thighs. He’s also sporting brown cowboy boots that match his belt.
When he gets in the cab, the scent of his spicy cologne fills the air. I try not to get sidetracked by his sex appeal. “I’m sorry we have to be so secretive. My father will be home in a few days. I’ll tell him about the wedding. If that goes well, maybe… maybe in a few weeks I can tell him a little more?”
He smiles as he reaches over and grabs my hand. He brings it to his mouth and presses a kiss to my wrist. “Whatever you want to do, I’ll support you. If you want me to come with you, I’ll be there.”
“I’m not sure he’ll respond well to that, but perhaps we could get to that point?” Everything is a question because it’s not like we’re official. “I don’t want to put the cart before the horse.”
“Am I the horse?” he asks with a smirk.
Feeling my face flush, I roll my eyes. “If you’re asking if you’re hung like one, you already know that answer.”
He barks out a laugh, and my blush deepens. “You’re damn good for my ego, Honey McAllister.”
Laughing, I shake my head. “What I’m trying to say, ratherinarticulately, is that if we think things are moving ahead and want to pursue this, then yes, I’ll talk to my father.”
At a light, he tugs me to him and presses a quick kiss to my lips. “Just giving you a hard time.”
“You mean like how you left me hot and bothered in the dressing room yesterday?”
He shoots me a wolfish grin. “Don’t worry. It wasn’t one-sided. You didn’t notice me limping around afterward?”
We flirt all the way to the restaurant, which is about half an hour away. I’ve never smiled so much in my life. Once we park, I take in the rustic stone building in front of me that’s all lit up with a canopy of bistro lights.
I nod in approval. “I’ve heard good things about the Veranda.”
“They have a live band in the back.”
Smiling, I hook my arm in his as we make our way inside. The hostess seats us in a booth. We decide to just order appetizers and share, so we get spicy chicken wings, mozzarella sticks, and nachos.
We both order beer, but when the waitress brings them by, she apologizes because the bottles still have their caps. “Let me take them back to the bartender.”
“That’s okay. I can handle it.” I reach into my purse and pull out my bottle opener, which is a gold cowboy boot. After I pop off the caps, I hand Beau one. We clink our bottles, and he grins.
“To first dates.”
“To first dates.” I take a pull of my beer. “Though I have to say, this isn’t exactly a first date.”
“What would you say it was, then?”
Glancing down at the table, I smile. “I’m not sure. But I feel like everything that’s happened between us recently has an asterisk.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve never gone on a first date with a man I kissed at a masquerade party.”
“Ah, yes.” He leans back with a sigh. “I was wondering when we’d discuss that night.”
“Do you not want to? I feel like I should explain how I ended up there. And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious why you were there.” Because I assume it was for the women. But his answer shocks me.
He peels the label off his beer. “I needed to help Rhett pay the mortgage. We were short by two grand. My friend said he could get me into this elite party where they’d be playing poker, and I thought maybe I could win the money.”
“Were you able to do it?”
He nods. “I started with a hundred, and maybe half an hour later, I had what I needed and walked away. Gave the money to my brother when I got home.”
I’m struck by the depth of his kindness. “That’s really cool. How’d you learn poker?”
