Page 44 of Meant for You

“It’s beautiful.”

He nodded and took my helmet from me, putting it with his on the bike seat, then took a pack from the back and held it up. “Dinner.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Did you make that yourself?”

He chuckled. “I mean, Quinn told me what to put in the bag, but I did the rest.”

I laughed. “So we’re not having bologna sandwiches and Cheez-Its?”

He put the bag down on the table. “I’m wounded. I’d never give you bologna and Cheez-Its. Ham sandwiches and Cheetos though, I was considering. Only the best for you.”

“Oh my God, you were totally going to feed me Cheetos, weren’t you?” I was grinning like crazy now.

“Maybe.”

“I thought you were supposed to be some kind of dating ninja? Is that what you feed all the women you bring out here?” I wasn’t sure why I’d asked that. I also wasn’t sure I wanted the answer.

“I’ve never brought anyone out here, Eves,” he said, golden-brown eyes on mine before he started unpacking the food he’d brought along with a couple of beers.

There was lasagna and salad in containers and a slice of cheesecake each. “You did not make this,” I said, stomach starting to rumble.

“Well, no. I wanted you to actually enjoy it. We have Addie from Lake’s End to thank for our meal tonight.”

The Rocktown café had exquisite food. I always stopped in for a slice of pie when I could. “Okay, I’ll let you off since Addie is an angel in the kitchen.”

He motioned to one of the chairs and I sat down. Dane did the same across from me. Which meant there was no escaping his steady gaze as I opened containers and dished us up some food.

I didn’t get nervous around Dane. The only time I’d ever felt nervous was when I first met him. He’d been standing in the kitchen of our foster home, head dipped, shaggy hair almost covering his eyes, and he’d silently taken me in.

I’d smiled, desperate to make a connection, so alone and sad and scared—and he’d smiled back.

“Hey, kid,” he’d said and offered me a chip from his bag.

The nerves I felt now, though, were nothing like that. They were something else completely, and they only got worse when I started eating and that steady gaze got more intense and kept dropping to my lips.

“So what’s Riff up to tonight?” I said, trying to make small talk.

“He’s back in Black Stone, but he’s coming back in a couple days.”

“Oh?”

“His birthday,” Dane said. “Bonfire, drinks down by the lake.”

I sat straighter. “Like a party?”

He took a sip of his beer. “Yeah, I guess.”

“I think I have one of those on my list,” I said, grinning, sounding far too eager but not caring, and trying to draw Dane out of his contemplative mood.

His lips curled up. “I’m aware.” That gaze dropped back to my mouth, and I licked my lips nervously.

We ate in silence for several more minutes.

“Do I have food on my face?” I said when it got too much for me. My skin was kind of tingly, and the ache between my thighs from the bike ride was getting progressively worse the longer he watched me.

“No,” he said and ate another mouthful of lasagna.

Okay.