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She didn’t want to hurry the evening—she’d have been happy to sit here talking to him for hours—but excitement hummed in the background. He was going to kiss her again. She knew he was.
If he was hoping for an invitation into her bedroom, he’d be out of luck. She’d never done that on a first or second date anyway, but in this case, Tony’s apology hadn’t entirely restored her trust in his sincerity. And also…she couldn’t forget, and doubted he had either, all the complications in this relationship. With him, she’d have to be very, very sure this wasn’t only fast-acting but short-lived lust.
Then there was Dad, who needed her. Protecting him was something she had internalized as much as Tony had the guilt his mother used to keep him on a leash.
Family, she thought with frustration, except she had a surprising, wistful moment, wondering how it would be to have her own. The little girl and boy in her fleeting fantasy had warm brown eyes and their daddy’s black hair.
And then she wondered if Tony would want children at all after growing up the oldest of eight and still responsible for many of them.
Second date, remember?
“Ready to go?” he said suddenly, as if he’d run out of patience with their conversation.
Embarrassed, Beth realized she couldn’t remember what they had been talking about. Which made her wonder what he’d seen on her face as her thoughts wandered.
“Yes, of course.”
Once she slid out of the booth, he laid a hand on her back, as he had at his aunt’s restaurant. Proprietary. Beth had never realized her lower back was so sensitive.
Unfortunately for her mood, on the drive home, she remembered him saying he had more questions. And, of course, they still had all those boxes sitting on the lawn to go through. Those didn’t worry her. The questions did.
Maybe it would be better to get those over with before he kissed her. In case she’d regret another kiss, once she heard what he wanted to know.
When he pulled into a visitor space behind the row of townhouses, Beth took a fortifying breath. “I’m wondering if you’d like to come in for a cup of coffee and to ask me those questions you have stored up.”
* * *
TONY ALMOST GROANED. He’d been thinking about long, luxurious kisses, maybe some cuddling, while she’d apparently latched onto his casual comment as if it were barbed wire biting into her flesh.
“Coffee, yes. But I thought we’d agreed to take the night off.”
“I’m a worrier.” And, yes, anxiety showed in her eyes. “In case you haven’t noticed. Avoidance just makes me more anxious.”
“Beth, I’m looking for information. I promise, this isn’t anything that will upset you.”
“Then why not do it now?” she asked stubbornly.
There was the line he should have drawn, but continuing to argue was clearly useless. Shaking his head, he said, “Now it is. Ah…do you mind if I bring my gun in? I don’t like leaving it out here.”
“Why didn’t you say so at the pizza parlor?”
He smiled. “I picked a booth that let me keep an eye on my truck.”
Fortunately, Beth laughed. “No, I don’t mind. Having both of us worried at the same time couldn’t be good.”
After snapping the holster back at his belt, he also grabbed the spiral notebook he kept in the glove compartment, locked up and followed her to the back door.
This row of townhouses were new and looked classy, at least from the outside; he’d noticed them but hadn’t ever had cause to enter any of them. No security system, he saw, as Beth let them in, but she probably didn’t need one. Neighbors were only a wall away, and her designated parking spot was directly behind her unit. The lighting at the back of the building wasn’t great, but the neighborhood tended to be low-crime.
The inside was a lot fancier than his house. Hardwood floors, gleaming granite countertops in the kitchen, coved ceilings. He might have been intimidated if her furniture had been as expensive looking, but it wasn’t. He guessed she’d picked up some of the wood pieces at thrift stores or garage sales and refinished them. Pillows on the sofa had been sewn from quilt blocks.
Seeing what he was looking at, she said, “I look for old quilts that are really tattered, so I don’t have to feel guilty cutting them up. I make pillows and table runners from the parts I can salvage.”
