Harper tucked her foot back inside and closed the truck door. When she looked at him, she was smiling. “I’d love to have dinner with you.”
His heartbeat tripled. And now the dry mouth and sweaty hands started up again. Nuts. What was wrong with him?
She clicked her seatbelt. “Can I make a different restaurant suggestion, though?”
“Sure,” he croaked, sounding like a beat-up old bullfrog. He cleared his throat. “Where do you want to go?”
“Do you like pizza?”
“Sure do.”
“I know the perfect place, then.”
She gave him directions to Deep-Dish Delights, a pizzeria a few miles outside of Maple Falls, and they were on their way. He hid a grin, hoping she didn’t see it. His thick beard was finally good for something.
When he pulled into the pizzeria parking lot, he said, “I ain’t heard of this place before. I thought I knew all the pizza places in a thirty-mile radius.”
“It’s new. They opened five weeks ago, and everythinghere is delicious. I don’t eat pizza much because of the calories. But occasionally I indulge.”
He hurried out of the truck to open the door for her, even though she already had it partway open. “Thanks,” she said, a surprised expression on her face.
“I’ve been trying to do that all afternoon,” he said. “But you kept gettin’ out of the truck too fast.”
“Oh.”
He stuffed his hands into his pockets, double-guessing his instinct to explain himself. He and Harper obviously weren’t on a date, but considering his track record with women, he never knew whether he’d offended them or not. “If you don’t want me to open your door, I don’t have to.”
“I don’t mind,” she said, her voice soft.
He glanced at her. She was so easygoing, something else he wouldn’t have guessed about her. He was finding out all kinds of new things about Harper Wilson. Things he liked.
Trying to get his bearings, his gaze darted around the parking lot. “Lot’s full,” he said, doing his best imitation of Captain Obvious.
“They’ve got plenty of seating. And plenty of pizza.” She headed for the door.
He followed, and she was right. The size of the restaurant was deceiving from the outside, but inside there were several empty tables. She walked over to one in the middle, and before she could sit down, he pulled out her chair for her.
“Thanks again,” she said, settling into the chair.
He sat opposite her. “You’re welcome.”
She crossed her arms and put her elbows on the table.Leaning forward, she said, “So who taught you to be such a southern gentleman?”
He grinned. “That would be G’ma, although Senior always backed her up. Not everybody wants to have doors opened and chairs pulled out, though. The last girl I went out with...” He fiddled with the edge of the vinyl white-and-red-checked tablecloth. “Never mind.”
“She didn’t like it.”
Rusty met her eyes. Candlelight from the red jar in the middle of the table caused glowing shadows to flicker across her pretty face. Was there ever a time when she wasn’t beautiful? He doubted it. “About six months ago—maybe nine, I reckon, now that I think about it—I went out with the daughter of one of my out-of-town customers. The lady was so nice andsosure her lovely daughter and I would hit it off. And she definitely was lovely. I can give her that.”
“But you didn’t hit it off,” Harper said.
“Nope. Not even a little. I opened the truck door for her, and she gave me a look like I had scrambled eggs for brains. When we got to the Orange Bluebird, I pulled out her chair.”
“What did she say?”
He tried to imitate her high-pitched voice. “‘I’m only going out with you because my mother said she would stop bugging me if I did.’” Then she grabbed the chair and yanked it out of my hand. After we ate, she asked me if I could drop her off at a friend’s house. When I took her there, she said, ‘Sorry. You’re nice, but you’re not my type.’ Turned out that friend was a guy.”
“How did you know?”
