“Yeah, actually,” I huff.“Not all of us are eight feen-ten with good bone structure.”
He snickers.“You think ...I have good bone structure?”When I start to protest, he waves it away with one of those big, capable hands of his.“Forget it.Listen, order the Ranch Hand Special.”
“What?”But Trixie is already sashaying our way, a vaguely impatient look on her face, and with good reason.I’ve already waved her off half a dozen times so far.“Fine,” I huff when she asks if I’m (finally) ready to order.“I’ll have the ...Ranch Hand Special.”
They both snicker like they’re in on some joke.“What?What’s so funny?”
“Nothing, Sugar,” Trixie mutters, struggling to keep a straight face.“But ...i’ll have to check your ID first.”
“I ...huh?”She and Grady chuckle a little more before she simply walks away, scribbling in her little white notebook the whole while.“Aren’t you having anything?”
Grady nods toward Trixie’s predictably swishing backside, not ogling it the way most guys might.“She knows my order.”
I nod out the plate-glass window at our side.“Wow, this town reallyissmall, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Chet.”He sighs wearily, as if he’s known me forever and is as sick of my shtick as everyone else I’ve ever met.“It’s a small town.We’re all hicks.The food here is greasy, calorie-dense, 10-4 Good Buddy, we all know you’re some fancy city slicker who wouldn’t be caught dead here if it wasn’t for work, so...”
“I ...I never said any of that,” I huff, although he’s not entirely wrong.
“You don’thaveto,” he says, our eyes meeting intensely across the cozy café table.“It’s written all over your city boy face.”
I stiffen.Bristle.Then ...sag.“Yeah.”I sigh, unable to protest any longer.“I do that.I’m sorry.I just ...I have a lot riding on this gig, Grady.And this morning?Wasn’t exactly, uh ...confidence inspiring, if you know what I mean.”
He nods, eyes still warmly meeting mine.“I’m sorry about that,” he insists, no longer coy or playful.His voice, when serious, is only slightly less sexy than when he’s being a playful cowpoke smartass.“You’re right.I should have been more prepared, studied up...”
“How about ...remembered I was coming in the first place?”I tease.
Grady looks around anxiously, as if afraid someone else might hear.Fat chance, I muse to myself, considering the volume level in this crowded little breakfast joint rivals most music festivals I’ve been to.“Listen, real talk?”
“Obviously,” I tease.“You think I’d admit defeat to just any old cowboy?”
He chuckles, soft and low.“Anyway, I ...yes, I work at the family firm, and yes, that was my office back there, and yes, my name is, technically anyway, Mr.Palmer, but this time last week?I was still at Kentucky Eastern, sharing an off-campus apartment with some slob named Booger McGee, so if you could just cut me some slack and give me a little grace period here, I...”He swallows as if forcing himself to say the next line, “I promise you won’t regret it.”
“Booger McGee?”I chuckle, watching him sag with relief.“I already do!”
Chapter Five
