“And so can you as long as you’re down here.”
“I should sit out on my front porch more often at the end of the day. I have to make a habit of it.”
“I spend as much time as I can outside. Nature calms me.”
“I can see why.”
“You’re enjoying our first date?”
“Absolutely!”
“So it’s all good… even if I didn’t take you to a fancy restaurant?”
“You can remember an exceptional meal for a few days—a few weeks, maybe—but I’ll never forget spending an evening gazing at the moon and stars. The company is pretty amazing as well.”
I couldn’t ask for more.
“I doubt I’ll forget our first date either,” I say.
She looks up at me, a shy smile teasing her lips. “You’re the perfect combination of sweet and rugged.”
“And don’t you ever forget it, missy.”
“And you’re funny.”
“I think you forgot sexy. Unless you want to use hot, which I’m not averse to.”
She rolls her eyes at me. “That goes without saying.”
We ate like royalty. It’s no surprise Carina won the Food Network competition. She’s an outstanding cook. I stuffed myself silly with those one-bite tarts. Knowing she prepared all this for me, makes me like her even more.
Now, we get to enjoy what Summerville has to offer.
Along with all the food she brought, Carina also packed a change of clothes. Smart idea. As sexy as the dress was on her, I’m glad she was able to slip into something more comfortable. She kicked off her sandals a long time ago and I did the same with my boots.
“I’ve always turned my nose up at camping, but I can handle this,” she says.
I let my gaze linger on her gorgeous face. “I figured this was more manageable for a city girl.”
“Good call. The only experience I have camping is when I was a kid. The triplets?—”
“Your parents have eight kids including a set of triplets?”
“They were trying for one more, but ended with three rambunctious boys instead. I’m the golden child, obviously.” She grins.
“It goes without saying.” I grin back.
“The triplets are six years older than me, so they were young enough to be willing to play with me. Dad would put up a tent in the backyard and we’d sleep there with a bunch of the younger cousins who lived on the same street.”
“Must be something else to always have someone to play with.”
“I never considered that before.”
“When you’re an only child, you have a lot of imaginary friends. That number doubles when you become an orphan… even when you were blessed with a great adoptive ma.”
“Wow, we had such opposite childhoods.”
“And yet, here we are. You know what they say?”
