“Really? And people like this? Seems a bit obtrusive.”
“It can be.”
“Well, you are welcome to ask me anything, and I promise every word will be true.”
“Okay. We’ll start easy, warm up. What’s your favorite color?”
“Easy, red.”
I smile. “Why red?”
“Oh, there’s caveats. You want me to explain it? Hmm.” He thinks for a second. “I think it’s because red is the color of love, and it’s warm you know? Reminds me of home.” He tilts his head to the side. “My pickup truck. It used to be my dad’s. We went on all kinds of adventures together in it. He’d drive me around to meet with buyers or other breeders. All the ranch stuff. You’d think I’d be bored, but I loved it. Felt so grown up getting to join him. Hmm.”
He rests one arm on the top of the steering wheel, deep in contemplation before turning to me. “How about you?”
I wag a finger at him. “Oh, no. This one is your AMA. I’m asking the questions.”
“Oh, okay, that’s how it works?”
“Yup,” I say, enjoying the reversal. Everyone is always asking me questions, wanting to get to know me and snoop on my personal life. It’s kind of fun to be on the other end.
“How about, hmm…what were you taking at school?”
“That’s an easy one too. I majored in Animal Science. Got my Bachelor of Science in Agriculture.”
I let out a low whistle. “Bachelor of Science? That couldn’t have been an easy one. So, you’re smart too.”
He grins over at me. “I get by all right. But I don’t know that I could have done that in any other science major. I just love learning about animals and working with them.I’ve spent my life around horses and whatever other critters are hanging around the ranch. Goats, donkeys, some alpacas, cows.” His expression turns a little distant. “My mom was a softie. She could never turn down an animal that needed help. I got that from her. I’ll introduce you to Daffodil later. She was my first rescue. A sweet little donkey. I guess that’s kind of how I got Blink too. Although I do believe Blink may have decided I needed a rescue and appeared out of the ether to look after me.”
“That’s an unusual name for a dog. Where’d it come from?”
He twists in his seat to face me after coming to a stop beside the family house. “How about we get your stuff unloaded and head out for dinner. I’ll tell you about Blink and anything else you want to know. Might be nice to have a meal alone to get to know each other better before I expose you to the chaos of a Holloway family dinner.”
My shoulders ease up a little. I don’t even think I knew I was tense. There is that lingering question though. What’s his family going to think of me moving in with him?
“Deal.”
We’re settled into a little table in the corner of a tiny Italian restaurant. Apparently it’s one of the few restaurants in town. No surprise there, given the size of the place. It’s going to be weird, though, after having every cuisine of the world, every style of restaurant at my fingertips atany given moment. Not that I can go out to any restaurant any time I want. Dining out has to be carefully planned in advance with one of two ends in mind: maintain as much secrecy as possible, or put myself in a carefully curated public situation and alert the media. Never a spontaneous casual meal.
The server gives us a warm smile.
She’s not what I was expecting. Her midnight black hair is pulled into a high ponytail, and she’s got the kind of piercing blue eyes that Hollywood covets. But the tattoos creeping up her neck and down her arms would provide a lot of extra work for a makeup artist.
“Gemma, hey, how are you doing?” Quint gives her his biggest smile.
“I’ve been good. We’ve all missed you around here, though. You going to come over for Friday night poker with Gramps now that you’re home from school?”
“You bet. I did sure miss illegal gambling while I was away at school.” She laughs, turning to me. I spot the exact moment she recognizes me, when her eyes widen just the slightest bit. But she recovers quickly. “Are you going to introduce me to your friend?”
Quint looks over to me with a question. I give him a slight nod. Maybe this was a bad idea, coming out. But if I’m going to be here for another month, I’m sure I’ll have to leave the safety of the ranch on occasion, so I might as well get comfortable with the odd person knowing my name.
“This is Aura. She’s staying with my family for the next month. Maybe longer. We’ll be around and about, but I’dreally appreciate it if you can keep it under wraps as much as you can.”
“Of course.” She grips the tray in her pale hands, pulling it in tight to her waist. “Now what can I get you to drink?”
We order a bottle of red wine and Quint asks for garlic bread to start off.
“Gemma’s good people,” he says once she’s gone to put our order in. “Our families have been friends for decades. After my parents died, they kind of took me and Shayla under their wings. Caleb was fine looking after us, but Mrs. Stein, Gemma’s grandma, made it her mission to make sure we grew up ‘civilized,’ as she likes to say.” He makes air quotes beside his head.
