I frown, pressing my lips together to hide my grin. “She might have some more work to do there.”
He leans in, shaking his head. “I’m plenty civilized. Don’t I always make sure to open doors for you, carry your bags, buy you dinner?”
I tilt my head up, pretending to think it over. “I guess. I’ll have to tell her what a good job she did if I ever run into her.”
“You should definitely come for poker one Friday. If you can play, that is. Gramps is a real shark. He’ll bluff you right out of your shoes if you’re not careful.”
“Illegal gambling. Maybe you’re not such a good boy.” I look up at him under my lashes. Those two words hit me in just the right spot and a bolt of lust zips through me. He just swallows hard and tucks his lower lip between his teeth. Hard to read his reaction.
“It sounds racier than it is. We gamble for candy. Licorice, Fuzzy Peaches. You know. That sort of thing.”
“I’m familiar with candy. Yes.”
“Of course.” He shifts in his seat. Did I freak him out, calling him a good boy?
I take pity on him and change the subject. “Now finish telling me about Blink.”
“Right. Well, to explain that to you, I’m going to have to reveal my hopelessly nerdy side. You might want to move right back out after I tell you this.”
“I don’t think there’s anything you could tell me that would make me want to move back into that flea-infested nightmare. Unless you’ve got bodies hidden in your basement. Wait, do you have bodies hidden in your basement?” Maybe I listen to too many true crime podcasts.
He doesn’t even bat an eye. “Guess you’ll have to wait and see.”
I laugh, wholly confident that he’s not secretly a murderer. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have that in him.
“Fine then, no dead bodies, what is it that you think will scare me away?”
“Well, I love the farm and I love what I do, but I’ve also always been interested in the world beyond Balsam Grove. Exploring new worlds, learning new things. Love that, but running a ranch you don’t get to travel much, so I found other ways to get lost. Fantasy books, games…and of course D&D.”
D&D. I repeat the acronym in my head, trying to parse the meaning.
“Oh, boy.” He reaches up to run his hand through his hair. “This might be worse than I thought. I don’t know what you’re going to think.”
Gemma appears next to us with a bottle of red wine and a delicious cloud of garlic floats over.
“Smells so good,” I say, taking another deep inhale.
“Oh, it’s the best. Enzo took over after his ma retired. He said she never told him the full secret to the recipe until she handed over the keys to him and his husband.”
“Wow. That’s dedication to a secret.”
“It’s as good as it smells.” Quint nods at the bottle when Gemma shows it to him. She pours him a taste, and he picks up the glass, swirling it like a pro sommelier. “Did you want to try it first, Aura? I’m sure you’ve had a chance to taste some fine wines over the years.”
I wave a hand, laughing. “You go ahead. I enjoy a glass now and again, but I’m no wine snob.”
He clears his throat, dips his nose into the glass, and inhales. Then he proceeds to swirl it in the glass and takes a sip swishing it around in his mouth. He nods to Gemma. “Good, thanks.”
After she pours us glasses and heads off, I pick mine up, eyeing it. Looks like wine to me. “You really do know what you’re doing there.”
“Yeah. I mean, I’m no expert but I kind of accidentally took a wine tasting course in my second year of uni and it sort of stuck. I really enjoy a good Pinot.”
I take a small sip, letting the wine sit on my tongue. It’s nice, dry, leaves that warm feeling in my mouth. But I couldn’t pick out any specific flavors if I tried. “Howdoes one accidentally take a wine course?” The steaming basket of garlic bread is beckoning me with its buttery goodness, so I snatch a piece up, moaning at the sharp bite of the garlic as I crunch down.
“Accidentalmight be the wrong word. See, someone I knew was taking it, and I sort of said I was taking it too even though I hadn’t signed up yet. So then I had to sign up.”
The laugh bubbles up and I can’t keep it in. “Let me guess. A woman?”
He ducks his head. “Yeah.”
