"You realize you spent around two grand today, right?" she whispers.
"Like I said: my family supports things like this.”
Once I start the truck, she asks, “So, do your brothers and parents pitch in to support the camp? Or is it the entire family, like cousins and everything?"
My heart sinks. Audra and I still haven’t had the conversation where I explain that I'm wealthy.
"Oh, it's a whole family thing," I say with a dismissive wave. “We have a system. Hey, you haven't been to Cedarvale yet, have you?"
"No. But it's lovely here.”
“I’m glad you like it.” I give her a sideways glance. “I’m hoping you’ll consider staying a lot longer than a week or two.”
She smiles. “I might already be thinking about that.”
“Good.” I throw the truck into gear. “Ready to time travel to the fifties?”
6
AUDRA
Wow. Thane wasn’t kidding.
Betty’s Bistro is a fabulously kitschy restaurant with 1950s décor, music to match, and a huge patio. I have to say, I didn’t expect these small towns to have so much personality.
“Inside or patio?” Thane asks.
I glance around, noticing the way the branches are waving on the nearby trees. "I love patios, but I didn’t bring a hair tie. It’s hard to eat with hair blowing into your mouth."
Thane waves to the woman in leopard hot pants approaching us. "Hey, Betty. Table for two on the patio, please? Back in a second."
He darts to his truck, then returns just as I'm opening the menu at our corner table. "I know you overheard me when I was shopping," he says with a grin. "Sorry I didn't have a chance to wrap everything, but there's a hair clip in here somewhere."
I open the heavy bag and spread everything in front of me on the table, speechless. I'd heard the little girls telling him to buy several of their beaded jewelry pieces for me. I thought he was going to get three things. This is an entire collection.
I guess that proves Thane really reallyreallylikes me? It’s refreshing for a man to be so open about his feelings, even if he was probably just buying everything in sight to support the camp.
I take a close look at the blue, green, and silver beads. "Those girls did some very good work." I reach out to squeeze Thane’s forearm. "Thank you. These are lovely."
He chuckles. "If it's not your style, please don't feel you need to wear any of it. But this might come in handy right now." He pulls out a hair clip made of mostly green and silver beads. "May I?"
I turn the back of my head to him, melting when I feel his thick fingers combing my hair. He’s so gentle, taking his time, savoring this small moment of closeness. He takes the top half of my hair and twists it around a few times before clipping it securely in place.
I spin back, my grin stretching my face. "Thank you. How does it look?"
His head tips from side to side. "Kind of messy, to be honest. Should I try again?"
I shake my head, grinning. "No. As long as I can eat without hair in my mouth, I’m happy." I select a matching bracelet, then loop one of the necklaces around my neck before slipping the rest of the jewelry back into the bag and then into my purse.
Thane chuckles as I lean over to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Who knew. All the classic moves actually work. Buying women jewelry. Taking them out for fancy meals."
Betty tosses us a glance as she passes our table. "No fancy food here, Wolfie. You know that. Oh, and the specials today are meatloaf and a three-cheese smashburger."
Wolfie?That's hilarious. But then I remember the way that mother asked her daughters to “thank Mr. Wolfe”. Does it mean more than I realize that I’ve seen the name on so manybusinesses in the area? Should I be researching this guy online, not just trusting my gut?
Our lunch runs later and later. We order one more appetizer, then dessert to share, then fancy coffees. When Betty asks if we want to see dinner menus, Thane laughs.
"We should probably let other people use the table." He gives her the sign for the check, then mouths the word “fifty".
