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“Yeah. Cousin got married outside of Santa Fe, so the entire clan came out. Anything for a party.”
“That sounds like fun.” She smiled. “My family’s not that big. Well, here in the US, anyway. I’ve got cousins over in the UK, but we don’t know each other well.” She pushed the mostly empty bowl away. “I’m gonna need a nap after that.”
Antony reached out and took her hand. “Nope. No naps. We’ll go for a walk around the town and work some of that off.” He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand and traced over the swirls of ink on her wrist. “So, galaxies all the way up?”
Lesley reached over with her other hand and shoved her sleeve up to her elbow. “Not all,” she said, smiling.
The images on her arm appeared to zoom in. Galaxies, comets, stars, and then, right around her elbow, Antony saw a couple of rings. He skated his fingertips over her skin and smiled when her eyelids fluttered at the sensation. He traced the visible part of the rings, and edged her sleeve upward just a bit more. “You know I’m curious to see the rest of them,” he said, voice low.
She shivered and opened her eyes. “Perhaps someday.”
“Stopping at the shoulder, or so you have other ink?”
“No. And yes.” She grinned.
His eyes burned hot, and he raised one eyebrow slightly. “So, why this theme?”
Lesley glanced down at his fingers, where they were still tracing over the rings. “I’ve just always loved it. I thought at one point I’d go into some aerospace field, but I’d rather stargaze than do the math for it.”
Antony smiled, and the corners of his eyes crinkled. Amusement and desire clashed in his gaze, and Lesley felt her stomach flip from the intensity.
The young man who had brought their dinner interrupted and quickly set down a basket with steaming sopaipillas and a plastic honey bear on the table.
Lesley groaned. “I am so full.”
“You had to know these would come out. It’s tradition.” Antony tore off a corner of one and drizzled honey over it. He held it out.
Lesley raised her eyebrows and looked at him as she reached out and took it from him. She popped it into her mouth and chewed. “Damn. These are good.”
“You missed some honey.” Antony leaned forward and gently swiped his thumb across her lower lip, smiling as she sucked in her breath.
She grabbed his wrist and closed her lips on the pad of his thumb. He closed his eyes and exhaled sharply as she sucked the almost non-existent drop of honey from his skin. When he opened his eyes, she let go and gave him a cheeky smile. “Almost as good as the sopaipilla.”
“Almost?” Antony dramatically touched the back of his hand to his forehead. “I rank below fried pastry.”
“Not that far below.” Lesley laughed. “It’s hard to beat fried dough.”
He stood and offered his hand. “Let’s see where I stand by the end of the night.”
CHAPTER TEN
After dinner, the couple walked around the town, stopping to look in windows.
“This town is pretty,” Lesley said. “I sometimes think about how nice it would be to live in a place like this, you know? Like how they look in romcoms. All that’s missing is the annual cactus wine festival and parade or something.”
Antony chuckled. “I know what you mean.”
“But I couldn’t do it. Live here, I mean,” she said.
Antony raised his eyebrows. “I figured this would be your speed, self-admitted introvert and all,” he said.
“You’d think, yeah, but no. See, too small means that everyone knows your business,” she said, kicking a pebble down the sidewalk. “People knowing my business is the opposite of introvert to me. Bigger towns are havens for those who want to blend in. But not too big that you’re stacked in like wood, you know?”
“Huh. Hadn’t thought of it that way, but it makes sense,” he said.
“And what’s your perspective as the extrovert?” she asked, poking him gently in the ribs.
He laughed and grabbed her hand, spinning her around and pulling her to him, her back pressed to his chest. They were facing a storefront, and mannequins in western style clothing were standing about in ridiculous poses. “I’m not as outgoing as you think,” he said, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. “I grew up in a small town, though not nearly as nice looking as this one. There was a level of comfort in everyone knowing everyone. People still have their secrets, but they’re also there for each other, you know?”
