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“Are you in a hurry to leave, or shall we have those beignets?”
“I was planning on eating mine here, if you’re game.”
“Me too,” he said easily, not letting go of her hand. “Tomorrow is my last day in town.”
“Ah. I see,” she replied evasively, trying not to show her disappointment that he was leaving so quickly, or how much she really was liking being around him.
“Can I ask you a dumb question?” he said suddenly, his eyes holding hers.
“Sure – and there are no dumb questions, only dumb answers,” she began, feeling her heart beat quickly at the attention he was giving her.
“How do you eat peas?” he whispered quietly, watching her.
“Peas?” she gaped. “Did I hear you right? Did you say ‘peas’… as in little green roly-poly things?”
“Yeah,” he chuckled, smiling. “Peas.”
“Well, that’s an odd question…” she began, and hesitated.
“What?”
“Are there mashed potatoes in this make-believe meal?”
“Maybe?” he said, his smile widening.
“Okaaay,” she drawled nervously, feeling like she was under a microscope suddenly. “Well, this is certainly an odd thing to ask? I’m not sure what it matters, but I like peas a lot. I enjoy split pea soup, peas with those little pearl onions, and in the shell… but if we are talking green peas or black-eyed peas straight from a can or shelled, then I eat them like normal people do.”
“Oh.”
“Oh? My sister won’t eat them,” Emily blabbed suddenly, feeling nervous at the sheer disappointment that flickered across his face in that moment. He looked so crestfallen about the discussion of stupid peas. “I mean, peas are delicious, but a real pain to eat, because they roll off the fork. I push them into my potatoes…”
He glanced up, staring at her as she continued talking.
“… because they stick, you know? I mean, if you pack them into a bite of mashed potatoes, then they don’t roll off your fork. It’s all about strategy, John. If you don’t have potatoes, then maybe there is cream gravy or something else to hold it all together. There’s nothing worse than being mid-way into a bite only to have them fall right off your fork, bounce onto your plate, and land in your lap…” she finished lamely, feeling like the biggest dork in the world. “Why are you asking me about peas?”
“Do they have chicory coffee here?” he asked, not answering her question.
“Yes. Do you want a cup?”
“Very much so…” he replied, gazing at her with this strange look in his eyes, that made her feel a little flutter of happiness in her midsection – almost as much as his next words. “Can I call you occasionally, or maybe we can exchange emails? I think I would really like to get to know you much better, Emily.”
CHAPTER7
X-RAY
He was crazy.
Thiswas crazy.
It was never in the plans to come here and meet someone like Emily – and he couldn’t stop replaying the entire evening in his mind repeatedly. She was so pretty in this charming way that just seemed to catch his eye… and when she smiled at him?
Oh goodness… it was everything.
The plan wasn’t to ask a girl out to dinner or dance the night away… but it seemed to happen so easily. Emily practically glowed with joy the moment he’d circled her around the room, which gave him an intense burst of happiness he never expected.
Laying there in the guest room at Thumper’s house, he stared at the ceiling in amazement. Driving Emily back to her car, they had made plans to meet at the church parking lot tomorrow at eleven AM so they could grab coffee and just hang out for a bit before getting him a cell phone.
He wanted the phone because he desperately wanted her phone number… and a way to contact her if he had signal. It was probably a dumb idea considering how bad the Wi-Fi was on base… but when she asked him for his number – and he didn’t have one?
