AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And you don’t?”
“I like to ride horses. I like the outdoors, and I enjoy swimming. But that’s where my brother and I part ways. I have no interest in cleaning fish or dressing a kill.”
“That’s okay; I can bring home the bacon,” I say. Oh, my word. Did I get knocked on the head?
Ben tilts his head and studies me. There’s no way I can control my blushing, so I simply stare at the table and wait for the blood heating my cheeks to move on.
I’d love to bury my face in snow right now if it weren’t 90 degrees outside. “Oh!” I say, lighting up, because I know the one thing that all fancy people like. “We have lots of places to snow ski in the winter. Sorry, you’ll have to come back in a few months for that.”
Ben stares for a long moment. “Or, I could simply stay longer.”
Bless my soul, the thoughts he can put into my head with those blue-green eyes.
Just then, the server delivers our food and Ben’s tea.
I watch him avidly as he examines the tall glass with the straw. “I see,” he says, then takes a sip, coughs, and splutters all over himself.
“What in the name of the gods…”
“I’m guessing you don’t do sweet tea where you’re from,” I say, wincing.
Ben coughs some more before finally recovering enough to say, “I’ve never tasted anything so absolutely, cloyingly terrible!”
The three men at a table in the corner are staring now. The one with his back to Ben casts a glare over his shoulder, a toothpick rolling between his lips. Ah, shit.
The Coopers.
I shoot Hitch Cooper a what-are-you-staring-at look. “Something you need?” I ask.
Hitch rolls that disgusting toothpick, pulls it from his lips, and points it at me. He says nothing, just winks, then turns back around in his seat to attend to his breakfast.
“Ew,” I whisper.
This reminds me I should text Toad to tell him not to pick me up from work. I fire off a text to my brother, then to Mama and Sylvie for good measure because a girl can’t be too careful.
After sending my texts, I finally notice Ben leaning across the table. His voice is low when I make eye contact. “Was that man with the toothpick giving you a sexually inappropriate gesture? Did he threaten you? Shall I challenge him to hand-to-hand combat to defend your honor?”
Oh, my. This man is pure sweetness under the formal exterior.
I lean forward and murmur, “He’s a bit of a creep, that’s all. Want to get our food to go?”
Ben nods. “I would like to remove you from any proximity to creeps.”
I’m going to miss this man when he moves on.
He gestures for me to walk ahead of him after he insists on paying for breakfast with a wad of cash that extends far beyond the total bill plus twenty percent.
“Where should we go next? I want to know your culture and meet interesting people.”
I smile. “I know just the thing.”
* * *
A mystified but entertained Ben is maybe the cutest thing I’ve seen, and totally worth driving three hours for.
The prince squints at the gleaming silver icon of weirdness in the middle of small-town America as festivalgoers mill around, snap selfies and eat funnel cakes.
“Explain to me once again, Hailey Wild, why I am touching the hindquarters of this statue of an insect?”
