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She laughed. “He’s a pussycat.”
I let out a huff. “I don’t think so. At least, not when it comes to you.”
Rose looked up at me and smiled. “That’s what daddies are for, right? Protect their little girls.”
“I guess so. All I know is if I ever have a little girl, I will have a baseball bat in my hand every time a boy shows up to take her out.”
A beautiful laugh slipped from Rose’s mouth. I stopped walking, and we turned to face one another.
“Before we get there, may I kiss you, Rose Marie Shaw?”
Her eyes lit up at my request, and a soft shade of pink filled her cheeks. “Right here? On Main Street? Don’t you remember what living in a small town is like? The gossip!”
I slipped my arm around her waist and drew her body against mine. “Fuck the gossip.”
Her nostrils flared, and her eyes turned dark. “I like the way you think, Mr. Robinson. Kiss me.”
Dipping my head, I lightly brushed my lips across hers, then said, “I’ve been waiting to taste this mouth since I walked into that office the other day.”
She smiled. “What are you waiting for?”
Rose bridged the distance between us, and we both moaned when the kiss deepened. I would have stood there all night kissing her if I thought I could. Instead, I slowly drew back and rested my forehead on hers.
“I’ve missed you, Rose.”
Her hand came up to my chest, and she exhaled. “I’ve missed you, too, Bryson. More than you know. Can we skip dinner and go back to my place?”
I closed my eyes and let out a groan. “You have no idea how much I would love to do that, but we can’t.”
“Screw the reservations. I’m sure it won’t hurt them any.”
Taking a step back, I gave her a sheepish look. “We sort of have to go to dinner.”
She raised a brow. “Why?”
My eyes drifted down the road to the steak house that was on the corner before they rested back on her lovely face.
“We’re meeting some people there.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Please tell me it’s your best friend and his girlfriend.”
“It is not.”
Rose took a few steps back. “Bryson, what did you do?”
I held up my hands in defense. “Nothing. Your dad suggested dinner with him and your mom and brother.”
She seemed to relax. That wasn’t going to last long.
“And he told me to ask my parents to join us.”
Rose’s mouth fell open. She snapped it shut, then it slowly fell back open. “Your parents are going to be at dinner? With my parents?”
“Um, yes. That would be right.”
She slapped me on the chest, and I stumbled back.
“You didn’t think it was important to alert me to this?”
Shrugging, I replied, “Your dad told me not to, and well, I figured he had a reason.”
Anger filled her eyes, and I instinctively took a step back. “My dad told you not to? Oh my God! Oh. My. God. I can’t believe this!”
She turned and started marching toward the corner.
“Call me crazy,” I said as I jogged up and started walking next to her. “But maybe we shouldn’t go into the restaurant mad.”
She shot me a dirty look.
“I mean, you’re not mad at me, right?”
She glared at me. “You could have given me a warning.”
“I just did!”
Stopping, she put her hand on her hip. “Is that why you kissed me? To butter me up? Prepare me for the meeting of the parents on our first date?”
I screwed up my face. “When you word it like that, it sounds like a terrible idea. But when your dad mentioned it, I think I was so scared I simply went along with it.”
She folded her arms over her chest, and it did amazing things to her breasts. My eyes dropped down to them, and Rose cleared her throat. “Like what you see?”
I licked my lips. “I do.”
With a smile, she tilted her head. “Too bad. You’re not touching them. And to think, I was going to let you rub your—”
Her words were cut off by the sound of someone calling out her name.
She spun around and stiffened. To my surprise, she stepped closer to me, and I could practically feel the tension coming off her.
“What’s wrong?” I softly asked. “And what were you going to let me rub and where?”
Rose cast me a warning look, then faced the person who had called out her name.
An older woman started up the sidewalk toward us, a wide grin on her face. I couldn’t help but smile in return.
“You’re about to be the focus of some small-town gossip.”
My smile faded. “Oh shit.”
“Oh shit, is right…Mrs. Pratter!”
Leaning in closer to Rose, I whispered, “Fitting name.”
She elbowed me, then took a step away, then came back to my side, then stepped away again. It was like she couldn’t make up her mind if we were a couple or not. I made the decision easier by wrapping my arm around her waist and drawing her body next to mine.
