AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Rowan rubs a hand over his thin stubble, but when I slowly remove the fork between my lips, something borderline sensual flickers in the depths of his gaze. “I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”
I point the business end of the utensil at him. “It’s not polite to waste food, you know.”
He shifts in his chair as my tongue flicks out, savoring the remnants of sauce on the prongs. “How can I focus on eating when you’re distracting me like that?”
My pulse ratchets as an intensely vivid image of me standing, walking over to him, and then sitting in his lap invades my thoughts. Would he moan while he lapped the lingering flavors from my tongue?
The salacious look I’m given sends a tremor through my middle, but I clear my throat before returning to my meal.
“What’s it like living in a place like this?”
Magnolia Creek, he means.
“I can’t imagine living anywhere else,” I say, fiddling with the rim of my glass. “Especially not a big city like Seattle. I mean, I’ve never even left the state.”
“Ever?”
“Nope. We didn’t have the money for extravagant family vacations. But when Mom was still alive, we’d take weekend camping trips to the Smoky Mountains often.” I glance at the night sky and those very mountains off in the distance, smiling fondly.
He nods. “Believe it or not, we camped and hiked regularly with my parents when we were younger, too.”
“You’re right, I hardly believe that at all.” I give him a playful but scrutinizing look. “I bet the sights up there are just as unbelievable.”
“They are. You should try to visit sometime in the early fall. The leaves change color and everything’s somehow crisper, more vivid. It’s beautiful.”
The way he says beautiful while staring directly at me makes me blush, and I’m grateful when he finally raises his fork to eat.
“Funny. It’s like that here, too. It’s not nearly as cold, but there’s nothing like the first taste of hot chocolate and sugar cookies around a campfire with the scent of autumn in the wind.” Rowan’s posture softens as I recall one of my favorite memories. “Mom actually forgot our tent once, and we didn’t catch it until we’d already made it to the campsite. She felt awful, but Dad was determined to make it work. So, we found a tarp and made a makeshift one… Except, after hours of collecting branches big enough to secure it, this big gust of wind knocked the whole thing down.”
His shoulders shake with a light chuckle, and a sense of victory floods my chest. I’ve made him laugh twice tonight, and something tells me that’s a rare occurrence with this man.
“It sucks not having her around,” I murmur earnestly. “I’m sure you can relate.”
He’s pensive a moment before he eventually answers, “Yes, I can.”
“How did your parents pass?” Rowan’s fingers tap the table absently, and I nod. “Classified. Got it.”
“They died in a car accident fifteen years ago,” he says tightly. “It’s not something I generally talk about.”
My heart aches for him. Losing one parent is awful enough, but to lose them both? I’m impressed he can even function. I’d be a wreck if I lost my dad.
“Well, it’s not healthy to keep it all bottled up. Surely, you’ve got someone you talk to about it?”
He continues those mindless taps atop the table.
“You know, sometimes,” I say with a pointed look, “silence is louder than anything you could’ve said.”
His hand stills, and that steady confidence of his waivers. “I don’t talk about it because I don’t like the way it makes me feel, and feeling is something I often try not to do.”
I tip my head. “Oh, come on. Everyone has feelings.”
His retort is a half-hearted, Hmph.
“Ah. Maybe that’s why you’re so bad at flirting, then.”
A flicker of mischief crosses his face at my teasing.
The waiter appears to take our plates, and the chef himself trails him before offering a selection of fine French cheeses, describing each of them as Brie, Camembert, Roquefort, and Comté. The cheeses are accompanied by fresh baguette slices, crackers, and some fruit preserves.
