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“Trail mix.”
He made a face. “Yeah, no wonder you’re hungry.”
She smiled at him, something he caught out of the corner of his eye. “You don’t like trail mix?”
“No, ma’am,” he drawled out. “I do not. I’ve actually spent quite a bit of time wondering how those companies stay in business.”
“Maybe like those popcorn chips you like,” she said dryly, but Ty practically preened that she’d remembered a conversation from six months ago.
“Yeah,” he said with a chuckle. “But those are actually good.”
“We’ll agree to disagree.” Sage flipped her hair over her shoulder, and Ty noticed she’d braided it back on the sides a little bit. She had alotof hair, and he couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to wash that and then dry it.
It was pretty, with a slight wave in it, and several streaks of gray. She’d told him once that she saw no need to dye her hair, though some of her Supper Club friends had teased her about doing so.
They arrived at Nightingale’s, and they met at the back to get down their dogs. Ty leashed his and said, “Brother first,” to let the golden retriever down. If Sherman led, everything about tonight would be more frenzied.
Once the golden got out, he tugged on the leash and said, “All right, Sherman.”
“Do you know why he was named Sherman?” Sage asked as she reined in Gypsy at her side.
“I don’t,” he said. “But Brother came from a little of only two—one boy and one girl. One was named Brother and one Sister.”
“That’s kind of cute.” She smiled at him, and Ty’s natural rhythm with women would be to take her hand in his. However, they had to wrangle three dogs—at least two of whom smelled some meat—and he tugged against the straining of both of his dogs.
So instead of holding her hand, he went with her to the hostess stand and said, “Evening, Glenda. Two humans, and we want to sit outside with the dogs.”
“You got it, Ty.”
He didn’t dare look over to Sage, but he also wasn’t going to apologize for knowing Glenda. Maybe he’d eaten here a time or two. They had amazing sandwiches, and the service couldn’t be beat.
He finally did look over to her. “I practically live out of my car, so I know all the fastest, best places to get lunch.”
“Ah, I see. I thought maybe you’d sold her a cute little bungalow on the north side of the island.”
Ty paused for a beat, because that sounded exactly like something he would’ve done. “No,” he said, the word almost shooting out of his mouth before he could curve up his lips. “But that does sound like something I would do.”
Glenda finished looking at her table map, grabbed a couple of menus, and led them to a table with plenty of shade. Thankfully. Ty had lived in the South his whole life, but that didn’t mean he loved sitting in direct sunlight at dinnertime.
They settled with the dogs and their menus, and Ty had only started to look for the Thanksgiving feast when Sage said, “I did want to talk to you about finding me a house.” She picked up her napkin and laid it in her lap. “Should I come in and you can go over your questionnaire with me?”
Ty shifted in his seat, because he normally signed anyone he could. “Here’s the thing.”
“There’s a thing?” Her eyebrows went up, and she leaned a little bit into the table. “Do tell.”
“I’ve…I don’t usually sell houses to someone I’m dating. It’s messy, and complicated, and…” He didn’t know how to finish. Saying he had a personal rule not to date clients sounded stupid. Buying and selling real estate was a temporary thing; relationships could be permanent.
“Good thing we’re not dating, then,” Sage said as a waitress arrived. She wasted no time putting down lukewarm glasses of water, and Sage looked up at her. “I’d like the classic French dip, and unsweetened iced tea, please.”
Ty also knew what he wanted, and he put in his order of the Thanksgiving feast sandwich, and, “Diet Coke, please. Lots of ice.”
The waitress—yes, Ty knew her—walked away, and he nudged Brother back a little, so he had room for his foot under the table. He looked at her, unsure how to pick up the conversation.
“Did you buy or sell for your last girlfriend?” Sage made a huge mistake by reaching for her water glass.
Ty reached out to stop her. “I wouldn’t. It’s not…good. Just wait for the tea.”
Sage looked at his hand blocking her path to the glass, then the water, and she pulled her hand back. “Fair enough.” She gazed at him, and it took him an extra moment to remember she’d asked him a question.
