Chapter Nineteen
Travis
Travis tapped at his leg nervously as he waited at the door for Parker to answer.He’d already passed Kit on his way out the door, offering her a smile as she stood at the counter and helped his mom roll out flaky pastry dough for another one of her homemade apple streusel pies.They were his favorite, but even the thought of sinking his teeth into one of his most cherished desserts wasn’t enough to help settle the nervous moths that were fluttering around in his belly.
It had been a good thirteen years since he went on anything that even remotely resembled a date, and even those had been high school get-togethers that were more group outings than anything else.He had seen enough movies and read enough books to be able to fake his way through it.The thought of disappointing Parker by taking her out for a mediocre date was too much to bear.Yes, they kissed and fooled around, but he also needed to be able to provide some romance.He hoped he could do that tonight.
When the door finally opened and revealed the woman of the hour wearing a gorgeous, strapless black dress that showed off her slender shoulders, prominent collarbone, and modest cleavage, Travis nearly reached up and bit his knuckle to keep from groaning out his pleasure at seeing her look so damn beautiful.Something in his expression must have given away his reaction because soon enough Parker was blushing, closing the door behind her as she stepped up into his space.
“I take it you like my new dress?”she asked coyly.Travis swallowed the drool in his mouth and nodded as she reached up and adjusted the knot on his tie.It was the only one he owned as was the button down he was wearing with it, but it seemed she appreciated the simple black and white combination as much as he did.When she was finished, she ran her hands down the front of his chest and rested them at his waist.“I think you look pretty nice too.”
Travis huffed as he offered her his arm, pleased when she looped hers through it.“You look a whole helluva lot better than pretty nice.”
He escorted her down the stairs slowly, not wanting to risk her tripping in the high heels that made her lithe legs look so damn good that he couldn’t help but picture them thrown over his shoulders as he dined on what was likely the sweetest pussy he’d ever get his mouth on, theonlyone he’d ever get his mouth on if it were up to him.
When they were at his truck, he opened the passenger door for her but blocked the entry with his arm.“Look fucking amazing.”
Parker smiled and bit her lip.“Well, if we’re being totally honest, you look a lot better than pretty nice too.”She leaned up and kissed the side of his neck, making a shiver travel from the top of his head to the tips of his toes.“In fact, you look so good I wish I’d brought a spare pair of panties.”
Travis inhaled sharply as his cock went rock hard.“Fuck, woman.”He put his hands on her hips and pulled her close.“Can’t say shit like that, expect a man to walk around in public.”
Parker smirked, pressed a gentle kiss on his lips, and ducked under his arm to hop up into the truck.“I guess you better use the drive to calm down then because you promised me a date.”She put her seat belt on and nodded for him to join her inside.
Shaking himself out of his lusty haze, Travis shut her door and jogged over to his side.When he looked over at Parker, she was smiling sweetly, but the hem of her skirt had ridden up showing him so much ivory skin that he knew he would likely be at half-mast all evening.
“Let’s get you that date,” he grunted, adjusting himself.
The ten minute drive to The Old Mill Restaurant seemed to drag on.Each time he hit a red light or “stop” sign, he’d catch a glimpse of Parker as she sat in the passenger seat, singing sweetly along with the classic country station.She was perfect, so wonderful, gorgeous, and so completely his that all he could think about was how he wanted to skip the meal and go straight to dessert, but she deserved more than that.Parker deserved everything, and if it was in his power to give it to her, he would do it.Pushing aside the need to claim her in every way possible, Travis walked her into the restaurant and over to the host’s stand.
Before he could offer his name, Nicole walked up and smiled at Travis and Parker then turned to the younger man next to her.“I’ve got this one, Luke.These two have a special table reserved.”
The young man smiled politely as Nicole walked the two of them through the bustling restaurant, weaving through tables crowded with people laughing and enjoying a meal of his brother’s home cooking in a fine dining atmosphere.Nicole took them into the kitchen where the noise went up about thirty decibels.Pots and pans clanged together as Aiden shouted out orders to his brigade and they replied with a resounding, “Yes, Chef!”
Travis winced at the noise level.Patting his pocket, he groaned internally.Ear plugs were something he’d gotten used to carrying around along with sunglasses and a tiny container filled with coffee beans to clear out his olfactory system, but in his excitement and haste to go out on the date, he must have forgotten them.
The bright lights and potent odors going on didn’t help matters either, but Travis had requested the chef’s table, wanting to do something special and unique for the woman who was slowly destroying all of his carefully built walls.If he had to sit through a rock concert in the middle of a cloudless summer day while eating warm sauerkraut without any of his usual coping mechanisms, Travis would do it as long as she was there next to him.
“Here we are.The chef’s table,” Nicole announced.
Her hand swept over the small two top table that sat in the corner of the kitchen, far enough away from the action to not interfere or risk injury while also being close enough to get a good view of what exactly was going on.Travis had never really been interested in knowing how the sausage was made, only eating it, but according to Aiden, dining at a Chef’s table was a special event.Looking over at the woman next to him and seeing her bright smile and interested gaze wandering around the kitchen, Travis was glad he’d listened to his eldest brother.
After pulling out the chair for Parker, Travis took his seat and smiled up at Nicole.“Thanks for doing this.”Travis knew that the Chef’s Table was already a fixture of the restaurant that Aiden kept at all times, but he knew that his older brother would have put it together anyway just because Travis asked.
Nicole smiled at the two of them before looking over her shoulder at her fiancé.Aiden sat at the pass, expediting food orders and occasionally barking at his cooks, but the moment Nicole turned to him, he smiled and turned to her with a wink before getting back to it.The envy Travis had always felt around his no-longer-single brothers flared up, but a soft hand over the top of his tamped it right back down.Looking over at Parker, he smiled as she laced their fingers together.Travis didn’t have to be envious anymore because he had her, and he would make sure that anything they had to work out to keep her at the farm would happen.Possibilities between the two of them seemed endless, and he couldn’t wait to explore each one.
“Chef has planned a lovely tasting course menu for the two of you, but before I give him the go ahead, are there any allergies I need to tell him about?”Travis and Parker both shook their heads, still looking at one another and not the woman taking their order.Nicole chuckled.“I’ll be right back with some water.”
Five minutes later, the two of them were munching on bread that Travis recognized as his mother’s recipe and sipped on water as they traded stories.He told her all about growing up on the farm and the fun he had there.One story in particular had her laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes.It was about how his grandpa used to pretend to be Santa Claus and come in through the window, one year misjudging his entry and ripping a hole right down the back of his red velvet pants.That had been one of the more memorable Christmases Travis had experienced, and he was happy to finally have someone outside of his family to share the story with.Parker told him about all the different places she’d lived with Kit and all the interesting and often strange people that she would run into along the way.
Travis chuckled with disbelief as she recounted the tale of one man who insisted on paying his breakfast bill in pennies, hauling a five gallon water jug filled with them into the diner every Saturday before ordering eggs Benedict.
“That did not really happen,” he laughed, smiling across the table at Parker.
She joined in on the laughter too, shrugging a shoulder.“I swear to God, it happened every Saturday like clockwork.It was such a pain to have to count out all those pennies, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t that big a deal.He was always really nice and tipped well, though that was in pennies too, so I don’t know how great that actually was.”
