Hey, it wasn’t completely forced. I genuinely was thrilled, and the meal was only one little part of it. What wasn’t there to be happy about? I was out. I was in the cute little snow-dusted town that was straight out of a cozy novel. I was hanging out with a hot guy, even if he was mostly scowly and grunty.
Killjoy shook his head at me. I would have sworn he was hiding a smile behind his hand. He saw right through me, and sadly, I couldn’t hate it.
“Give me this,” he said, but he was already pulling the plate away from me while simultaneously sliding his half-eaten burger and mound of fries in as a replacement. “Told you not to get it.”
My mouth hung open, but I didn’t make a move to snatch the plate back.
“Thanks,” I said, not even hesitating to take a bite of the burger. Oh yeah, I’d ordered the wrong thing. That was goooood. When the waitress came back around, I ordered another burger before Killjoy even realized it. “That way we can both get what we want.”
I might have thrown a wink his way.
He might have choked on the dry meatloaf a bit.
Then he grumbled something under his breath that sounded a lot like, “Kid’s gonna be the death of me.”
I didn’t bother correcting the kid part this time.
“What else is there to do in this little town?” I asked after we were finished, and I was waiting for a slice of warm apple pie.
“Uh, stuff?” he said with a shrug. He leaned back, draping one arm over the top of the teal-colored padded booth.
“Oh, well, hon, if you’ve never been here before,” the waitress said, smiling hard as she set the pie down in front of me. Her southern accent was thick. “You must walk down this street right here. There are all these cute shops. Local stuff, y’know? My sister owns that shop right there.” She leaned over, pointing out the wide windows to a place across the street somewhere. “It’s a bookstore, but she also sells other stuff. Like her candles. She makes the best-smelling ones in the state. Right in her own kitchen, imagine that!”
I had no idea if what she was saying was true, but I’d never met a candle I didn’t want to smell. So, I was interested, to say the least.
“Oh yeah?” I leaned forward, ready to hear what other places she thought I needed to check out.
“Can we get the check?” Killjoy cut in, voice all gruff and brow furrowed. When I shot him a look, he rolled his eyes, but added, “Please?”
“Sure thing,” she scurried off without another word.
“Rude,” I scolded.
“I didn’t like—” He abruptly cut himself off, mouth pinched tight as he huffed a hard breath out of his nose.
“What?” I asked. “What was it you didn’t like? If you don’t want to take me shopping, it’s fine. I imagine this dinner has been a bit much for you. Probably over there having withdrawals from being away from your cabin.” I was mostly teasing, but I also knew it was close to the truth.
“Do you always flirt with other people when you’re on a date?”
His accusation had my brows shooting up.
And the way he scowled and looked away told me he hadn’t meant for it to slip out.
Interesting. Yeah, I had teasingly called this a date, but I didn’t think he’d take it seriously. Holy crap! If this were a date, well, I hadn’t been trying very hard to make it enjoyable for him.
But it wasn’treallya date, and I couldn’t let his stupid comment mess with my head. He was just trying to get under my skin, clearly.
“Well, if you must know, I wasn’t flirting. I was being friendly, something you obviously know nothing about.” I scooped up a huge helping of pie and shoved it into my mouth before flashing him a closed-lipped smile. I savored it before I swallowed. “Besides, if this were a date, I’d expect more from you.”
“More?” he grunted. “I brought you here. Told you what not to get, and when you got it anyway, like a dummy, I swapped my food with yours.”
“And they say chivalry is dead,” I teased. “You could try opening up a little. Maybe, I don’t know… askmesome questions about myself. Get to know me. That’s kind of the whole point of first dates, you know?”
“No, I don’t know.” His eyes held mine. “I don’t date. I don’t talk. I don’t dopeople.”
I snorted.
“You might want to restate that last part because it leaves so much up to the imagination.”
