I saw him nod, and his lips curved in a smile. “I see how that can get confusing. Okay, carry on,” he prompted.
I grinned. “Right, so my great-great times something parents settled here in the late 1800s. And by the time they were building, they missed home, so even though we have pieces of our new land here, you can see hints of the old country too.”
“And that would be Denmark, right?” he asked.
“Close.” I nodded. “A small village in Denmark bordered by Germany.”
He turned to face me. “Wow, that’s pretty cool knowing exactly where you’re from. I think we’re English, but I really couldn’t tell you anything else. Have you ever been?”
I nodded. “Not in the last few years, but yeah, we still have family up there.”
“Wow, Europe, I’ve always wanted to go,” he sighed.
“Maybe I could take you someday,” I suggested, then froze when I realized what I’d just said.
The car was silent for what felt like an age but was probably no more than a minute, if that. “I mean, if you ever decided to go, I could tell you cool places to visit.”
If I wasn’t driving, I would have slapped myself for that. He probably thought I was a weirdo now.Normal people don’t offer to fly to Europe with people they just met, Gabriel.
“Oh, thank you,” he murmured in a small voice.
Fuck, I’d blown it. He would probably make an excuse and run from me once we got into town.
The silence stretched until I finally began pointing out the sights as I drove. “That’s the Junior-Senior High School, to your left.” I pointed at the newly renovated building that was just off Main Street. “The building was just renovated two years ago. We even have a swimming pool now for the kids.” Kian didn’t reply, but I could tell he was listening. “Next to it is the elementary school. All our kids go to school in town. We also have a really good daycare center. A movie theater and a spa…” I blathered on since it seemed I’d scared my mate by suggesting we go on vacation twenty minutes or so after meeting him.
This was why I’d needed to come up with a plan. So I didn’t act like a complete idiot.
Kianmmm’dat everything but didn’t actually speak again, and since I didn’t know what else to say, I kept pointing out places until we finally pulled into the parking lot of the large supermarket in town. It wasn’t quite on Main Street, but you could walk over in less than five minutes.
“I’m sure you can find whatever you’re looking for here.” I came to a stop right at the front of the store, not wanting to park and presume I was invited.
He didn’t jump out of the car immediately, which I thanked the gods for. So I took a shot.
“If you’d like some company, maybe someone to hold your basket while you shop—”
Kian turned to face me and smiled. “Don’t you have to get to work?”
That wasn’t a no.
“It’s your first time off the ranch. I wouldn’t feel right just dropping you off and leaving you to it.”
Kian seemed to study me. I wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but I held his gaze. Finally, a small smile appeared on his lips, and he inclined his head.
“Thank you. I’d really appreciate it,” he said in a soft voice.
I tried not to punch the air triumphantly. He might not have known it yet, but spending any amount of time with him was my pleasure.
I put the car in drive and found a parking spot pretty quickly. I got out of the car and walked over to his side to find him already out.
Even though I really wanted to slip my hands into his and hold on to him, declaring him mine, I simply said, “Ready?” He nodded and fell into step beside me.
“I can’t believe you guys have a Cubs here,” he said.
“Lemme guess, you thought small town, so we’d have a small mom-and-pop grocery place?”
“Well—” He nodded. “Yeah.”
I laughed. “I’m glad we can surprise.”
