"I'm a master griller," he said proudly.
"Oh, really?"
"Oh yeah. People all over Michigan talk about my grilling skills. You haven't heard?"
"No, I haven't," I said, thoroughly amused.
He spread his feet wider and held up his hands. "When I get on the grill, these hands work magic."
Oh my, he looked so damn sexy. I bet his hands were magical.
"I was planning to throw a couple of steaks on the grill anyway—and before you say a word, I know you don't eat red meat. The steaks will be accompanied by prawns, baked potatoes, and some other kind of vegetable. Call it dinner and dance. Interested?"
I had never seen Jamison like this. His eyes sparkled with a mischievous glint. He obviously loved his plan, and I had to admit the idea of joining him at his place for a home-cooked meal and dancing was enticing.
"Do you need me to bring?—"
"Bring only your appetite. I'll have enough food for both of us. You'll actually be doing me a favor. It's hard to cook for one person, and as you already know, I'm very frugal. Most of the time I cook extra so I have enough for dinner the next night. Keeps me from having to cook every night."
"So I'm going to be eating your Sunday night meal?"
"No, because you won't be eating steak, will you?"
"No, I won't."
"So you can enjoy the prawns and the vegetables, and the next day I'll put the extra steak on a salad or chop it up in a sandwich."
A man who cooked and was creative in the kitchen. I was impressed.
"What do you say?" he prodded.
"I would like to see what a master griller—known throughout the state of Michigan—does on the grill. I also like the idea of doing a little dancing. Might as well get in as much practice as we can so we don't embarrass our kids."
His face broke into a smile that made my stomach flip-flop.
"Great. I'll send you my address. What's your number?"
"I gave you my number on a card before, remember? You never entered it in your phone?"
"I... er... lost the card," he said.
Was he lying? I brushed aside my suspicion and repeated my number.
He entered the digits and then sent me a text.
I pulled out my phone and checked the screen. "Got it."
"I'll see you at my place on Saturday," Jamison said after we finalized the time.
I climbed into Orange Julius and watched him walk over to his Lexus. The feeling of a stone sitting on my chest had disappeared and been replaced by warmth and excitement. I didn't want to think too much about what I was feeling, but I couldn't remember the last time I'd looked forward with such anticipation to spending time with a man.
Moments before, I had been bummed he hadn't made a pass at me and that our relationship hadn't progressed past waltzing for an hour each night.
Now, I was going to his home on Saturday. We were going to have dinner. We were going to dance.
Together. Alone. Just the two of us.
Chapter 18
