“Tea. Which I don’t like.”
“You bought a cup of tea you don’t like just to keep your hands warm?”
“It keeps my hands warm longer than a cup of something I do like to drink,” Stacy said reasonably. “Because I drink the other stuff, and then my hands aren’t warm!”
“Infallible logic,” Keith said with a thoughtful nod as they made their way through the crowd toward a cider booth that could be smelled half the market away. “But have you considered…mittens?”
“No, but I am considering ear muffs.” Stacy nodded at the booth next to the cider kiosk. “I don’t like hats, but my ears are cold.”
Keith murmured, “Likes: cider. Dislikes: hats, tea,” and pretended to take notes. “Any other important likes and dislikes I should know about?”
She had the funny feeling he would actually remember anything she said, and racked her brain for a good answer. “I’m sorry. I suddenly can’t remember anything I’ve ever liked or disliked in my entire life.”
“Well, fair, I put you on the spot. How much hot cider are we talking about?” They were in line by then, several people back, so they had plenty of time to consider the menu. “It looks like our options are ‘thimble,’ ‘large thimble,’ and…” They watched someone go by with a cup that Stacy genuinely thought was as tall as her head. “And ‘vat,’ apparently.”
“If there’s something between ‘large thimble’ and ‘vat,’ I think I could go for that, but if not, ‘large thimble’ will have to do.”
“I’m very tall,” Keith said in solemn tones. “I may have to go for ‘vat.’”
As they got closer, it became clear that the ‘thimble’ size was for kids, the equivalent of a babyccino, and the adult cups were the more usual small, medium, and large. Or ‘large thimble,’ ‘vat,’ and… Stacy pursed her lips. “If we’ve got large thimbles and vats, what are we calling the mediums?”
“Normal? Regular? Average?”
“Those are disappointing when your other choices are thimbles and vats,” she pointed out.
Keith pursed his lips, and as they stepped up to the counter, said, “One vat of cider for me, please, and a shoe full for the lady.”
The poor guy at the counter blinked at him, and Stacy laughed. “A medium and a large, please. This reminds me of the time I went to see that one Tarzan movie and asked for a ticket to see Alexander Skarsgård’s abs.”
“Oh, I liked that movie. What’d the ticket guy say?”
“Really? I thought nobody else had even seen it, much less liked it. Anyway, she stared at me a second and then laughed and gave me the right ticket. It was kinda great.”
“Well, then, you and I saw it and liked it. It’s us against the world.”
An unexpected thrill went through Stacy, warming her as much as the ‘shoe full’ of cider did as the guy slid it across the counter to her. It was ridiculous to think her and Keith against the world sounded great, when she’d spent barely more than an hour in his presence.
It sounded great anyway. She curled her hands around the cup of cider, shivering happily as its warmth sank into her fingers, then smiling up at Keith when he paid. “Thanks. That’s nice of you.”
“Can’t let anybody think I’m not treating my best girl right for our night on the town.” He winked, and that little thrill shot through Stacy again. “What’s your pleasure?”
“Avoiding any of the booths because I spent money at the first one I went into? Except the hat booth. My ears aren’t getting any less cold.” Stacy nodded toward the booth next door, and Keith made a playful bow to guide her that direction. Something struck her as slightly off about the gesture, and she said, “Huh,” aloud as he straightened.
“Huh, what?”
“Um. Nothing, really? I just didn’t expect you to do that.” She smiled sheepishly. “No, not that I didn’t expect you to, exactly. It’s just that yesterday I thought you must have been a fashion model or something, because you really know how to hold a pose. And it’s not that you weren’t graceful just now, but that kind of looked more…relaxed than I expected, I guess? Like you weren’t doing it to be admired. Oh, man, that makes it sound like I think you’re really vain, and that’s not what I meant. Ugh, I don’t know. I’m not making any sense, am I?”
A strange little crinkle appeared between Keith’s eyebrows as she stumbled through that explanation. He raised a hand to rub his forehead, then lifted the other one, too, rubbing two spots just below his hairline.
Stacy felt her face heat up. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be weird and rude and now I’ve made you uncomfortable, which isn’t what I wanted at all!”
“No, no, not at all! Honestly!” Keith dropped his hands and gave her an uncertain smile. “No, really, it’s just that you’re really observant and I wasn’t expecting you to notice that so clearly. You’re totally right. I usually, um. Yeah. There’s a part of me that really likes to pose and show off, but I don’t necessarily feel like that’sme, you know?”
She put her hand on his arm, suddenly sympathetic. “It’s got to be hard being a twin sometimes. Trying to make your own space, right? Well, you don’t have to try with me. I’m all yours.”
Such sheer delight lit Keith’s face that Stacy almost didn’t blush at the outrageous truth behind that statement. People didn’t go around saying things likeI’m all yoursto someone they’d just met, and they certainly didn’tmeanit if they did. Except she had, and she did. Not that she would tell Keith Raleigh that, because she didn’t want to scare him off, but…
Well, maybe she wouldn’t think about it, because she didn’t want to scare herself off, either. They’d gone into the hat booth, which was quite a lot bigger than the terrarium shop she’d gone into, and Stacy decided maybe she’d better turn her attention to finding ear muffs instead of confessing a sudden case of love at first sight to the nicest guy she’d met in ages.
