“I am a business owner, I own several establishments in the area and a few outside of here as well.”
“Are you from here?” I asked, running my finger over the top of my water glass that Linda dropped in front of me then scurried away, looking over her shoulder at the mystery man I was dining with.
Nervous habit. His eyes followed my movements.
“From California, yes.” He answered vaguely. Come to think of it, most of his answers had been vague. Like he was trying not to give too much away.
“What about you?” He nodded in my direction.
“Me?” I pointed at myself. Like a complete idiot.
He chuckled. “Yes. You,” He raised his hand and pointed, with a smirk.
“I’m from a small town in Arkansas. Called Jasper. I’m sure you’venever heard of it.”
“The south, yes. I thought I heard an accent.” He teased, looking directly into my eyes.
“I don’t have an accent,y’allhave the accent.” I retorted by exaggerating my words and adding a ton of twang to my pronunciation. He threw his head back in laughter at my attempt to sound like a typical southern belle.
“And your family? Do you have any siblings?”
“Nope it was just me, my mother and my father.” His brow raised and I felt it before he even asked the inevitable question.
“Was?” He stared at me with a blank expression.
“Yes, my parents passed away a couple years ago. Car accident.”
I usually don’t offer up so much information about myself but there was something about this man, something different, something safe.
I was pulled from my thoughts when his cell phone rang.
He pulled it from his pocket and looked at it. “Looks like your car is ready.”
He threw a wad of cash on the table and stood, offering me his hand. Like a true gentleman.
* * *
I got home from what could have been a disastrous day, I dropped my bags on the table and went on the hunt for my so-called friend, who ditched me at Club Crawl, last night. If I didn’t know any better I’d say she planned for Dallas to be there too, but she didn’t like him enough to go to those lengths.
When I discovered I was home alone, I changed out of my dreadful pencil skirt and blouse, replacing it with baggy sweatpants and an oversized sweatshirt, sat down with my book I had been trying to startfor the last few days, and enough snacks to tackle every craving.
When I opened the book and reread the dedication, the mention of a masked man made me suddenly remember the package that was left on the mat today. I jumped up excitedly, and darted for my room.
I plopped down on my bed with the box and the small envelope that was with it. I opened the envelope first, inside was a handwritten note,
Miss Delaney,
Lose control.
-Dallas
I turned the card around, looking for more. That was it. Just two words. Lose control.
He sees right through my act.
I slid the top of the box off. Inside was a beautiful silk robe. It was so soft and extravagant. I placed the robe across my bed and reached in to retrieve the next item. My face flushed at the site of a ‘rose toy’. I knew exactly what it was, Lacy had one.
Underneath the rose was an invitation. I opened it up to see that the entry fee for the next auction at club crawl was paid in my favor.
