“Really? I would have guessed there was nothing you were afraid of,” he replied.Except falling in love again, he thought.
“There aren’t many things I’m afraid of, but heights is definitely one of them. What about you? Do you have any fears like that?” Her beautiful eyes gazed at him curiously.
“I have a secret fear of dancing deer in pink bikinis,” he replied somberly.
Her lips twitched with a suppressed grin. “Are you afraid of normal deer?”
“No, they’re just fine. It’s the ones that dance and wear the bikinis that frighten me.”
She laughed. “You are a real goof,” she said.
“I know,” he replied with a wide grin.
“I like that about you.” She took several bites of her potato.
Her words warmed his heart. Damn, he had it bad for her and that wasn’t necessarily good. It made it all that much more important that he stop spending time with her every night.
“IINSIST ONhelping with the cleanup,” she said once they were finished eating.
“And I insist you don’t,” he countered. “It will just take me a couple of minutes to get things cleared away, and then we can sit and chat in the living room.”
She watched him as he carried the dirty dishes to the sink, rinsed them and then put them into the dishwasher. “That’s one thing I wish I could have in my shanty,” she said.
“A dishwasher? I would think you’d rather have a refrigerator than a dishwasher,” he replied.
“It’s a toss-up.”
He retrieved the butter and sour cream from the table and put them into the refrigerator. “Have you ever thought about moving to town? Maybe when you open that storefront you want?”
“I’ve considered it. Don’t get me wrong, I love the swamp and I will always think of it as home, but once I have the store, it will be a long trek back and forth every day from the shanty. I’ve been considering maybe renting a small apartment.”
“Still keeping the shanty?” he asked.
“Dominique would probably move into it. Her place is really small, and she’s mentioned that if I move to town, then she’d move into my shanty.”
“It would be quite a change for you,” he observed.
“Yeah, I could have a refrigerator and a dishwasher,” she replied with a grin.
By that time the kitchen was clean. “Why don’t we head into the living room? Would you like an after-dinner drink? I have some wine, if you’d like a glass. I should have offered you some before dinner.”
She got up from the table. “No, thank you on the wine. I’m good.” She didn’t want anything that might dizzy her senses. They were already dizzied enough by his handsome presence.
There was just something about Daniel that made her feel young and innocent again. He brought forth a girlish delight when his gaze lingered on her for a touch too long or when his smile was so open and warm.
“Thank you for the meal,” she said as she sat on the dark brown sofa. His living room was a pleasant space, although it didn’t give away much as to the man who lived here. There was nothing personal in the room at all. “It was all really delicious,” she added.
“Grilling steaks is the one kind of cooking I can do right,” he replied as he sank down next to her. “So, what’s on your agenda for tomorrow?” he asked.
“I’m actually meeting with the Realtor, Julia Moore, and she’s going to show me some of the available storefronts in town.”
An edge of excitement surged inside her. It was finally coming to fruition. She believed she’d saved an adequate amount of money to commit to making the move into owning a store.
“Wow…so it’s really happening for you,” he said, his eyes lighting up.
“A little faster than I’d expected,” she admitted. “But I’m more than ready for it.”
“If you see a place that you like tomorrow, then what happens?” he asked.
