“I had a lot of fun tonight,” she said. “I like knowing there’s a decent-sized city not far off from Cobble Creek. It makes me think I might actually be able to live in a smalltown.”
He nodded. “Good to know.” In truth, it caused that spark of fear to flare up in him. Was he a fool to get involved with a woman who might be here today and gone tomorrow? It brought his mind back to their plan to talk more about their pasts while they bowled. It wasn’t that he’d forgotten about it. And he was pretty sure she hadn’t either. It was just … sometimes it was betternotto know. If things between them were destined to fail, it wouldn’t be such a crime to delay that knowledge for now and have a little fun. It’d been a long time since he’d given in to the urge to kiss a woman like that. It feltgood.
“Man,” Kira said with a yawn. “I’m tired. It’s been a long day.Oh,and I forgot to pick up some coffeegrounds.”
“We can stop and get some at the market,” he offered. “I’m not pressed for time.” He glanced at the dash, noticing it was already after midnight. There wasn’t a market open in Cobble Creek that late, but there were two options in Duckdale. Riverside might be an optiontoo…
“No thanks,” she said. “I’ll just go after churchtomorrow.”
Anthony glanced over, guessing she planned to attend the church Angelo went to, which was his too. “You going to the one up there by the Country Quilt Inn?” he asked. “They have really good coffee there. I should know; I’m the one who providesit.”
She glanced over. “Is it the same as what you gave me at the diner thismorning?”
He nodded, hoping that’d be a good thing. “You can even bring your own mug and fill her up. Lots of people dothat.”
She looked satisfied. “Hmm. Maybe between the diner and the church, I won’t have to brew my owncoffee.”
He liked that idea. “I’ll give you the same deal I gave Angelo,” Anthonysaid.
“And what’s that?” sheasked.
“Free coffee. Just for coming in to seeme.”
She scrunched her face up. “You mean I have to actually come in andtalkto you? I can’t just, like, call ahead and have a busboy rush out for curbsidedelivery?”
Anthony shot her a glare. “You’reterrible.”
“I know,” she admitted with a laugh. “I hope you don’t mind that we sort of skipped the wholereveal-all-the-crap-from-our-pasttalk tonight. I’d kind of like you to get to know me first. You know, who I am now, not who Iwas.Since I’m making efforts tochange.”
“I don’t mind at all,” he said. “We’ve got plenty of time.” At least, he hoped they did. Still, Kira’s words were—to Anthony—a marching army of red flags, urging him to retreat. His mother had tried to change plenty of times. The irony would be if the one thing that actually stuck was the life she’d chosen away from them. But it wasn’t just her. Elsie and Ruth—they’d been seeking change too. And inevitably it separated them fromhim.
But Kira’s change was different. Her efforts were what brought her there in the firstplace.
Just take things slow.That calming advice, heard in the sound of his father’s deep voice, reminded Anthony that this wasn’t a war. And it wasn’t a race either. He was dealing with a very beautiful woman who had moved to Cobble Creek. One who may or may not be a good match for him. He’d take things one encounter at a time and try—very hard—not to lose his heart toosoon.
