“Well?” Ava asked expectantly while lifting her glass to her lips. The gold liquid reflected in her brown eyes, making them look like pools of caramel. He’d finished his draft halfway through lunch, but Ava still had more than halfway to go. She took a few long gulps before setting the mug down and giving him an expectant look. Oh yeah, the candy.
“He’s right,” Richard admitted with a shrug.
“Hmm. I like those too, but they’re not my favorite. They’re like…my third favorite, I’d say.”
Richard was starting to like this game. He’d already learned what her favorite numbers were. He’d even discovered the number she oddly despised, which was as charming as it was bizarre.
“Don’t tell me,” he said. “Is there chocolate involved?”
She tipped her head, seeming to contemplate whether she’d give him such a big clue. But then she nodded. “Yep.”
“Are they in dots or bars?”
“Huh?”
Richard set his napkin on his plate and leaned in. “Dots, like Whoppers or chocolate covered raisins—”
“Ew, hate those.”
“Orbars,like Snickers, KitKat, Twix…”
Her eyes went wide on his final word.
Was that a tell? “It’s Twix, isn’t it?”
Her shoulders fell flat. “How did you guess?”
He grinned at her genuine surprise. “You sort of gave it away with your eyes.” Dang, she was cute.
“Okay, then, what’s my second?”
Richard brought his elbows to the table and steepled his fingers over his plate. “Chocolate or not?”
“This one’s not.”
“Licorice?”
“Which kind?” she asked.
Had he really guessed it so easily? “Red.”
“Nope.”
“Black.”
She shook her head and giggled. “Nope.”
“Why’d you make me specify which kind if it wasn’t either?”
“Just for fun.”
And heaven help him, Richardwashaving fun.
The game continued on the way back to the Homestead. They picked up candy for Maverick, as Ava suggested, while she took a stab at guessing Richard’s second and third favorite. Hers had taken forever to guess since he’d sort of forgotten that Pop Rocks existed until she’d told him it was the shape of pea gravel and that it sizzled and popped on your tongue.
Just hearing her say that caused heat to stir low in his belly. Instantly, he’d pictured Ava eating the flavorful candy. In his musings, Richard moved in for a kiss, his tongue meeting hers as the candy crackled, snapped, and melted into one sweet flavor.
Richard might have inwardly scolded himself for having such a juvenile fantasy, but that hadn’t stopped him from scouring the small-town store and then finally asking a cashier to help find them. Victory was theirs when the cashier supplied a giant multipack in the stock section. He’d grabbed a Twix and some Milk Duds for good measure, but he’d still felt a little weird at the checkout, like Ava could somehow see the images going through his mind.
“Well,” Ava said as they pulled up to the inn. “I’ll probably get started on things pretty soon. I might freshen up a bit first. Oh, and we need to take Maverick the candy. Do you think we should do that together or—”
“No,” Richard was quick to say. “It was your idea. Why don’t you go ahead? I’ve got a few things to take care of, so I’ll meet you back at the office in about an hour, if that works for you.”
“That works. Then we can eat our candy while we work. Mmm…”
Mmmwas right. Too bad Richard was thinking of something other than the candy.
