“I don’t know anything about you either.”
“Not true.You know about my reputation,” he chuckled.
“Everybody in the state of Montana probably knows about that.”
Laughing, he lifted his water glass.“You’re a sharp one, Miss Ellie Campbell.We’re just getting to know each other.”
“Okay, I’ll answer a question if you answer one.”
Warily, he put his glass down.“You know my mom, my brothers and my sister.You’ve heard all about Willow and Coop’s instinctive knowledge about people and animals, whereas I know nothing about you except that you have a shop in Marietta and you love to read.My mom talks about your book club all the time.I know you’re beautiful, easy to talk to and I know you have me tied up in knots.”
She rolled her eyes.“Urgh!Enough with the corny lines.”
“Tell me about your parents,” he insisted.
“Okay, but then I get to question you.”
“Okay.You first.”
Sighing, she played with her serviette.She never talked about her parents.Never.So why was she talking to Becket, someone she scarcely knew, about something she’d rather forget?Somehow, though, it was easy.Probably because he was a stranger.“Ours wasn’t a happy home.I don’t remember much about them, really, but I do remember always feeling scared.”
Becket frowned.
“My dad was always angry and he… hurt my mom.And then one day, he turned on me.Memories of that time are vague, but that was the last time I saw him.My mom left him at some point but she couldn’t deal with me and, well, that was when I went to live with Grandma.Both my parents died a few years later.”Inhaling shakily, she cleared her throat.“Then I got engaged to someone exactly like my dad.He was always trying to change me, finding fault with everything I did.The first time he hurt me, though, I walked away.Grandma died soon afterward.That was when I stored my stuff, got in my car and decided to find Marietta, the town she never stopped talking about.”
Becket reached out and put a hand on her arm.“And that’s your reason for wanting to stay single?”
She nodded.“It’s also why I find it difficult to believe your lines.It’s going to be difficult for me to believe someone really wants to be with me as I am, warts and all.I’d rather be safe and boring and not get hurt again.No reckless behavior.”
A slow grin lit up his face.“Aah, but you’re something else when you’re reckless, Ellie Campbell.”
Before she could answer, the waiter was hovering near them again.
“Do you want anything else?”Becket asked.“Coffee?”
She shook her head.“No, thank you.I think it’s time for my question.”
As the waiter cleared their plates, Becket asked for the check and then leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.Mmm, still a bit wary.Interesting.
“What makes you excited to get up in the morning?”she asked.
He wiggled his eyebrows.
“Come on!”she scolded.“Be serious.”
The waiter arrived with the check and Becket signed it.
As the waiter left, Ellie looked at Becket.“Come on, we had a deal.I answered your question, now it’s your turn.”
Clearly uncomfortable, he fiddled with his water glass.“I… doodle.Sometimes.”
“What do you mean, doodle?”
Patting his pockets he took out a small notebook and a pencil.As she watched, he opened the book.The next moment, the pencil was flying over the page.He turned the notebook around and showed her what he’d done.
He’d sketched her.In a cartoon kinda way.Everything a tiny bit exaggerated.The curly hair, generous boobs, frilly top, hand on chin as she’d sat watching him.But it was the expression in the cartoon Ellie’s eyes that had her gasping softly.
“That bad?”he asked and held out his hand.
