“Cheese and crackers,” she mumbles. “Yep, a very fascinating man.”
I can’t stop a smile from forming. At this point I don’t care if she finds me interesting because I’m not like any other man she knows. As long as I can keep her interest, I stand a chance of building a deeper connection with her.
With everything I need now on the counter, I close the fridge and open the pantry. I’ve got a few different options for crackers, but you can’t go wrong with Jatz. Grabbing my largest chopping board, I put together a platter of cheese, grapes, nuts, sliced ham, and crackers.
“Wow.” Alexandria leans over and plucks a grape from the stem. “This looks amazing. I might hire you to make me a few of these the next time I have a party.”
Am I pathetic to want to say yes to that? I’d do it without question if it meant spending more time with her. Smiling, I tip my chin up toward the couch. “Let’s get comfortable.”
“Do you want a drink?” She holds up her glass. “Mind if I refill?”
“Yes and no.” I pick up the board and walk over to the living space.
“I’m going to assume you answered in the order I questioned,” she says with a laugh.
After putting the board down, I watch her move around my kitchen. She remembered where I got her glass from and has hers and mine filled in no time. As she makes her way to me, I can’t stop the images of her doing this every night from flooding my head.
What is it about this woman?
I barely know her.
And yet, I’d agree to anything she asks.
“Okay, let’s talk about my car first. When do you think I’ll get it back?” She hands me my drink and puts hers on a coaster on the coffee table. “And what do you charge?”
“I’ll need to work out the problem then let you know.” When she sits down, I lower myself to the couch beside her. “Do you need a car to get around? I can lend you one.”
She arches an eyebrow. “You’ll give me your car to use?”
“Sure. I’ve got more than one.”
“Right. Of course you do.” She laughs. “You fix cars for fun.”
She’s smiling so I don’t think her words are a dig at the number of cars I own. It’s more a jest, like when my brothers tease me about my inability to sell the cars I buy and do up.
“You don’t have to worry about loaning me a car. You aren’t the only with a collection of them.”
“You have more than the Jag?” Maybe she does have the latest Benz or Beemer.
“I do.” She nods and pops a cracker topped with a small chunk of cheese into her mouth.
“Let me guess…”
She swallows and grins at me. “You can try.”
“A Mercedes sedan.”
She shakes her head. “Nope.”
“A BMW.”
“Wrong again.”
I frown. “Okay. Either a VW or Audi.”
“No to both.”
“Huh.” I have to admit, I thought for sure she’d own one of those. “Uncle. What other vehicles do you have?”
