“Where’d you say you were from?” she asked even though he’d never actually said.
“Charlotte.”
“Born and bred?”
“Originally from Raleigh. Were you born here?”
“A Bluebell girl through and through.”
“You like to travel?”
“Sure, I’ve been here and there. But mostly I like it here.” She flashed a saucy smile at him.
“Fair enough.”
“What about you... world traveler?”
He slid her a sideways look, the corner of his lips tipping up. “Here and there.”
“Are you trying to be an enigma, or does it just come naturally?”
“Comes pretty natural.”
She laughed.
“You seem awfully young to own a business—two businesses.”
Grace cocked a look at him. “Is that your way of asking my age?”
“I’m usually more subtle.”
“I have no doubt.” Grace took a step up the curb and turned right, leading them down Church Street. They had to walk fairly close to fit on the sidewalk, and she caught the scent of his woodsy cologne.
“You’re not going to tell me?” he said finally.
“You haven’t asked.”
“How old are you, Grace?”
“I’m twenty-one, Wyatt. How old are you?”
“Ancient.”
“You’re aging well. Not a gray hair in sight. Come on, now, I told you.”
“Twenty-six.”
Grace widened her eyes dramatically. “You’re right. Positively ancient.”
He skirted a root that had grown through the sidewalk. “What made you want to open an outfitters business?”
She hitched her shoulder. “I’ve always been active and outdoorsy, and I saw a need in town for such a place.”
“Sounds like a big challenge.”
“I like a challenge.” She gave him a look from the corner of hereye. Had that come off flirty? She hadn’t meant it to. She didn’t think. “But to be honest, I mostly do the fun stuff, and my brother handles the financial side. He’s teaching me, but I’m not a natural with numbers and spreadsheets. How about you? How’d you become an EMT?”
He paused long enough she wondered if he was going to answer at all.
