They sat there like that, staring at one another for what felt like an eternity.
“I really wanna kiss you right now,” Simon whispered.
“Then why don’t you?”
“Because I might never stop.”
“Oh. Well.” She tipped her head. “That could be a problem. Then I couldn’t eat my oatmeal.”
His eyes remained locked with hers. “No. You couldn’t.”
“I might starve to death.”
“You might.”
Her smile grew wide because she liked this. The teasing, the romance of it all. She’d never had that before. Not that she could remember. It was like they were in their own little world.
She registered the bells jingling behind her, but Simon didn’t look away, and neither did she.
“Maybe we should eat first,” she whispered, leaning in.
“And then…?”
“And then we could—”
“Hello, kids,” a deep, booming voice sounded nearby.
Violet noticed Simon roll his eyes a second before he turned away from her. “Archer.”
It took a second for the name to register as Violet peered up at the giant standing at the end of the table.
God, he was so freaking tall. He made Beau Bennett and Reese Tavoularis and Travis Walker—the tallest men she could think of—all look like average men when they were anything but.
“I told you I’d be back in a bit,” Simon told Archer.
“Don’t be rude, boy,” Archer said, his drawl prominent and, yes, sexy. “Introduce me.”
Simon glanced her way. “Violet, this is Archer Halligan. Arch, this is Violet Anderson.”
Archer reached over Simon. Amused by the gesture, Violet put her hand in his. His handshake was firm but gentle, his hands the size of baseball mitts.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Violet Anderson.” He held on a little longer than was probably socially appropriate, but Violet got the impression he was doing it to get a rise out of Simon.
It worked.
“Let her go, asshole,” Simon said without heat.
Archer barked a laugh, releasing her hand before taking off his cowboy hat and sliding into the booth across from them. Good thing he didn’t bring a companion because there was no way anyone was fitting in the seat beside him. His chest and back were so broad he spanned the width of the space.
Not to mention, he captured the attention of everyone in the entire place. Like, seriously. Everyone.
Chuck, the morning cook, stood at the door of the kitchen, his eyes on Archer. Sue, the waitress, stood a few feet to his right, holding a pot of coffee and was dangerously close to pouring it on the floor. Every single patron was looking their way. At the moment, there were mostly women, and Violet was almost certain you could hear the appreciation humming in the air around them.
“What’s good here?” Archer asked, the full brunt of those turquoise eyes pinned on her.
Not that she would admit this out loud, but Archer Halligan was a breathtaking man. From the dirty blond hair, the scruff on his jaw, the perfection of his nose, the sinful arch of his eyebrow, and the smirk that pulled at his rather lovely mouth, it was almost impossible not to think so.
He wasn’t quite as appealing as Simon, but he was definitely eye candy.
