by Josie Kerr
“So she was a good bit younger?” Another sip of wine.
“Eleven years younger.” Rob chuckled then. “Apparently, I might have a type. ”
“Apparently.” Tally was grinning, though, so he counted that in the win category. Her smile faded before she asked her next question. “And she’s been gone three years?”
“Yes. Almost four.”
Tally sighed. “I don’t know what else to say.”
“There’s nothing else to say, darlin’. Nothing else to say.” He grinned. “My turn.”
That got a full laugh out of Tally. “Oh boy. Okay, shoot.”
“At your mom and Tobias’s wedding, you said you married Greg, who is Chloe’s father, when you were nineteen, but Chloe is almost fifteen?”
Tally shifted in her seat. “Yeah. Greg and I finished high school, though at different schools. After I got pregnant, Greg’s father sent him to military school and then he joined the navy, but we kept in touch. And then he showed up on my parents’ doorstep with a ring and deployment details. We got married, and Chloe and I lived with my parents while he was gone, and then we all lived with my parents when he was back. Then he got out and started doing his machinist thing, and we moved out. And here we are.”
Rob’s face creased into a scowl. “So how long has it been since you’ve been on a date? Have you ever been on a real date?”
“Does a date where one of the participant’s parents drive you count?”
Rob barked a laugh. “No, that does not count.”
Tally closed her eyes and drained her wineglass. “Well, then no, I haven’t ever been out on a date other than the day we got married. So 2007? I remember some Nickelback song playing in the restaurant twice during the date. Greg absolutely loves Nickelback. I should have known right then, right?”
Rob shrugged. “There are worse bands. It could be Creed.”
“Oh God, my inner thirteen-year-old still loves Creed.” Tally giggled. “I will admit to turning up the radio when a Creed song comes on and singing along. Of course, Chloe is horrified.”
“Man, at least one of you has good taste,” he teased.
“Rude!” Tally continued laughing. “See what you have to look forward to?”
“Oh, I don’t sing in the car to Creed, so there are no worries there. So far, we’re on the same page with regard to music, though I did make the mistake of allowing a Justin Bieber CD in the house. I’m still recovering from that one.”
A tuxedo-clad waiter brought their entrées just then, providing a welcome reprieve from an unexpectedly heavy conversation. They tucked into their meals, sharing bites from the other’s plate, and spent the next long moments just enjoying their food and wine.
“This is your wine, isn’t it?” Tally wiggled her fingers over the glass as Rob refilled it. He winked at her in acknowledgment and leaned back in his chair. “Why do you do that? Not take credit.”
He shrugged. “I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “I mean, I avoid the fallout if you hate it.”
“I don’t think I’m going to hate anything you had a hand in creating.” Then she snorted. “Wow, that was super cheesy.”
Rob threw his head back and laughed. “I think the guy is supposed to supply the cornball lines, right? Though, I think I’m going to have a hard time beating that one. I’ll have to file that away.” He winked at her again.
He motioned for the waiter. “We’ll take two pieces of the chocolate cake to go, please.” When the waiter stepped away from the table, Rob gave Tally’s hand a little squeeze. “I hope you don’t mind. I’d like a little change of scenery before we head back.”
She inclined her head and gave him a small smile full of promise.
“I’m going to visit the ladies’ room before we leave.”
Tally could feel Rob’s gaze on her as she made her way to the back of the restaurant. It took all her willpower not to sprint to the restrooms. She didn’t know if it was the wine—it was probably part of it considering she’d had quite a bit—or the surprisingly spicy food, which was part of the reason she’d had several glasses, or just the way Rob looked at her for most of their meal. She’d never had a man look at her that way, like he was going to devour her and he knew she was going to beg him to do it.
Okay, she’d had too much wine.
She needed to remember that Robbie Mac was intoxicating enough on his own; she didn’t need anything else to feel punch-drunk. Tally ran a paper towel under the cool tap water and pressed it against her neck. There were other parts that needed cooling off, but she couldn’t very well do that in here, though she was sorely tempted. Very sorely tempted.
She went into the stall and sat down, reveling in the cool quiet of the small, enclosed space. She took a few deep breaths, which didn’t help much at all. If anything, the fact that she was turned on as hell became all the more apparent. Tally tried to distract herself by thinking how mad he’d made her earlier, but unfortunately, she also found his bossiness lust-inciting. Which was absolutely ridiculous because she detested being told what to do, especially by a man.
Dammit.
A knock on the door followed by an immediate rattle of the stall’s doorknob jolted her out of her reverie. Thank God. She was about to stick her hand in her pants to give herself some relief, and she was definitely not that kind of woman. Although, apparently, she was.
“Hello? Is there anyone in there?”
“Just a moment!” Tally called to the impatient woman on the other side of the door. She closed her eyes and inhaled one more breath, blew it out, and then flushed the toilet for good measure. Then Tally plastered a smile on her face and opened the door.
“I’m sorry. I had some adjusting issues,” she babbled at the woman, who looked to be about her age and, upon closer examination, on the verge of a nervous breakdown. “Honey, are you okay?”
The woman’s lip wobbled. “Yes, I’m fine. I’m perfect. Everything is always fucking perfect!” The woman sucked in a shuddering breath. “Wouldn’t you be fine if everyone but you knew that the man you were supposed to marry in less than four months was a philandering SOB!” The woman’s voice had reached Mariah Carey heights the longer she spoke, and Tally wasn’t entirely sure that the stained glass windows in the women’s lounge would be intact by the time the woman finished venting.
“Oh, that’s awful. None of your friends said anything? Hinted at anything?”
The woman sniffled. “No. And what’s worse, Mama apparently knew about the whole thing and just signed off on it. She told me I needed to get over myself because I wasn’t getting any younger. I’m only twenty-nine.”
“Your mama sounds like a bitch. Holy crap.” Tally’s assessment got a little snorting laugh from the woman. “What’s your name? I’m Tally Douglas,” she introduced herself.
The woman gave Tally’s outstretched hand a squeeze. “I’m Mary-Leland Sampson. Nice to meet you, Tally.”
Tally tried to recall where she’d heard that name recently but refocused on the woman in front of her, who seemed to be making her way from hurt to pissed.
“Are you feeling better now that you’ve told someone about stuff?”
Mary-Leland nodded. “Yes, I am. I mean, I’m sure I’m going to have a complete come-undone at some point in the near future, maybe even in the next half an hour, but yeah, I feel a lot better.” She smiled, a real smile, not some forced grimace. “This is going to sound completely nuts, but—”
“I want your phone number. I’m new and there’s not a lot of people our age, it seems. It’s like Hemlock Creek is made up of seventeen-year-olds and the boomer battle-ax set.”
Mary-Leland rolled her eyes. “Tell me about it. My mother is the queen battle-ax. She actually prides herself on being the head of the Hemlock Creek Gossip Brigade.”
Tally couldn’t hide her shock. Oh Lord, this woman’s mother was the daylily lunatic outside of Jet’s. Bless her heart, as Liddie would say.
“Oh, it looks like you’v
e realized who Mama is.” Mary-Leland’s smile wobbled. “Do you still want to trade numbers?”
Tally snorted. “Girl, I want to trade numbers even more. I think people like us need to stick together.”
They exchanged numbers, and Tally gave her new friend a hug. “I’ve got to go. I bet my date thinks I’ve either fled out the window or gone down the toilet.”
“Oh my Lord, you are here with a date? Oh my gosh, I am so sorry for dumping all this on you.” Mary-Leland kept on babbling even as Tally steered her out the door and toward the front of the restaurant.
“Oh, dear Lord. I don’t know what it is with those two, but something is up with them.” Mary-Leland had stopped and crossed her arms over her chest while Tally froze at the sight of Chad Bryson and Robbie Mac, nose to nose in the lobby of the restaurant. “I thought they were going to come to blows when we visited the vineyard.”
“That is your fiancé? Chad Bryson?”
Mary-Leland nodded slowly. “I take it you know him.”
Tally massaged her forehead with her fingers for a moment in preparation of telling Mary-Leland the ugly truth. “Oh my gosh. I hate to tell you this, but—”
“Mary-Leland, get over here!” Chad barked. He pointed at his side as if his fiancée were a trained dog expected to heel on command.
“Oh, hell no, Bryson. You do not get to talk to anyone in that tone. You need to fuck right on off and stay there.” Rob’s voice boomed through the small lobby, and the acoustics of the room amplified his words throughout the entire restaurant.
“Oh, crap,” Tally muttered as Mary-Leland stormed up to her errant fiancé and pulled the huge engagement ring off her finger.
“I suggest you take Robbie Mac’s advice, Chad. And find yourself another fiancée.” Mary-Leland marched up to her mother. “Shame on you, Mama. Shame on all of you.” And then Mary-Leland marched out the door.
Tally slipped up next to Rob and put her hand on his chest. “Do you have the cake?”
He continued glaring at Chad for a few more beats. Then he looked at Tally, and the corner of his mouth curled up into a smile. “Yeah, babe. I’ve got the cake.” He kissed her on the forehead and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Let’s get outta here.”
“Sounds like an excellent plan to me, Robbie Mac.”
Tally let Rob guide her out the door, leaving the sounds of all hell breaking loose behind them.
“Just . . . let’s enjoy the quiet for a bit after all that, okay?”
Tally smiled at Rob as he drove them out to the edge of town. Rob nodded and lifted her hand to his lips. They rode in comfortable silence for the next ten minutes until he pulled up to a gate with a “No Trespassing. Private Property” sign bolted onto it.
“Be right back.” He gave her wink and was out of the truck in a flash. He unlocked the gate and pushed it open enough for the truck to pass through, then he relocked the gate behind them. “Don’t want to be disturbed by either trespassers or the cops that patrol,” he explained.
“This is part of your vineyard?”
“Technically, it’s the orchard, but really, it’s just the river and the hemlock grove.” He rolled down the windows, and the night sounds came rushing into the truck’s cab. They drove for another five minutes, and then the predominant sound was of rushing water.
Rob checked the clock and grinned. “Just in time.”
He handed Tally the bag with the cakes, gave her a nod, and hopped out of the truck. He helped Tally out and commanded, “Wait right here,” before lifting the back seat of the truck, digging around, and emerging with two balls of cloth. He hitched one of the bundles under his arm and grasped the other in his hand and then offered his free arm to Tally. “Ready?”
Rob could see her eyes glistening in the moonlight as she nodded. Tally looped her arm through his, and they set off down a beaten trail that ended at a small dock. Rob set down the bundles and went to the four corners of the dock to light the small lanterns affixed to each post. Then he set about unrolling the sleeping bags and laying them atop one another. Rob offered his hand to Tally. She took it, and they had a seat on the makeshift pallet.
“Wow! Look at all these stars!” Tally gazed in wonderment at the sky, and Rob in turn stared at her. She was stretched out, propped up on her elbows, her head tilted back, exposing her neck. Seeing all that expanse of skin made it very hard for him to resist kissing all those spots—and more. She turned and caught him looking at her. “What?”
“Wait a couple of minutes.”
“Like, literally a couple of minutes? Or just a bit?”
“Down to ninety seconds now.”
“So, literally a couple of minutes.”
“Sixty seconds.”
“Rob . . .”
“Shh.” He held up a finger. “Now. Listen.”
Suddenly a train whistle cut through the air. The roar of the locomotive and the creak and clatter of the train as it traveled across the trestle drowned out the whoosh of the running river. The train’s song only lasted about three minutes, but Rob could tell those three minutes were absolute magic to Tally.
“Wow. I mean, I sound like a simpleton because all I can say is ‘wow,’ but . . . wow.” Then Tally sprang upright and planted a kiss directly on his mouth. “Thank you.”
A slow smile spread across his face. “No, thank you for coming to dinner with me.” And then he kissed her cheek. “Want some cake?”
“Is that some sort of innuendo?” Tally was bundled up in a ball, her legs tucked against her chest, but she was smiling at him, with her cheek resting on her knees.
Rob flipped one of the boxes open and brandished a fork. “Not yet,” he said as he offered her a bite of cake. Tally took the cake off the fork without using her hands, and Rob’s cock jumped.
Shit. Maybe this wasn’t a great idea.
Then her tongue darted out to swipe at a bit of chocolate icing, and he decided this was the most brilliant idea ever. He scooted closer and closer to her with each morsel until the cake was gone and they were right next to each other, close enough for her breast to brush his arm.
“Kiss me, Rob.”
He pressed his lips to hers, tasting chocolate, a hint of sweet muscadine wine, and something uniquely Tally. His hand cradled her neck under her hair, gently easing her head back so he could have more. One of her hands curled around his collar, pulling him closer. He touched the seam of her lips with his tongue, and her mouth opened with a sigh.
All memories of prior kisses had been wiped away with that little sigh. This was a kiss to end all kisses. Rob pulled her to him, holding on to her tightly, letting himself be submerged in the sound of the river and the feel of Tally grasping him back.
Then he groaned and broke the kiss.
“What?” Tally was breathless, her chest heaving. “What happened?”
“Shit, Tally, if you were just about anyone else, I’d have my mouth on you and my fingers in you and be working on making you scream.” Rob closed his eyes and swallowed hard. “But I don’t want to do that. I mean, damn straight I really want to do that, but I . . . yeah. Whoo. I, uh, need to calm down.” He loosened his grip on her just a bit but didn’t let her go.
“You really want to do all that to me?”
“Honey, damn straight I do.” Rob moved her hand to his erection and pressed his hand over hers so she could feel how hard he was. “This is because of that kiss we just had. And believe you me, I wanna do something about it, but I don’t want to screw this up, because I think this has potential. And I know you just filed for divorce and you don’t like me telling you what I think you’re ready for, but I don’t think you’re ready for—”
“I’m not.” Tally wiggled out of his grasp but still leaned into him, not looking at him. “I’ve only been with one person, and that person is Greg. I’ve never even kissed another man, until what we were just doing. Um, so, yeah. I think I need to step back a little.”
“Whoa. Okay. Wow.”
&nbs
p; She laughed and looked him right in the eye. “But, that being said, I’m, um, interested in that stuff you talked about. I mean, doing that stuff with you, but yeah, not tonight.”
Rob pressed his lips against her forehead, then each cheek, and then her mouth, and he was relieved to feel her lips curl up into a smile.
After he finished kissing her, Tally said in a wistful tone, “We probably need to get back. It’s getting late, and I might be tempted to not be practical.”
Rob laughed and kissed her again. “Yeah, babe. I’m thinking the same thing.” Another kiss. “Okay, just one more.” And another kiss.
Then Rob exhaled loudly, shook his head, and scrambled to his feet. He pulled her up and gave her yet another kiss, and then they gathered up the sleeping bags and the remaining piece of cake and headed back to Rob’s truck.
“Hey, ma’am, how was your day?”
Tally was so thankful that video calls were not the norm, at least yet, so Rob couldn’t see the goofy grin she had on her face. She’d been wearing that grin ever since he’d fed her cake on the dock, and she didn’t think anything could dampen her good mood. She’d even survived Sunday dinner with the extended Hopewell/Harper clan and their extensive interrogation regarding the status of her relationship with Robbie Mac.
“Tally? You there, babe?”
“Oh, sorry, Rob. I was just thinking. I know, dangerous.”
His chuckle made her tingle all over.
“Well, then. Do I wanna know what you’re thinking?”
Tally blushed, which she knew was ridiculous. “I was just thinking about how nice our ‘just dinner’ was.”
“It was. I’ll tell you what I’m thinking. I’m thinking that I’d like to take you out for an official date, not ‘just dinner,’ if you’d be up for that.”