by Lynn LaFleur
Quade groaned as his mouth watered. He hadn’t had lobster in months. He’d been in Austin the last time Emma served it at Café Crystal. “Thanks a lot. Now I’ll be thinking about that lobster tail all day.”
Emma grinned, not seeming the least bit sorry she’d tempted him. “If you think that’s what you’ll order, I’ll save the biggest one for you.”
“You’re the best, do you know that?”
Her grin widened. “Of course.”
“See you tonight?”
“I’ll make a point to come out and say hi.”
Quade headed for the exit. He’d taken one step through the doorway when Alaina Coleman plowed into him.
“Oh, Quade, I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you.”
Her elbow had connected with his stomach, so it took Quade a moment to straighten and be able to talk. “No problem.” He studied the face of the owner of Café Crystal and The Inn on Crystal Creek. Her skin appeared flushed, her eyes shone bright with happiness. “You okay?”
“I’m great,” she said with a huge smile. Cradling his cheeks in her hands, she gave him a smacking kiss on the lips. “I’m just great.”
She hurried by him while Quade was still trying to recover from her elbow and the surprising kiss. He doubted if her husband, Rye, would appreciate her kissing other men.
A loud squeal from the kitchen had Quade reversing his steps and hurrying back to the room. Emma and Alaina held each other tightly and bounced up and down while they turned in a circle. “What the hell is going on?”
Emma released Alaina and beamed at Quade. “Lainy’s pregnant!”
Frowning, Alaina punched Emma’s arm. “Shhh! I haven’t told Rye yet.” She glanced at Quade. “No offense.”
“None taken.” Smiling broadly, he stepped closer to the two women. “May I hug the mother-to-be?”
Alaina’s smile returned, even brighter than it had been when he’d first seen her. “Might as well, since I’ve already kissed you.”
Quade lifted Alaina from the floor in a tight hug. When he returned her feet to the floor, he gave her a tender kiss on the forehead. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you, Quade. I had an appointment with Dr. Dawson Monday, but I couldn’t wait any longer to know for sure. I begged her to see me in her office today and do a pregnancy test.” She placed both hands on her flat stomach. “It came back positive.”
“How far along are you, Lainy?” Emma asked.
“Two months, more or less.” A sheepish look crept over her face. “Rye and I, uh, celebrated big time after Rayna and Marcus’s wedding.”
Quade threw back his head and laughed. “Well, if there’s a good time to get pregnant, it has to be at a wedding.”
“I think so, too.” Alaina turned to Emma. “Where’s Kelcey? I wanted to tell her, too, but she isn’t in the office.”
“She had a meeting with our CPA.”
Alaina closed her eyes. “That’s right. I forgot.” She opened them again and shrugged. “My mind has been elsewhere today.” She gave Emma another hug, then gave one to Quade. “I have to find Rye. Don’t tell him I told y’all about the baby. I don’t want his feelings to be hurt that he wasn’t the first to know.”
Emma made a motion like turning a key at her lips. “Your secret is safe with me.”
“Me, too,” Quade said.
Tears shimmered in her eyes when she smiled again. “Thanks. We’ll announce it at the family dinner tomorrow. I know Beverly and Kenneth will be thrilled to learn they have a grandchild on the way!”
She hurried from the room, practically skipping. Chuckling, Quade looked at Emma. “That’ll be you someday, when you and Griff decide to start a family.”
“We’ve talked about having a family, but it probably won’t be soon. I told Griff there’s still a lot I want to do with the restaurant first. He said he’s willing to wait until I’m ready.”
“Did you set a wedding date?”
Emma nodded. “January twenty-first. Can you be there or is that a weekend you visit Adrian?”
“I can switch a weekend with Adrian if necessary. He’ll understand. There’s no way I’ll miss your and Griff’s wedding.”
Two of Emma’s workers came into the kitchen. Quade took that as his cue to leave. “Thanks again for the special dessert tonight. See you later.”
Quade left by the back door again, this time not bumping into anyone. His mind whirled as he made his way to his pickup of what else he could do to make tonight special for Eve.
While Café Crystal didn’t have a dress code, Quade knew the people in Lanville dressed nicer when they went there than at any of the other restaurants in town. He chose to wear his charcoal gray suit with a white button-down shirt. No tie. To him, ties were for weddings and funerals only.
He reached the door leading from his kitchen to the back porch when he stopped. Rubbing his forehead, he tried to decide if he should carry condoms with him. He hoped the evening with Eve wouldn’t end after dinner, that she would ask him to spend the night with her. He couldn’t assume she would, yet needed to be prepared in case she did.
Retracing his steps to his bedroom, Quade opened the nightstand, removed two condoms, and slipped them in his jacket pocket. He thought a moment, then placed a third one in his pocket.
Quade left his pickup parked in the garage and took his 1969 Corvette instead. Thanks to regular maintenance and care, the car still purred like new.
He made the short drive to the back of Cozy Crafts Cottage and parked next to Eve’s car. He thought a full bouquet of flowers might be too much on a first date, so had opted for a single white rosebud instead. Picking up the flower from the passenger seat, he climbed from the car and headed for the steps.
The sight of Eve when she opened the door stole his breath. She wore a long-sleeved, dark aqua dress that made the green of her eyes pop. It flowed over her curves to stop at her knees. A square neckline gave him a peek at the top of her breasts. One silver chain lay at her throat, one draped down almost to her waist. She’d pulled her hair back into what he thought women called a French braid.
“Hi,” she greeted with a smile.
“Hello.” Quade held up the rose for her. “You look beautiful.”
She graced him with another smile. “Thank you. You look very handsome.”
He dipped his head to acknowledge her compliment.
She held the rose to her nose and sniffed. “And thank you for the rose.” She opened the door wider. “Come in while I put it in water.”
He watched her take a slim blue vase from a cabinet and add water to it. After sniffing the rose once again, she placed it in the vase and set it on the windowsill above the sink. “I can enjoy it while I wash dishes.”
Quade noticed she’d placed a lacy shawl and small purse on the end of the kitchen counter. He lifted the shawl and held it open so he could slip it over her shoulders. He took a moment to enjoy the flowery scent of her hair before she moved away from him to pick up her purse.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Ready.”
Once she locked her door, Quade slipped his arm around her waist to guide her down the steps. The heels she wore made her only about five inches shorter than he … a perfect height for holding her against him while they kissed.
Not wanting to get ahead of himself, he pushed thoughts of kissing Eve from his mind and opened the passenger door so she could slide onto the seat. He rounded the hood, then slid behind the wheel.
She ran her hand over the dash. “This is nice.”
“Thanks. It was my dad’s. He bought it on his twentieth birthday, gave it to me on my twentieth.”
“Will you continue the tradition with Adrian?”
“I plan to. Although I don’t know if he’ll want to wait until he’s twenty to get it. He’ll take driver’s ed in the spring and is already hinting about getting the car as soon as he receives his driver’s license.” Quade turned on the signal to make a right-hand turn onto County Road
311. “I might buy him an older pickup to get him where he needs to go when he turns sixteen. Or I might give him this car early. I haven’t decided yet.”
“Does he already know how to drive?”
“Yeah. I taught Adrian to drive the summer he turned fourteen. We stayed on my property, so never got out on the highway. He did really well right away.” He glanced at her and grinned. “Made me proud.”
“I can tell by your voice when you talk about him how proud you are.”
“He’s a good kid. And I’m not saying that because he’s my son. He really is a good kid.”
“Maybe I’ll meet him someday.”
“He’ll be with me over the Christmas break.”
“I won’t be here. I’m going to see my father over Christmas.”
“Sorry. I forgot. No problem. You’ll meet him another time.”
Quade pulled into a parking spot at Café Crystal. Vehicles filled almost every place, making him glad he’d made a reservation so early today. He hurried around the car, arriving in time to offer a hand to help Eve from her seat.
“I looked at the dinner menu online today,” Eve said as they walked toward the entrance. “I usually have lunch here, so wasn’t sure about what’s available at dinner.”
“Did you find something you might like?”
“Yes, at least ten somethings.”
Quade chuckled. “I came by earlier today to make the reservation. Emma told me the chef’s special tonight is prime rib and lobster tail. How does that sound?”
“Like nirvana.”
He pulled open one of the heavy wooden doors, gestured for her to precede him. “With Emma cooking, I have no doubt it will be.”
5
Looking at Quade across the table, bathed in candlelight, had to be one of the most enjoyable things Eve had ever experienced. She couldn’t help but admire his incredible looks, yet she also admired him. His intelligence, charm, and wit wrapped around her, making her feel warm all through her body.
That warmth soon changed to desire.
She caught the fiery looks he gave her every now and then, when his sapphire eyes seemed to glow with heat. He never made a suggestive comment, never acted like anything but a gentleman. Yet she sensed he could quickly turn into a ravishing beast with one indication from her that she wanted him.
She’d considered all through dinner about giving him that indication.
Quade exuded sex appeal. While some handsome men turned out to be duds in bed, she didn’t doubt for a second that he knew exactly what to do with a woman. He had long, thick fingers that would glide over a woman’s curves, dip into hollows. She wondered if he had smooth fingertips or callused ones.
The top two open buttons on his shirt let her see a bit of his smooth chest. His skin possessed that lovely light copper coloring of Native Americans. She wondered about his ancestry, if perhaps he had some Native American blood in his veins. She didn’t know where he got the blue eyes. However he got them, they mesmerized her. The deep sapphire color, the flecks of silver, the long, black eyelashes … they combined to make her want to stare into them for hours.
He’d removed his jacket, draped it over the back of his chair. The white shirt looked like snow against his dark skin. He’d rolled up his shirt sleeves to mid forearm, letting her admire the play of muscles in his arms when he moved. The shirt stretched over a wide chest that would feel so good pressed against her breasts.
A shiver danced up her spine at the thought of Quade holding her, kissing her, making love to her… .
Their waitress, Shara, came by their table to pick up their plates. “How about another glass of wine?” she asked.
“Not for me, Shara,” Quade said. “I limit myself to one when I’m driving.”
She looked at Eve. “More wine?”
Thankful for the interruption before she did something stupid like push Quade on top of the table and jerk off his clothes, Eve shook her head. She would love another glass of the fabulous burgundy they’d had with dinner, but she wouldn’t drink more if Quade didn’t. “How about coffee instead?”
“Regular or decaf?”
“Decaf for both of us,” Quade told Shara. “Eve takes cream in hers.”
A pleasant heat spread through her that he’d remembered how she drank her coffee. It had only been one night since they’d had coffee together at her apartment, so he should remember, yet she suspected a lot of men wouldn’t.
“Be right back with your coffee and dessert.”
Shara left before Eve could ask her what she meant about dessert. “We didn’t order dessert.”
“I did. I asked Emma to make something special for us.”
“When did you do that?”
“This morning when I made the reservation.”
Touched that he’d been so thoughtful, Eve didn’t know what to say. She didn’t think she’d ever met a man as considerate as Quade. “That was very sweet. What is it?”
“I told her to go for it, as long as it’s chocolate.”
Shara came back with a tray. She set a plate in the center of the table. Eve’s eyes widened when she saw the trails of white, milk, and dark chocolate drizzled over the top of the round dessert and decorating the plate. “What is it?”
“Emma calls it Triple Chocolate Threat. The crust is milk chocolate, the filling swirls of dark and white chocolate. It’s kind of a … cheesecakey, custardy mousse.” She held out clean spoons to both of them. “Dig in.”
Eve did exactly that while Shara poured their coffee. Once she’d taken a bite, Quade tried one. The flavors of the three types of chocolate flowed over her taste buds. She’d swear they did a happy dance.
“Oh, my God, that’s sinful.”
“I’ll second that. Shara, tell Emma she did good.”
The waitress grinned. “I’ll do that. Wave at me if you need anything else.”
Eve scooped up another bite of the dessert. “I can’t believe I’m eating this, as full as I am.”
He tapped her to-go container with the handle of his spoon. “You didn’t eat all your prime rib.”
“I wanted to save some of it for a snack tomorrow. I ate every bite of the lobster.”
“I noticed that.”
She liked the way the candlelight reflected in his eyes when he grinned. So far, she’d found very little to dislike about Quade Easton.
That scared her.
Of course, one date didn’t mean anything serious. Quade might be divorced, but she’d bet he didn’t spend many nights alone. He’d told her last night that he’d dated since the breakup with his last girlfriend. She didn’t doubt that at all. She’d seen the hot looks the women in the restaurant gave him as he walked past their tables.
She had to admit to a feeling of smugness because she had such a handsome, desirable man for her date.
“What is that?” Quade asked.
“What is what?”
He motioned toward her mouth with his spoon. “That little grin tugging at your lips.”
Eve quickly sobered, embarrassed that she’d let her thoughts show on her face. “I’m not grinning.”
“You were.” He scooped up another bite of dessert. “What were you thinking?”
She studied his face while he chewed, trying to decide how honest to be with him. Being completely honest meant admitting how much he attracted her, how she felt fluttery whenever he looked into her eyes. Being honest meant telling him everything inside her went all soft and liquid when she thought of his body against hers, his cock pumping into her channel.
I can’t tell him any of those things, not unless I want to end up naked with him.
Which wouldn’t be a bad thing. It had been a long, long time since she’d been naked with a man.
“Time to come clean, Eve.”
His eyes twinkled with humor, a sure sign that he was teasing her. She decided to tease right back. “A woman has the right to some secrets, Quade.”
“That’s true. I just thought since
this is a getting-to-know-each-other dinner that we should share something that no one else knows.”
A slow grin spread over her lips. “Oh, really? Is that what this dinner is about?”
“We have to talk about something personal sometime tonight. We talked about jobs and friends during dinner. Dessert is a time for sharing.”
“Who made up that rule?”
“I’m pretty sure it’s in the dating handbook.”
He took another bite of dessert. After placing the chocolate concoction in his mouth, he slowly licked the spoon. Eve’s grin faded as images of his tongue on her body filled her mind….
Quade leaned forward. “I like when you look at me that way.”
“What way?” she asked, her voice coming out huskier than she’d prefer.
“Like you’re thinking about all the things I could do to you with my tongue.”
Heat whooshed through her body. Her toes curled in her shoes. “Quade,” she croaked.
Reaching across the table, he drew a figure eight on the back of her hand. “Are you going to ask me to spend the night with you?”
“I … don’t know.”
He gave a brief nod. “Honesty. I like that.” He continued to caress her hand with his finger. “I won’t push you, Eve. It’s completely up to you if we make love. But I want you, if that helps you decide.”
“I think … it might be too soon.”
“Okay. I accept that.” He glanced at the last bite of dessert remaining on the dish. “You’d better eat that in a hurry before I do.”
Eve quickly spooned up the remaining chocolate treat as Shara returned with a pot of coffee. “Refills?”
“None for me,” Eve said.
“I’m good, too. Tell Emma to put this on my bill.”
“Already done.” She smiled at each of them. “Y’all have a nice night.”
“You have a bill?”
“Emma runs a tab for me and I pay once a month. I eat here a lot and it’s easier to pay one bill than several.” He pulled his wallet from his inside jacket pocket, laid some bills next to his plate. “I still pay the tip based on service. Shara is always good.”
Quade stood, rounded the table, and pulled back her chair as Eve stood. She gathered her shawl, purse, and container holding her leftover prime rib. With his hand on the small of her back, they headed for the exit.