not to mention the phone call from the asshole, even smarter to keep the wine and the food coming. “So what’s South Carolina like?”
“You’ve never been?” She feigned being shocked.
“Wasn’t on my list.” Until now.
“I live in Columbia. It’s the capitol city, smack dab in the middle of the state. Columbia’s hot as pure T hell in the summertime, but it’s a nice town. It’s also great because it’s two hours from the beach and two hours from the mountains, with a bunch of lakes in between. That’s probably one of the best things about South Carolina, you can have the best of both worlds. And we have Charleston, which everyone knows is the most romantic city in the world.”
“Not too sure about that. Have you ever been to Paris?”
“You ever been to Charleston?”
“Okay, you win the geography round.” He liked her laugh and the way she made her point wagging her fork at him. “Brothers? Sisters?”
“Nope. Just me. My parents have a little country store in New Zion, a farm community about an hour from Columbia.”
“I bet they spoiled you rotten.”
“Just the opposite. It was a hard living for them then, it still is. But they grew up there. Haven’t had a desire to do anything else. How about you?”
“I’m an only too, and was definitely spoiled by my mom. Always wanted a brother though. When I was little, I told everyone I had a big brother. It was kind of pathetic.”
“I think it’s sweet.” He started to pour her more wine and she put her hand over the glass. “I have work tomorrow. Better not.”
Beck nodded. “So the dog, on your phone—.” The blush traveled down her face, her long neck and disappeared under her dress. God, she was beautiful. He wanted to make her blush more, without the dress, trace it wherever it went.
“That’s Buster. He’s my baby. My best friend, Antwan’s keeping him while I’m gone.”
“So, he’s your dog?”
“Adam and I got him a couple of years ago.”
The asshole probably got her the dog to keep her company when he wasn’t there. What an idiot for giving her a substitute when he could be with her. But it looked like Rainey got the good end of that deal because the Lab looked sweet.
“So he’s the married dog?” Beck asked
“What do you mean?
“You know, the dog couples get to make sure they can actually do the parent/kid thing before marriage.” She all but winced at that last word, making him want to dig a little deeper. “So four years? That’s a long time, you and—Adam is it? You must be close to taking the plunge.”
“Didn’t you say you made dessert?” She gave him her best smile, trying to distract him.
Beck didn’t budge. “So tell me about, Adam.”
She let a few beats pass. “I met him when I was on vacation in Florida. He’d just been drafted by the Tampa Yankees.”
“That’s Class-A-Advanced, isn’t it? He must be pretty good.”
“It’s hard to make it to the major leagues.” It was obvious she didn’t want to talk about this now. “So he’s coaching now.”
“Must be tough. Commuting,” he grinned at her.
“Yes. It is.” She traced the rim of her wine glass. “Now, about that dessert.”
She loved his tiramisu, although her cute little nose turned up a bit when he presented it as tiramisu banana pudding.
“I love a good tiramisu, Beck, and banana pudding’s right up there with grits and elk, but I don’t know about tiramisu and banana pudding together.”
“You might like it, it’s the classic version with a southern twist, a little bit of banana liqueur in the filling topped with paper thin slices of brûléed banana.”
I took a small bite and moaned. “God, do you serve this at the restaurant?” It was to die for.
“The classic, yes, but I wanted to see what it would be like to blend the west and the south. What do you think?”
I blushed hard again, wanting to rave about how perfect it was, but I was wary of the messages Beck was sending
“You’ve never been?” She feigned being shocked.
“Wasn’t on my list.” Until now.
“I live in Columbia. It’s the capitol city, smack dab in the middle of the state. Columbia’s hot as pure T hell in the summertime, but it’s a nice town. It’s also great because it’s two hours from the beach and two hours from the mountains, with a bunch of lakes in between. That’s probably one of the best things about South Carolina, you can have the best of both worlds. And we have Charleston, which everyone knows is the most romantic city in the world.”
“Not too sure about that. Have you ever been to Paris?”
“You ever been to Charleston?”
“Okay, you win the geography round.” He liked her laugh and the way she made her point wagging her fork at him. “Brothers? Sisters?”
“Nope. Just me. My parents have a little country store in New Zion, a farm community about an hour from Columbia.”
“I bet they spoiled you rotten.”
“Just the opposite. It was a hard living for them then, it still is. But they grew up there. Haven’t had a desire to do anything else. How about you?”
“I’m an only too, and was definitely spoiled by my mom. Always wanted a brother though. When I was little, I told everyone I had a big brother. It was kind of pathetic.”
“I think it’s sweet.” He started to pour her more wine and she put her hand over the glass. “I have work tomorrow. Better not.”
Beck nodded. “So the dog, on your phone—.” The blush traveled down her face, her long neck and disappeared under her dress. God, she was beautiful. He wanted to make her blush more, without the dress, trace it wherever it went.
“That’s Buster. He’s my baby. My best friend, Antwan’s keeping him while I’m gone.”
“So, he’s your dog?”
“Adam and I got him a couple of years ago.”
The asshole probably got her the dog to keep her company when he wasn’t there. What an idiot for giving her a substitute when he could be with her. But it looked like Rainey got the good end of that deal because the Lab looked sweet.
“So he’s the married dog?” Beck asked
“What do you mean?
“You know, the dog couples get to make sure they can actually do the parent/kid thing before marriage.” She all but winced at that last word, making him want to dig a little deeper. “So four years? That’s a long time, you and—Adam is it? You must be close to taking the plunge.”
“Didn’t you say you made dessert?” She gave him her best smile, trying to distract him.
Beck didn’t budge. “So tell me about, Adam.”
She let a few beats pass. “I met him when I was on vacation in Florida. He’d just been drafted by the Tampa Yankees.”
“That’s Class-A-Advanced, isn’t it? He must be pretty good.”
“It’s hard to make it to the major leagues.” It was obvious she didn’t want to talk about this now. “So he’s coaching now.”
“Must be tough. Commuting,” he grinned at her.
“Yes. It is.” She traced the rim of her wine glass. “Now, about that dessert.”
She loved his tiramisu, although her cute little nose turned up a bit when he presented it as tiramisu banana pudding.
“I love a good tiramisu, Beck, and banana pudding’s right up there with grits and elk, but I don’t know about tiramisu and banana pudding together.”
“You might like it, it’s the classic version with a southern twist, a little bit of banana liqueur in the filling topped with paper thin slices of brûléed banana.”
I took a small bite and moaned. “God, do you serve this at the restaurant?” It was to die for.
“The classic, yes, but I wanted to see what it would be like to blend the west and the south. What do you think?”
I blushed hard again, wanting to rave about how perfect it was, but I was wary of the messages Beck was sending
Similar Books
