dining room of Fishy’s Roadhouse. The walls and floors were of the same weathered wood. The tables were a mixture of old wood and fifties Formica, with worn vinyl chairs. Old license plates and Burma-Shave ads were on the walls, along with stuffed fish and other oddities. A big jukebox was near the bandstand, and “Use Somebody” by the Kings of Leon was playing. The staff wore bowling shirts and jeans, and the total effect was laid-back and cheerful. The food was exceptional, and they had polished off a pile of crab legs and lobster with corn bread, coleslaw and fries. They had also shared a huge slab of pecan pie with Fishy’s homemade ice cream.
Todd was enjoying himself tremendously. Emily was totally unselfconscious while she ate, and she ate like a real person, not like the women he dated. They were the salad brigade, women who avoided carbs and red meat and desserts, all the things that made life worth living. Emily had a beautiful body, and she seemed to treat it very well without starving herself. In his experience, a woman who enjoyed the pleasure of eating enjoyed other pleasures as well. From what he could see, Emily was a very sensual lady in all ways. She had a heart-shaped face with rich brown skin that looked as if it would be soft and smooth to touch. Her thick eyebrows were natural, like her eyelashes. That was one of the things he really liked, the fact that she wasn’t plastered with makeup. And her smile was just as sexy as she was, with big dimples that bracketed her full, moist lips.
“I’m glad you like this place. I come here all the time when I’m on Hilton Head,” she told him. “It’s really good in October when the stone crab claws are in season. You can only get them in Florida, but the owner has a relative there and he gets some a few times during the season. They’re wonderful, my favorite food.”
“How often are you able to get to Hilton Head?” he asked.
“Not as often as I’d like. When I’m not at the university, I’m still busy with community work, like my summer science camp. Or I’m going somewhere else to work. I was in Haiti after the earthquake. I was in New Orleans after Katrina. I never know where I’m going to be,” she said. “Recreation gets pushed to the back of the line when it comes to my schedule.”
Todd was impressed but curious. “What do you do when you’re working in disaster areas? How does your background in biochemistry lend itself to, um…?”
Emily smiled at the way Todd was struggling to word his question. “Don’t worry. I’m not experimenting on people or anything. Not too many people know that I’m a medical doctor as well as being a Ph.D. I volunteer for Doctors Without Borders. I usually spend my vacation traveling for the organization.”
“Dang girl, you put me to shame,” Todd said with obvious sincerity. “Okay, I don’t understand how a woman like you is still single. Are you sure there isn’t some big jealous guy who’s gonna come looking for you and try to split my skull? You are probably the most accomplished person I’ve ever met,” he said with eyes full of admiration.
Emily gave him a slight side eye. “That’s the kind of question a woman would ask, Todd. You sound like you don’t know much about your own species. When has career accomplishment ever been a criterion for male attraction?”
Todd looked surprised at her blunt tone. “Well, now that all depends on the man. Some men like prime rib and some like burgers,” he began.
Emily held up her hand as she rolled her eyes. “Really, Todd? You’re comparing me to meat? I think we need to go home so you can have some quiet time. You’re venturing into some real scary territory,” she said with a smile.
Todd returned her grin with one of his own. “You’re right. Let’s get out of here before I put my other foot in my mouth.” He left a generous tip and they departed. Even though he’d been warned, he had to make an additional comment as they walked to the car. “I stand by what I said. You’re the whole package, Ms. Emily, which is why I can’t understand why you’re single.”
She groaned and shook her head. “Why is marriage supposed to be this big prize? Why is it like the most important thing in the world for a woman? I could ask you the same thing, you know. You’re not married, so what’s up with that?”
Todd had to smile as he put his arm around her shoulder. “That’s a good question, and I’m going to give you a good answer as soon as I think of one.”
“You’d better think hard, because I have a well-honed B.S. detector built into my head,” she cautioned him.
“Duly noted. I’ll never try to get over on you in any way,” he vowed.
“Don’t even worry about it, Todd. I wouldn’t let you get over on me anyway.”
Chapter 4
The rest of the evening was a lot of fun, as well as being a revelation for Todd. When they reached the house, they were still bantering back and forth about a number of things, and Todd discovered that Emily had a wicked sense of humor. She also had great taste in TV, as far as he was concerned.
“We don’t bother with cable since we’re not here daily, but we have lots of DVDs. Do you like True Blood? I’ve got the box set,” Emily told him. “The first two seasons.”
“That show is the only reason I got a DVR,” Todd said reverently. “Well, not the only one, but one of them.”
Emily handed him the DVD with a smile. “You’ve got good taste in TV. That bit of good taste just about makes up for the meat thing. I’m going to make popcorn.”
Todd watched her cute behind and long shapely legs as she went to the kitchen, and he smiled. He was putting the disc into the player when his cell phone rang. The sight of the name on his caller ID made him frown, and he quickly pushed the Ignore button.
“Screening calls? She’s not going to like that,” Emily teased him.
Todd got up from the couch and took the large tray she was carrying from her hands. “Maybe you need to have a bell on. Okay, I get the sneaking up thing. I promise I’ll stomp from now on. Thanks for the popcorn. Now can we please just watch True Blood?”
“Just ignore my question, that’s fine,” she said with a laugh. “I love this show,” she added, adroitly changing the subject.
“So you’re really into supernatural stuff?”
“Absolutely. I like paranormal, sci-fi, horror, espionage and action, anything like that.”
“No chick flicks? I thought most women liked them. My sisters love them,” Todd said.
Emily made a face. “I think my mom might have some here, but it’s not a genre I’m particularly interested in.” She picked up the remote and pushed play.
“You’re an interesting woman, Emily Porter.”
“Yeah, that’s what they tell me.”
Emily couldn’t remember when she’d felt so good. Nor could she recall the sofa being so comfortable. It was a big, cushy wraparound sectional, but tonight its cushions felt sensational and they smelled good, too. Her eyelids felt curiously heavy as she leaned in closer to get a good sniff of the heavenly fragrance. It was fresh and masculine and it certainly wasn’t Febreze, but it smelled familiar. It smelled just like, like Todd. Her eyes opened wide and she realized that she’d been curled up next to him with her head on his shoulder, sniffing him like an eager puppy. Heat flooded her face as he looked
