I only used your first name, but I couldn’t tell the story of my life without including you. You were such an important part of my high school years.”
His hazel gaze focused on her, making her chest tighten. She didn’t know what to say and even if she had, she couldn’t have spoken when he looked at her like that.
“I autographed it to you,” he added. “That’s why I came down here. I wanted to give it to you in person.”
“Thank you,” she managed. “I look forward to—”
“Have dinner with me,” he blurted out, his eyes widening as though he’d surprised even himself.
The suddenness of his query caught her off guard, too. “I can’t. I have to work.”
Xander frowned. “You work every day?”
“No,” she admitted. “But I’m not off again until Sunday. I figured you’d be long gone from Cornwall by then.”
Xander smiled wide and Rose quickly realized that her alibi wouldn’t be good enough. “As luck would have it,” he said, “I’m going to be in town for a while. A few weeks at least.”
“Oh.” Knowing Xander, he would ask her to dinner every day until she relented. She didn’t have the strength to fight him off for that long.
“So I can take you out to dinner Sunday night?”
No. No, no, no. Her brain could see the problems a mile away. Eventually, she would slip up and say the wrong thing. She’d mention school or Little League or her dad.... That or she’d lose her mind and think it wouldn’t hurt to sleep with him again. Then he would leave and she would be crushed. History could not repeat itself. Her heart couldn’t take it.
Rose caught a whiff of his cologne. It was a warm, spicy scent that reminded her of hot summer nights and foggy windows. “Okay,” she said before she could stop the words. Her body seemed to have different plans from her brain and at the moment, it had control of her vocal cords.
“Great. Where are you living now? I’ll pick you up.”
“You can pick me up here,” she said a touch too quickly, and then felt the need to explain herself. “I live a couple towns over. There’s no sense in you driving all the way out there.” That was true enough, although there were more reasons for not wanting Xander at her apartment.
“Fair enough, although it’s no imposition.”
Rose shook her head and glanced down at her watch. She needed to check on his food, warm up Gary’s and Pete’s coffees, and get some distance between her and Xander so she could think straight again.
“I’d better go grab your burger,” she said sliding out of the booth with the book in her hands. With an awkward parting smile, she disappeared into the kitchen. Safely hidden away, she whacked her forehead against the refrigerator door and groaned.
“Order’s up,” Oscar said, sliding the plate across the counter. “Don’t whack your head so hard you forget which table to take it to.”
Oh, there was no way she was going to forget, no matter how many times she hit her head. She also couldn’t forget that she was an idiot. She was playing with fire. Somehow the idea both thrilled and horrified her. She glanced down at the book in her hands and the handsome face staring back at her before taking a deep, calming breath. It didn’t help. Nothing would.
Rose had a date with Xander Langston.
At exactly 7:00 p.m. Sunday, Xander pulled his Lexus back into the gravel parking lot of Daisy’s Diner. The restaurant was closed on Sunday nights, but there was one vehicle in the lot—a four-door Honda Civic. A smart choice.
That was one thing he’d always appreciated about Rose. She was practical. She’d always been embarrassed by the fact that she had to leave after school and work while the other girls went to cheerleading and band practice. Xander had thought it was industrious of her. She wasn’t frivolous with her time or her money. He’d been proud to date a girl who was hardworking and appreciated what she had.
There had been a time when Xander was spoiled. His father had had a good job; his mother had stayed at home. He and his brother, Heath, hadn’t wanted for anything. And then, in the blink of an eye, he’d lost everything. Going to live with the Edens had been like a whole new world. They hadn’t had a lot of money, but they’d taught him the value of working hard and having pride in what he accomplished. Each member of their patchwork family had helped run the farm. Come December, he’d do nothing but bag and haul Christmas trees and he’d be happy to do it. It had taught him the skills he needed to fight the good fight on Capitol Hill.
Rose hadn’t had it easy, either. Her mother had been diagnosed with stage IV cancer her senior year and her father hadn’t made much money as a mechanic. She and her two siblings had both worked because they’d had to. Because of it, she’d appreciated things most people took for granted.
As Xander pulled to a stop, the door of the Civic opened and his heart skipped a beat in his chest. Rose stepped out in a chic little black dress. It was sleeveless with a high, almost mandarin-style collar. It also clung to every curve like black liquid latex had been poured over her body. A bright pink belt encircled her tiny waist and matched the pink heels she wore. Rose had been one of the tallest girls in school at five-ten, and with those heels, she would probably look him right in the eye.
He couldn’t wait to find out how well their bodies would align with those shoes. Xander put the SUV into Park and got out. “You look lovely,” he said.
Rose smoothed her hand over her hair, which was down tonight, framing her face. She gave him a nervous smile. “Thank you.”
Xander walked her around his car and then opened the door for her to step inside. The movement made her respectable hemline inch higher, showing off a flash of her creamy, firm thigh. That was enough to make his palms tingle in anticipation of sliding over them. He hadn’t asked Rose to dinner with the end goal of sleeping with her, but he certainly wouldn’t complain if that was how it ended up. He needed to have a little fun while he was home. Once that drawing of Tommy was released, the rest of his time would be less than pleasurably spent.
He shut the door and got in on the driver’s side. “I have reservations for us at this Italian place in the next town. Molly recommended it.”
Xander had danced around who he was taking to dinner—that would’ve sent Molly into a tizzy—but he had asked about a nice place to eat. His foster mother was on a mission to get all of her children married off. Molly loved Rose and if she thought for a second they might reconcile, he wouldn’t hear the end of it until they were married with three kids. Cornwall had some decent dining choices, but he’d been gone so long he wouldn’t know what was still open. This place was on the new side, about a year old, but it had gotten rave reviews.
“Sounds great,” she said as they pulled out onto the main road.
“Have you been there before?”
Rose chuckled and shook her head. “I don’t really eat out much, unless you count Daisy’s. I usually work the lunch and dinner shifts because they have the best tips.”
