Page 30 of Love You Truly

“You want to get out of here and go for a walk?” I look down at both of our plates, where we’ve demolished all of our food, and tip my head toward the exit. “We can find a place for dessert or coffee and keep talking where it’s quieter.”

She nods, and I ask for the check. She fishes around in her purse for her wallet, but I’ve already put my credit card into the folio and handed it off to the server before she extracts hers. Looking from me to the server who’s retreating into the distance, she scowls like I’ve pulled a fast one.

The color rises in her cheeks, and she holds up her credit card. “Didn’t we agree that I owed you?”

“I never agreed to that. I asked you out.”

“I asked you out first.”

“You snooze, you lose.” The server brings back my card, and I add a fat tip and sign the check. “Shall we?” I stand and offer her my arm.

Still scowling, she shoves her credit card back into her purse. She doesn’t take my arm, so I rest a hand on the small of her back as she moves in front of me and heads for the door. “You should really put your credit card back in your wallet so it doesn’t get lost in your purse,” I say softly over her shoulder. I watch her eyes squeeze shut and her hands flex, and I know I’m cracking her attempt at an icy facade. And I plan to keep going.

If she only knew how much I like baiting her, she wouldn’t give me such a reaction. It only encourages me.

Fifteen minutes later, we’re the only ones sitting at the outdoor tables behind Lalaland, an ice cream shop in St. Helena. Mallory starts talking the moment we’re alone with our twin scoops of lemon cake ice cream. “I have big plans.”

It’s like someone loosened the cork on a bottle of champagne, and Mallory’s energy sent the thing sky high. Once she starts talking, she can’t seem to stop. “I want to develop our land and sell to some of the growers who need additional fruit for their wine making, plus I want to expand our own winery and make it commercially competitive. I’m also looking into leasing some land or…”

She stops and licks a drip from her ice cream cone before it can run down her hand. One second longer, and I’d have licked it from her skin.

I know I sort of coerced her into this date as payback for helping her with her ex, but my brain, my pulse, my skin…no part of me has gotten the memo. She mesmerizes me with every gesture and every thought.

I lean a little closer, testing her. The space between us feels intimate and electrically charged all at once. She doesn’t back away, so I lift a finger as though I plan to trace the outline of her cheek. Her gray eyes heat, and the soft skin of her throat quivers as she swallows.

But I don’t touch her. Instead, I back away. “Sorry. I thought you had a bug on your cheek.” I tap the apple of her cheek softly, and her lips press together before she swats me.

“I did not have a bug.” She frowns as though I’ve insulted her.

“Not anymore. But I had to get closer to be sure.” I lean in as though checking again. I’m flirting shamelessly, waiting for her to fight that fake frown. Eventually, a corner of her mouth betrays her, and she smiles.

“Okay, can you tell now? No bug.”

She leans closer, getting in my space, and I fucking love it. I inhale her jasmine scent before backing away.

“Sorry. My mistake.” I can’t help the grin from spreading across my face.

We reassume our positions, leaning back in our respective chairs, but I feel an invisible filament connecting us now that wasn’t there before. I don’t know exactly why I’m pushing her. Maybe I am just a flirt like everyone believes.

No, that’s not it. It’s her. I like her.

“So why now? Is there a reason your family has never developed the land for wine growing before now?” I ask the question calmly, but I can hear my siblings’ voices in my head telling me that we need any advantage we can get. If I’m the first one she’s telling about her plans, maybe I can get first dibs on the future harvests, which we desperately need.

“Yeah. The reason is my parents. They were never interested. But they made a deal with me about ten years ago that they’ll cede control to me on my thirty-third birthday, and that’s coming up in a few months.” The softness in her voice would feel like satin if I could touch it, yet I sense sadness there too.

“This is a good thing, right?” I know I’m no financial wizard like my older brothers, but I’m smart enough. Yet I feel like I’m missing the point here, and I hate it.

My eyes snag as her tongue slips out to lick the melting yellow ice cream. Watching her, I feel my dick jump in my pants. Her eyes flit around, and she takes a few more swipes at the ice cream, seemingly lost in thought.

“I thought so, but now…ugh.”

Still not understanding, I get up and pace around the patio. My ice cream is nearly gone and I bite into the cone before chucking the remains in the trash.

“Did you just…?” Mallory has her hand on her chest as though she’s witnessed a car accident. “The cone is the best part.”

Laughing, I return to the bench next to her. “Sorry. I thought the ice cream was the best part.”

“Nah, the ice cream is just a warm-up before the waffle cone. I can’t believe you threw yours away.”

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