Page 220 of Steamy Ever After

“Do you mind a drive?”

“Not at all,” he said, but how far away was she thinking? And did he have a protein bar buried in his truck, somewhere?

He looked over at her vehicle. “How fast does this little number go?”

“Zero to sixty in four seconds. Wanna take it for a spin?”

“Your car? You’re kidding!”

“I get to drive it every day.” Peyton tossed him the key fob. “The Coupe is faster than the Gran Coupe, but only by about a tenth of a second, and a four-door is much better for the boys,” she added once they were inside.

“I can’t believe you have two boys and your vehicle stays this immaculate.”

“Yeah, well, they aren’t typical boys, I guess.”

“Where to?” he asked when they pulled onto the main highway.

“Mind going down to Big Sky?”

“Love that place. I never think of it.”

Peyton leaned against the seat and closed her eyes. “I miss it. I never make time to drive down to San Luis Obispo, and when I am there, I always have somewhere else I have to be.”

“What’s your favorite thing to have for breakfast?”

“In general, or at Big Sky?”

“Both.”

“In general, yogurt and fruit, sometimes with granola.”

“Ugh, too healthy!”

“You forget how much food I have to taste all day.”

“Is alcohol considered a food group these days?” he asked.

“No, but the chefs who put on our events don’t make wine; they prepare food. The dinners are a big part of what we do at Stave.”

Brodie glanced over at her. She had been smiling, but it quickly disappeared.

“I met Kade at the first wine dinner Stave hosted. In the years that followed, he came to several.”

There was the elephant in the car with them. Brodie had wondered how long they could go without one of them referencing his brother. “I remember him mentioning them.”

“You’ve never been.”

It wasn’t a question, and she was right. He hadn’t been, and as much as he’d wanted to, after Kade died, he hadn’t gone out of respect for Peyton. “I’ve heard they’re spectacular.”

“Maybe you could join us sometime.”

Brodie glanced over again. Instead of in his direction, she was looking out the window.

“About breakfast. What’s your favorite thing at Big Sky?”

“Hmm. If I could only eat there one more time, I’d order poached eggs and crab cakes. Or maybe the lemon ricotta pancakes with blueberry compote, or the?—”

Brodie reached over and touched her hand. “Please, no more. I’m so hungry I could…” He stopped himself when, instead of food, he thought of nibbling on her beautiful, long neck. The way she arched it when she looked out the window made him want to run his tongue from the spot under her ear down to her collarbone. He stifled his groan. It was a toss-up which he was hungrier for: food or Peyton.

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