Page 45 of The Cowboy’s Intriguing Love

He glanced over at her, and she made a face at him.

“I’m not whining!”

He laughed. “I didn’t think you were. I was thinking that you’re amazing.”

“Yeah, right. How far is it?”

“So, you don’t take compliments well?”

“I guess not, and I really am hungry.”

“We’re almost there. Sorry, we could have gone to a closer one if I’d thought. It’s just that you talked about eating our burgers with a view, so I wanted to come to this one. We can ride up into the foothills and find a spot. But we can eat first and then go up there.”

“That’s okay. I can eat some of my fries on the way. If we take too long about it, it’ll be dark before we find a place with a view.”

He grinned at her.

“What? What did I say now?”

He laughed. “You read my mind. I wanted to find us a spot so that you can enjoy the view before it goes dark, but I didn’t want to rush you. I like that you’re so easy-going.”

“I am usually, but I might get hangry soon.”

“No worries. We’re almost there.” He took the next exit, and Shayna bounced in her seat when she spotted the sign.

“Oh my god! This is the best date ever. I get youandIn N Out.”

“And I get you. Do you know what you want?” he asked as he pulled into the drive-thru.

“Yep. I’ll take a … oh wait, do you like onions?”

He gave her a puzzled look. “I do but, I’m talking about whatyouwant.”

Her cheeks turned pink, and she looked away before looking back at him. “I know, but I don’t want onion-breath if you can’t stand onions or something.”

“Ah, right. I do like them. I didn’t think about needing to avoid them. If we both have them then onion-breath shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Awesome! Then, I’ll have a Double-Double cut in half, Animal-Style fries, and a Neapolitan shake.”

She took her wallet out of her purse, but he shook his head. “I’ve got this.”

“Thanks, I’ll pay next time.”

He shrugged. He didn’t intend to let her pay for a damn thing, but they didn’t need to get into that yet.

He pulled forward and placed their order, adding a Quad-Quad burger, Animal-Style fries and a black and white shake for himself to Shayna’s request.

When they were back out on the road, Shayna pulled a whole stack of napkins out of her purse.

He laughed. “Do you carry those for emergencies, or what?”

She laughed with him. “I … you should probably get used to it. It’s a habit I guess, I collect them everywhere I go. And you can’t criticize – you’re going to need them when you get to your fries.”

She was right, Animal-Style fries were messy considering that they were topped with sauce, cheese, and onions, but they were so worth it.

“I wasn’t criticizing. It’s cute.”

She scowled at him. “Don’t go calling me cute.”

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