“Parker?”
He shook his head again.
“So, you’re not Spiderman?”
He held his palms out. “No webs.”
She looked disappointed. “Paul?”
“You can guess all night, but you’ll never get it. And even if by some chance you did get it right, I wouldn’t tell you.”
Her lips turned down, the bottom one sticking out just a bit. It was cute as hell. “Fine. But I’m not giving up.”
“I’d be disappointed if you did.” And he would. Her tenacity was one of the things he liked about her.
“If you won’t tell me your first name, you owe me a childhood story.”
“What do you want to know?”
She shrugged. “Anything you want to share.”
He tried to think of something interesting and came up empty. “I had a pretty normal childhood. Mom, dad, sister—”
“Older or younger?”
“Older by four years.” He shrugged. “Not much else to tell.”
“Have you always loved football?”
“Yes. So did my dad. During my teens, it was the one thing we agreed on.”
She frowned. “I can’t picture you as a troubled teen.”
“I wasn’t. But what teenager gets along with their parents?”
“Touché.”
“What about you? What was little Ivy like?”
“Not normal.” She laughed.
“So, no Barbies or dance classes?”
“Oh, I had Barbies.” She frowned. “I don’t think any survived without me chopping off their hair though. And I tried ballet when I was seven. Mom dubbed merubber band legs.” She threw up a hand when Colt opened his mouth. “Don’t ask. Tap didn’t go much better.” She played with the tine of her fork that lay on the table. “I liked to read. Anything and everything.” She looked up at him with a smile. “Still do.”
Her eyes turned dreamy, and he wondered what she was thinking. He didn’t get a chance to ask. Their waiter arrived with the food. The aroma of garlic, soy, and ginger permeated from the dishes, making his stomach rumble.
“Can I get you anything else?” the waiter asked after setting down the last plate.
“I think we’re good.”
He looked at Ivy and she agreed. “Thank you. It smells delicious.”
They piled their plates and started eating.
A few bites into the meal, Colt stuck a forkful of noodles and veggies into his mouth.
“I think we should have sex.”