Page 8 of The Backup Bride Proposal

“Independent, huh?” he asked as they waited for their number to be called. “You did drive. The least I could do is pay.”

“It’s not a date, and I prefer we keep things between us—separated.”

He shrugged. “Sure.”

She was glad his ego hadn’t gotten ruffled over something as simple as paying for a meal. Once their food was ready they grabbed a table and Kane dug in, slathering his ribs in sauce, uncaring that his face and hands got messy, which was exactly how you were supposed to eat ribs. She enjoyed watching him while she ate her sandwich.

“That was excellent,” he said after he finished his ribs and wiped his mouth and hands with a wet wipe and a napkin. “I haven’t had good barbecue since the last time I was at the ranch.”

She wiped her hands and took a sip of her iced tea. “Your grandpa makes barbecue?”

“He and my aunt. They’ll lay ribs out on the smoker and the smell will drive you crazy all day long.”

She nodded. “The only way to make ribs fall-off-the-bone tender.”

“Exactly.” He popped the last bite of okra into his mouth, then took several swallows of tea. “Thanks for bringing me here. It’s exactly what I wanted.”

“I’m glad you liked it. Our area is filled with great food. You just have to search it out.”

“I guess you’ll have to show me around.”

She absolutely did not intend to be his culinary guide. Shehad too many other things to do. “I’m sure you have catering on location.”

“Yeah, we do. But I like to get away from filming, get out and investigate my surroundings. Otherwise I feel closed in and that messes with my creative mojo.”

She gave him a smirk. “Ooh, your mojo.”

“Hey, it’s a real thing.”

She shrugged. “I wouldn’t know.”

“Sure you would. You do creative things all the time, don’t you? With your weddings?”

She thought about it for a moment, then smiled. “You’re right. Though Erin, Brenna and Honor are the creative ones. I just assist.”

“I don’t know about that. I watched you at the wedding the other night. The way you ran to help the bride when she had that issue with her dress, and then you stepped in with the bridesmaid who was having an argument with the maid of honor. You handled everything so smoothly. That was you, not any of the Bellini sisters.”

He’d noticed all of that while he’d been wandering around the reception? “You have a keen eye for observation.”

“It’s my job to notice things. That’s how an actor learns characterization.”

“Really.”

“Yeah. Movement, facial expression, dealing with conflict. Actors have to absorb all of that so we can use it down the line somewhere. Or at least that’s how I do it.”

“I don’t watch a lot of movies. I’m more into books.”

“This movie is based on a book.”

She wrinkled her nose. “The book is always better.”

He laughed. “I hear that a lot. And don’t disagree. You can’t possibly get every detail from a book into a movie. But I think this one’s pretty good. It’s romantic and funny, too.”

“I guess I’ll have to pick it up and read it, then compare. It will be interesting to watch it being filmed and compare it to the end product.”

“Oh, so you’ll actually go see this one, huh?”

She wouldn’t commit. “I’ll reserve judgment until I see how it goes.”

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