Page 5 of Undone, Love Times Three

“Don’t put yourself down. I imagine it’s a physical sport. Takes a lot of skill.”

“It does.” She takes a small bite of her sandwich. We both each eat a few mouthfuls before she speaks again. “Do you have any hobbies?”

“I’m pretty busy at the fire station and when I’m not working, I run the charity, organizing fundraisers, food drives, car washes,” I laugh.

“Another cliché,” she grins.

“Yeah. I’m a hiker.” I shrug with another smirk. “But I also like to play darts. We have a team at The Anchor. Do you know the pub?” she nods and has some more hot chocolate. “Our team is called the One Eighty Legends. That is our truck number, and a lot of the old-timers are on the team. It’s not creative. You should come and watch one night. It’s always a good time.”

She ducks her head. Something about her demeanor seems off. Is she still nervous? I don’t want her to feel bad about this date. It’s going well and I like her. I’m definitely attracted to her.

She has curves, which is a huge turn on for me. Her sweater dress is tight around her breasts, which I’ve done a valiant job of not staring at, to be honest. I’m definitely a boob guy.

It would be nice to see her again. This date is not over yet.

“How is your sandwich?” I ask.

“It’s lovely. A good choice. And we both know I’m enjoying the hot chocolate.” She looks up at me without raising her head.

She has long, dark eyelashes that match her brown hair. Her make-up is minimal, if she is even wearing any. A natural beauty, the kind of woman I like. I’m not big into high maintenance women.

Given my schedule, sometimes I have to be spontaneous, and that doesn’t involve waiting around for a woman to put on her make-up and do her hair, just for a walk, or a quick coffee.

What she said and how she said it sounded a little flirty. Maybe I’m reading her mood wrong. She just needs to loosen up the nerves.

“So, tell me three things about yourself. At least one of them needs to be something funny or embarrassing.”

“No pressure,” she laughs.

“It’s fun,” I settle back, wiping my mouth with my napkin. I could go for a chocolate muffin. I’ll wait till she’s finished her sandwich. I’ve also almost finished my hot chocolate.

“Okay. But how about we alternate? I say one and you say one, so I’m not just reeling stuff off.”

“Good idea. You go first.”

Her lips rub together, and her eyes move to the right as she thinks.

“And it can’t be related to your job. Come on, it can’t be that hard,” I say with a wink.

She stares at me, her lips parted. I’m not dense. I can see how that affected her. It was unintentional, but it sounded a little flirty.

Clearing her throat, she let out a breath. “Okay. First one… I have a tortoise.”

“A what?” I sit back, then laugh when she grins. “Is that made up?”

“Nope. He’s actually my grandma’s, but when she goes away, he comes to stay with me. His name is Lurch, and he’s a leopard tortoise.”

Alison picks up her phone and scrolls for a moment, then holds it out to me. There is a photo of a tortoise which is a little bigger than a football. He’s got lettuce in his mouth, and it looks like he’s smiling at the camera.

“Wow, he’s huge. He just wanders around your house?”

“Yeah, he is big. He has his own space at Grams, inside and out. Mostly he stays inside, but that is more about creature comfort. He should spend more time outside. He’s incredibly sweet and friendly. We’ve taught him some tricks, too. You wouldn’t think that of a tortoise, but they are fun. He’s forty-three years old,” she laughs. “They can live to over a hundred.”

“So there better be some younger generations to pass him on to,” I shake my head. “You’ve surprised me twice today. An expert showjumper and owner of a tortoise, calledLurch.”

“Grams was a big fan of the Addams Family. And he does kind of lurch when he walks. Like a zombie. Although when lettuce is on offer, he can move his little ass. Anyway, now it’s your turn.”

Resting her elbows on the table, she leans a little closer, waiting to hear what I have to say.

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