Page 39 of Beauty and the Beard

“Everything is fantastic. Right, Sasha?”

Leaf snakes his arm around my waist and smiles down at me. It’s an automatic response to smile back and I hug his waist, too.

“Definitely fantastic. Completely enlightening and perhaps a bit… eye opening.”

Leaf swallows, and his tongue darts out to lick his lips. Yeah, we’re on the same page with things.

“Good. Listen, I wanted to invite you two out tonight. It’s been ages since we’ve gone to the bar, Leaf. It’s wing night at the Log Jam tonight and I think Sasha might like to see more of what this town offers other than great coffee and a bookshop.”

Has he been spying on me? Even if he did, a night on the town with Leaf sounds like something I’d never turn down. Watching him in his element is great, but I’d like to see Leaf out of it too. It seems only fair to me. Although once again I’ll be at a disadvantage.

“I’d love to! That sounds really fun. What’s a wing night?”

Both Leaf and Perry stare at me, incredulous, trying to assess if I’m pulling their leg. But I truly don’t know what a wing night is.

“Wing. Night.” Perry says slowly. “It’s a night. For wings. Chicken wings?”

“Please tell me you’ve had chicken wings before.” Leaf says and I feel my neck heat.

“Uh…no. I’ve ah… I wasn’t allowed to eat a lot of things when I was still under contract. I lived on vegetables, hummus, and lean chicken. Not much else. But I want to try a chicken wing!”

And I really do. I’m not sure why, but it feels like one of those things I might have done with friends if I hadn’t been so sheltered.

“Wow. You really are here to do all the things.” Leaf’s fingers flex on my hip and when I meet his eyes, there’s a new look there. It’s curious and I squeeze back.

“All the things. Yep.”

Perry clears his throat.

“So, it’s best to get there early since it gets so busy. We can take one vehicle and I’ll ask Millie to have a summer student stay late to help with after supper duties if that’s okay?”

Leaf nods slowly, and he eases his arm around my waist. His hand rests on the small of my back while his thumb smoothes small circles through my shirt.

“Why don’t you take your own vehicle and we’ll take my truck? You’ll want to go home after and you live in town. No sense driving us home and back. The lodge is full, so you can’t crash in an empty room.”

Perry considers this with a sigh. “Right. Two trucks then. I’ll head back now and make sure it’s all arranged.” He places his helmet back on and makes it a point to only address Leaf. “It’s been a long time, brother. I’m looking forward to it.”

He fires up his ATV and rolls away with a wave, leaving us alone again and watching the dust kick up behind him.

“Are you sure you want to go to a bar in this tiny town and try chicken wings?”

“A hundred percent.”

“What about drinking beer?”

I wrinkle my nose. “I’m not a fan. How about rye?”

He nods in approval. “I can work with that. What about dancing? Do you dance?”

Now it’s my turn to stare in disbelief. “Do I dance? Leaf, if I wasn’t a model, I’d be a dancer. This body has moves, so it’s best you be prepared.”

He smiles again, and the crinkles by his eyes deepen. Leaning down, he places a kiss on my forehead. “Something tells me I’ll never be prepared when it concerns you.”

“You ain’t seen nothing yet.” I wink, and instead of a laugh I was hoping for, he cocks his head. Those deep, thoughtful eyes see all the way into my deepest, darkest secrets.

“Then I look forward to what you still have to show me.”

Leaf locked up the buildings and returned me to my cabin. It wasn’t his original plan for the day. He wanted us to have dinner in his suite and while I would have loved the quiet alone time, I’m also curious about the town.

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