Page 22 of My Silver Lining

“You’re very lucky I love you. I’ll call you later.” I ended the call, and my gaze locked with his. “So you think you can just walk in here now? Even though I’ve shown you my moves and that I’m capable of dropping you to your knees?”

“Oh, I’ll drop to my knees anytime you want me to, Wildcat.” He pulled out the stone and held it up. “But, if you attempt to drop me for any other reason than to pleasure you, just know that I’ve got protection. So don’t even try it.”

I rolled my eyes and motioned for him to sit at the table. I’d set out two place settings, and I always kept fresh flowers on my table no matter where I was, and with the candle that was burning on the kitchen island, it started to feel like a date. So, I blew out the candle and moved the flowers to the counter. The table looked very bland now, which made me feel better. I’d also intentionally prepared a very unromantic dinner to keep things platonic. I set a baked potato in a large bowl in front of each of us, and all the toppings were set between us. Chili, cheese, sourcream, and chives, along with a basket of cornbread muffins. Delicious and also warm on a cold evening. And it screamedplatonic relationship, because who in their right mind would eat chili on a date?

No one.

“What’s all this?” He rubbed his hands together.

“It’s a potato bar.”

“Ah… this is information I should know. You wouldn’t have struck me as a potato bar kind of girl.”

“Which proves you know nothing about me. What would you have guessed I would be serving?” I asked, half irritated, half curious.

“I don’t know. What do fancy people eat? Maybe caviar or sushi, or you’d sacrifice some extinct animal right before you served it to me.”

I gaped at him. “I like fancy clothing and handbags, but I keep my food simple. In fact, I love themed meals.”

“What qualifies as a themed meal?” he asked, as he loaded his potato with all the fixings.

“You know, hot dog bar, potato bar, taco night, a little pasta extravaganza.”

“Ah… so a ball gown and a hot dog. Not what I was expecting, but good to know.”

“So, we’re going to have our work cut out for us. We leave first thing in the morning, and between my cousin Charlotte, my father, and Francois, my mother’s spiritual advisor, we’re going to be under a microscope. Francois is a psychic, but if we know enough about one another, I think we can make him believe we’re dating.”

He finished chewing. “This Francois dude comes to all the family gatherings?”

“Yes. My mother can’t travel without him. He’s basically part of the family at this point, aside from the fact that his readings are often offensive.”

“Interesting. So, what do you want to know?” he asked.

“Well, according to what I’ve shared with them, we’ve been dating for a few months. We should know a lot about one another.”

“A few months? I just met you; how is that possible?” He waggled his brows.

“Remember, my mother thought your name was Love Her Boy.” I chuckled before adding some more cheese to my potato of deliciousness. “So we’ve been together for a while, as far as everyone knows, and that’s why I came to Rosewood River for the next three months.”

“Ahhh… It’s clearly been challenging for you to stay away from me. You packed up your shit to cozy up with Love Her Boy.”

I rolled my eyes and laughed at the same time. “I made a list of questions, like basic things we should know. Here’s a copy for you and a pen in case you need to take notes.”

“I’m a numbers guy. All the notes stay right here, in the vault.” He tapped his fingers to his forehead as he looked down at the piece of paper I handed him. “Okay, number one.” He paused and reached for his water because I was not serving alcohol when I was determined to keep things very platonic. It had everything to do with the fact that he was sexy as hell, even if he annoyed the living crap out of me. “How many siblings do you have?Obviously, you already know that I have three brothers and one sister, and my two cousins are more like brothers. How about you?”

“I’m an only child. But Henley has always felt like a sister to me.”

“You two met at boarding school? You both went away for high school, right?” he asked.

“Yes. We were roommates, and we’ve been besties ever since.”

I thought he’d move to question number two, but God forbid he followed any kind of direction. Of course, the man would go rogue. “Was it lonely being an only child?”

“I’ve always been independent and good at taking care of myself.” I scooped some more potato onto my fork and popped it into my mouth. “Next question.”

“You didn’t answer the one that I asked. I didn’t ask if you were independent, I asked if it was lonely. Did you ever sit in your room alone and wish there were other people there?”

I groaned, but I thought it over. “Yes. I used to wish for siblings. My parents are very social people, so they weren’t around a ton. But I always knew that I was loved, so it was fine.”

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