Page 18 of Holidate Fail
And naked. He wanted her comfortable enough to be who she truly was and naked.
He took a long drink of his water to cool down.
“So what would you be doing today if you weren’t here?” he asked to get his mind off the image of a naked Dahlia. He poured some ketchup near his fries and popped one in his mouth.
“Probably be knee deep in a river.” Her lips moved into a small smile. “I have to present expert witness testimony soon, so I’d be working on that.”
He’d always been impressed with her brain. “What’s the case? Can you talk about it?”
“Only what you read in the papers.” She gave him a confident grin that went straight to his cock. “I can’t give away my secrets before I’m on the stand.”
Maybe he could think of some excuse to get her out of The Ramshackle Café and into his car. He couldn’t last much longer being this near to her and not touching her, somehow.
“There’s a real estate developer, Shady Creek Farms, that was convicted of illegal dumping. I’m working for the prosecution to determine damages.”
“Shady Creek Farms?” That name had a familiar ring to it. Like, ex-wife’s new job familiar. Heath glanced over at the two of them, then went back to the puzzle.
“You know it?” She gave him a worried look. “I shouldn’t say anything more if they’re a client of yours or something.”
“I know of it,” he said. “Nothing more than its name.”
“Okay.” She let out a long breath, like she was clearing her lungs and her mind. When she looked at him again, there was no trace of the worry that had just plagued her. “So why were you looking for a date? I’m surprised you used an app.”
For the fates to have us meet again. Kelly shrugged. “Partly to get Georgia Adventures in the spotlight, but really, I like the fun, doing things outdoors. I thought this was a good way to find someone to share that with. I think I’m doing okay so far.”
“Yeah, Lacole’s really nice.” Dahlia glanced at her and Heath from across the table, their heads practically touching as they worked on sudoku.
She didn’t realize he had meant her.
Dahlia nibbled more of her chicken, and Kelly felt himself reacting. Like, wanting to show her what it felt like for someone to nibble her. Neck, lips, nipple. Didn’t matter. He wanted it all.
He shifted in his suddenly uncomfortable jeans.
“So you do a lot of outdoor things.” She tapped the logo of the Georgia Adventures t-shirt she wore. “What’s that like?”
“It’s crazy busy some days and then paperwork dull on the others. My ex-wife helped us with the legal stuff when we first started, but now it’s just me and my business partner, Vin, doing everything.” They couldn’t afford to hire anyone else just yet.
“We met him at the booth.” She pulled the hem of her shirt to show off the logo.
“That’s him.”
“Your weekends must be insane.”
Some women had a problem with him not being available when they wanted him. “We’re working on making weekday adventures appealing. Advertising to community centers, team building, executive retreats, things like that.”
“I’d love to see my boss go down a Class IV rapid. Something tells me she wouldn’t want to go.” Dahlia grinned. She ran a hand over the smooth wooden table. “I’d forgotten you got married,” she murmured, avoiding his gaze.
“Yeah. Been divorced for a year, now.”
Dahlia nodded, then looked up at him again. “So what’s an adventure with Kelly like?”
Heat sizzled beneath her words, but she probably didn’t mean it that way. Or maybe she did. He couldn’t get a solid read off her, and he liked not knowing what was going to happen next. “You should come by when you have some time. You probably see more of the open water than I do, so no need to use the boat to take you fishing. We can go white water rafting. Or rock climbing. Or hiking. We’re a cross-adventure company.”
She looked doubtful. “I don’t know.”
“We’ll take it easy your first time out. A seven-mile hike instead of ten.”
“Seven…”
