Page 17 of A Home for Harmony
“Says no one ever,” he said, snorting.
She waved her hand like she was swatting a bug. “People don’t have to say it to think it. But back to my dinner. I had fun with it and put all the menus on the counter upside down, then spun around once with my eyes closed and slapped my hand down. The one I came up with is where I was ordering from.”
He didn’t think he did anything that frivolous in his life, even for something as simple as dinner.
“How did you pick what food you wanted off the menu?”
There had to be a funny story to this too.
“I have several things I like and put the numbers into an app on my phone and let it pick it at random. So there you go. Sweet and sour chicken could have been chosen too.”
“Got it."
“Barnes,” he heard.
“Guess yours is done,” she said.
“James,” was shouted next.
“And yours,” he said.
They moved to the front together, got their food and paid, then were walking out at the same time.
“I wonder how many Christmas movies are on TV tonight that I can avoid watching,” she said before she made her way to her car.
He could tell she was dragging this out, and it made him wonder if she didn’t want to be alone tonight.
Surprisingly, he didn’t either and found himself asking, “Do you want to eat dinner together and count the number of them?”
He refused to take the shock on her face personally. Honestly, he wasn’t sure what he’d been thinking. She was twelve years younger, and that gap suddenly felt impossible.
He knew because he’d pulled up her driver’s license.
“I’d love to,” she said, doing a little bounce on her toes.
“We can go to my place,” he said. “It’s around the corner.”
He figured she’d feel more comfortable being able to leave than worrying about someone she had to kick out, but how the hell would he know what went through her mind? Shit, she picked her dinner by random draw.
“We can do that,” she said. “I can follow you if you want.”
“Sure.” He climbed into his SUV that was two down from hers, backed out and waited to make sure she was behind him. Then he drove the mile to his house, pulled into the driveway and hit the garage door.
Harmony’s car stopped behind his outside the garage and she got out, then walked in with him.
“There is a part of me that thinks I’m being an idiot coming here with you, but the other part is that I feel as if I know you. I spent enough time looking you up last week.”
“What?” he asked, turning to look at her.
“I shouldn’t have admitted that either,” she said. “But I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind.”
“Seems we have the same problem.”
6
MAN OF FEW WORDS
“How is that a problem?” she asked, angling her head.
