Page 33 of Love and Other Trials
She thrust her hand out to Dax, and he let go of Ariel to shake it. “Stephan. Nice to meet you.”
His use of his fake name had her fighting laughter. “Maybelline, we need a drink. And then some hush puppies. Outside if you please.”
“Make sure you use some bug spray on yourselves.” She grabbed a well-known brand from behind the counter. “The skeeters are out tonight after the rain we had. Come on. We’ll find you a nice table and then get you that drink. After hearing about the wig, the first round is on me.”
“You’re the best.” She followed Maybelline out to a corner table and plunked herself down. “You still making the same watered-down margaritas?”
Maybelline leveled her a glare even though her mouth was twitching. “Don’t go insulting me so early, missy, especially before you order food. Gator bites might end up being in your fried chicken by mistake.”
“Poor Bumper,” Dax said mournfully as he sat across from her at the wooden table, the light from the water bringing out the gold in his hair again.
Sherlock plopped down at his feet as she held back her laughter.
“What do you want to drink, Stephan?” Maybelline asked him.
“Got any Chardonnay?”
“Chardonnay, huh?” Reaching down, Maybelline tugged lightly on Ariel’s curls. “Ariel Holmes, sometimes I think you have a screw loose.”
“He’s kidding, Maybelline.”
“I hope so for your sake.”
Laughing, he said, “I’ll settle for a beer.”
Maybelline set the bug spray on the table. “Be right back with those and some water and a treat for your sweet dog here.”
Ariel began spraying her legs before turning to her arms because God knows what treatment her mother and sisters would insist on if she came back riddled with bug bites. Her future would be full of ice packs and gallons of calamine lotion. “Want some?”
He grabbed the can and sprayed his long, muscular legs and then his powerful arms, the sight of his muscles making her heart race. “So this is a comfort spot. I can see why. The view is incredible. Maybelline seems to know your family well. Nice to have an ally of sorts.”
Ariel ran her hands over the rough wood table as she gazed out across the shimmering water. Boats were out. The tall grasses around the edges were swaying in the breeze. Everywhere she looked, it felt like home. “I’ve known Maybelline since I was taking my first steps when we visited my grandma. I think she gave me my first hush puppy.”
“Makes sense. You probably didn’t have any teeth. I’ll bet you were adorable.”
She struck a pose, wishing her mother had thought so. But no, her mother had kept a knit cap on her, thinking her ears stuck out. “Adorably adorable. That was me. All right, enough of that. Let’s get down to brass tacks, as you soldiers like to say.”
“Says who?” he bandied back, looking every bit a relaxed andhot as hellman.
All she wanted to do was stare, but her stomach rumbled. Picking up the menu Maybelline had left, she thrust it out. “I’ve had everything on this menu more than once. Some things are better than others. If you promise to be a sweetheart tonight, I’ll tell you my faves.”
He made the show of crossing his heart. “Scout’s honor. So what makes your taste buds sing?”
She thought about kissing him. That would certainly make her taste buds sing. Later. Please God. “In this order. Fried okra. Fried pimento balls?—”
“I’ve never been sure about those, to be honest.”
She could already taste them. “Trust me. They’re freaking delicious. Pimento cheese spread is part of the food pyramid in Charleston. You’ll see it everywhere.”
“I’m game.” He leaned his elbows on the table, his complete attention on her. “What else?”
“Fried oysters. Fried chicken. Fried flounder.”
He gave a studious look, stroking the sexy stubble on his jaw. “I sense a theme. So you’re suggesting anything fried.”
“You bet your cute little buns, I am. Fried is the way to go here.”
A splash came from the water below, and Dax turned to look down as Sherlock rose up and wandered over to check things out, tail up. She knew what that meant.
