Joshua Healy (The Mitchell/Healy Family #10)(23)

He nods. “No. As much as I’d enjoy it, I’m being serious.”

“I thought it was my blonde hair that got your attention.”

“I wasn’t looking at your hair.”



After a short drive down long country roads, we pull into a packed parking lot. The building itself looks rundown, but it’s obvious the place is popular, so I’m optimistic I’ll like it.

Josh meets me at the front of the truck and walks beside me. When it’s time to walk inside he takes my hand. We’re greeted by a hostess who leads us to a room in the back where candle lit tables are all that aluminate the space. As we’re seated, Josh orders a beer, so I follow his lead and get the same, but change my mind at the last minute when I see they have a wine menu.

I wait until we’re alone again to speak. “So, what kind of food does this place have?”

“The best steak you’ll ever sink your teeth into. The filet minion is what I always order.”

“What if I don’t eat red meat?”

He closes his menu and slides it forward. “This date is over.”

“What?” I’m a bit taken back.

Then he laughs and picks it up again. “They have vegetarian meals and other entrees to choose from. Pick something you’d like.”

“I happen to enjoy eating meat, Josh. I was only kidding.”

“I knew that,” he taunts back.

Josh’s mild mannerism continues as we order and start enjoying our meal. When we finish, I’m on my third glass of wine and feeling a bit buzzed. He pays for the meal and holds my hand as we exit the establishment. Then, much to my surprise, he walks me to the passenger side of the vehicle and helps me inside. When he joins me in the driver’s seat, he waits to start the truck. “How am I doing?”

I smirk. “So far so good. Are you sure you haven’t done this before?”

Josh leans on the steering wheel while keeping his gaze on me. “I’ve only ever eaten here with my family and Wes. That’s the truth.”

“Should I feel honored?” I’m speechless. It certainly makes a girl feel special, that’s for sure.

“You should.”

“Where to next?”

He starts the ignition. “I’m taking you home, beautiful.” He waits for me to react before continuing. “To my home, I mean. You and I are going to hang out.”

“In the barn?”

“No. My house.”

“Are your parents home?” I’m worried. I’ve stuffed my face. I’m bloated. Not to mention having way too much to be able to keep my composure while they look me up and down and judge me.

“They’re playing cards with my family over at my Uncle’s place. They won’t be home until after midnight. Besides, I thought you might be interested in checking out this new game I picked up earlier today.” He reaches in the back seat and pulls a video game from a plastic bag. I can hardly believe my eyes. It’s been sold out since it released on Tuesday. I know, because I’ve had one ordered and got a notification that it was delayed.

“How did you get this?”

“I preordered it. My buddy works at the game shop. He called to tell me it was there earlier in the week and I’ve been too busy to pick it up.”

“Tell me you have more than one paddle at your house.”

“I’ve got a lot more than that. So are you up for an all night duel?”

I bite on my bottom lip and smile from cheek to cheek. I know it’s nerdy and most people won’t understand, but this makes me giddy. “You bet your ass I am.”

Even though I've been to the ranch before, I still feel a bit overwhelmed when we enter the property. It's dark, so I'm unsure exactly which road we've taken to arrive in front of his parents large country home. From the outside lights, I can see it has a wrap around porch, and that the color of the house is either yellow or tan. Josh waits for me to grab my bag before he leads me up the stairs and then inside.

Immediately I smell cinnamon. A small lamp has been left on in the front living room, and one of those wax warmers sits beside it, probably where the scent emanates. A set of stairs face me, and up them are tons of pictures strategically hung on either side of the walls. In the distance I can see the entryway to the kitchen, but Josh doesn't give me the tour. Instead he takes my hand and pulls me up the stairs. We get to a foyer at the top and he turns to face me. "Promise you won't judge me?"

"How bad is it?" I'm picturing naked posters and bottles of Vaseline on his nightstand with porn magazines all over the floor. Instead he opens the door and I realize it's nothing less of a disaster.

"Wow. Is anything dead in here?" It doesn't smell. I'm just praying that there's nothing under the heaps of dirty laundry that's going to jump out and attack me.

He's laughing, like my disgust amuses him. "Another thing you don't like about me. You wanted honest, well it doesn’t get much more real than this."

Being a neat freak has its benefits. I don't lose things. "You bring women up here like this?"

"On occasion." He sits down on his bed. "Deal breaker?"

"That depends," I say as I pick up a few empty cans of soda.

"On what?"