Love, Chocolate, and Beer (Cactus Creek #1)(83)

Dean choked on his water.

“Sure,” replied the waitress, smiling like she was talking to her own grandma. “Dani loves talking to the customers. I’ll go see if she’s free.”

“How delightful.” Claire practically glowed. “Thank you. We can’t wait.”

Dean was too busy coughing water out of his esophagus to stop the madness.

“What. Are. You. Doing?” he finally choked out to Claire when he managed to pull oxygen back into his lungs.

“Isn’t it obvious? You were in the military—it’s called re-con, dear.”

About halfway through their lunch, a sweet voice tinkled in greeting. “Hi, folks. I’m Dani. How are you enjoying the food and beer?”

Remembering what Claire had said about recon, Dean tried to take hold of the situation before she could. “I’m so sorry my wife called you over. We know you’re busy so—”

Claire kicked him in the shin, stopping his attempt at a tactical strike.

Dani didn’t even seem to notice. “Oh gosh, you’re doing me a favor. I’ve been doing paperwork all day, so meeting you two gave me the perfect excuse to get out of my office. I hear you two are crop farmers up north. What brings you to Cactus Creek?”

With a smug smirk, Dean raised his eyebrows at Claire, daring her to field that question.

“Just wanted to do some shopping,” replied Claire in a half-truth. They had gone to Luke’s shop to get chocolates; Quinn just hadn’t let them actually pay for it.

“Oh, that’s nice,” smiled Dani. “Hey, so what crops do you folks grow? We use local produce in all our food and beers here. I’m a firm believer it makes everything taste better.”

Dean studied the exchange between the two women as they launched into an animated discussion about their favorite crops and the newly created fruits that have been hitting the local farms the past few years. Oh boy, from the looks of it, if Luke didn’t make Dani a part of the family by marriage, Claire would bring her in anyway by adoption.

Throughout their conversation—which seemed harmless enough—Dean kept a low profile and focused on enjoying his beer. It was damn good beer too. Perhaps the best he’d ever tasted. So good in fact, it made him miss the moment Claire slipped the farm invite to Dani.

Dammit.

“I’ll be there!” nodded Dani enthusiastically. “Oh hey, I know someone whose parents have a pick-your-own crop farm too. Maybe you know them? His last name is Bradford.”

For the second time that day, Dean coughed on his drink.

Claire shot him a look. “I don’t believe I know any crop farmers named Bradford,” she evaded smoothly before smiling in that woman-to-woman way. “Is this young man your beau?”

Good lord, the way the woman could question was actually an art form.

“Okay, enough prying into the woman’s life,” interrupted Dean sternly. His well-covered glare said, ‘Enough!’ “You have to excuse my wife. She goes a little overboard when she gets to chat with others since she’s only got boring ole me to talk with day in and day out at the farm.”

Dani’s laughter chimed in the air. “Aw, I’ll bet she counts herself lucky to have that.”

Why, that sounded absolutely genuine. Dean couldn’t help but be charmed.

“My brother Derek and I used to love listening to our dad tell all his old stories,” she continued with a fond look in her eyes. “In fact, Derek just came back from his honeymoon in Europe where he’d found the exact fountain in Seville that my parents had taken a picture in front of decades ago. My heart just melted when I saw the photo of Derek and his husband kissing in front of it just like my parents had done.”

This time, Claire coughed on her drink, in unexpected surprise.

That made Dani’s eyes settle on Claire’s face, still politely, but with a tinge of protectiveness that hinted that if Claire was about to disparage her brother’s marriage in any way, their conversation would immediately be over.

Dean beamed at that—he respected the hell out of a strong woman who protected her family. “That reminds me of Eric, one of my best Army buddies. Claire, remember how you gushed over that story?” He turned back to Dani. “It was during that whole ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ era of the military so no one knew my good friend Eric was gay. Well, besides me, but I’ve always had a surprisingly good gaydar. Anyway, once, when my unit did a short stint in Italy for a few months, we all managed to get over to Venice to visit. When Eric took in the sights, he was thunderstruck. We stopped on a bridge over a canal and he whispered that if he was lucky enough to find the perfect man to spend his life with after he got out of the military, he wanted to return to that very spot with him.” A soft look of joy lit his eyes. “I was ecstatic to get a Venice postcard from him and his partner a few years later.”

“That’s so romantic,” sighed Dani, her eyes flickering once more at Claire then, as if still trying to figure her out.

Claire caught her gaze. “I’m not homophobic, I swear. It was just surprise, nothing else. When I get caught off guard, I get a knee-jerk reflex sometimes...with an emphasis on jerk.”

Dani’s expression started to warm up again.

Claire put her hand on Dani’s. “I’m sorry if I upset you. I truly do find it very romantic that your brother and his husband got to share that special moment your parents did. And I hope one day you get to do the same with whomever you marry—maybe make it a family tradition.”